FERTIMANURE: Production of high-added value FERTilisers from animal MANURE

Farm livestock in Europe excrete around 1400 metric tonnes of manure annually. More than 90% of manure produced is returned to agricultural fields either through the spreading of collected manure or directly by grazing. However, this is not being done in the most efficient (and least leaky) way. The project focuses on how to improve the agronomic use of recycled nutrients from livestock manure to reconnect nutrient flows between plant and livestock production...

Over 48 months, the project consortium, made up of 22 partners, will develop, integrate, test and validate innovative Nutrient Management Strategies to efficiently recover mineral nutrients and other products with agronomic value from manure, to finally obtain reliable and safe fertilisers that can compete in the EU fertilizers market.

The goal of FERTIMANURE is to cover technological approaches for both nutrient recovery and nutrient management. To that end, 5 innovative & integrated nutrient recovery on-farm experimental pilots will be implemented in the most relevant European countries in terms of livestock production (Spain, France, Germany, Belgium, and the Netherlands), whereas the nutrient management will be addressed through 3 different strategies adapted to mixed and specialised farming systems.

A total of 31 marketable end-products (11 Bio-Based Fertilisers & 20 Tailor-Made Fertilisers) will be obtained. The agronomic and environmental performances and their potential to replace conventional fertilisers will be assessed. The project aspires to provide an innovative circular economy model to favour rural development in the agricultural sector by creating real synergies and links within farmers and other industrial activities.