Nitrates in agriculture: three challenges for the EU for Sardinia

The Region has received an infringement letter, the alarm comes from the Agricultural Studies Center

The first concerns "the consistency of the networks monitoring the quality of surface water and groundwater, the reduction in the number of control stations is disputed". Secondly, it expresses "a judgment of poor effectiveness of the Program of Action of the Vulnerable Nitrate Zone (ZVN) of Arborea based on the apparent deteriorating trend shown by the monitoring data". Thirdly, there is talk of «failure to designate new vulnerable zones from nitrates of agricultural origin, where water monitoring activities have found exceeding limit concentrations of nitrates (50 mg / l) in groundwater and surface water bodies in a hypertrophic state and eutrophic. "

The Region, according to the association, would have immediately identified a "pilot" area to carry out a territorial survey especially in northern Sardinia. And the CSA expresses all its concern about the first results of the analyzes. "We understand that if this serious problem is not managed well by the Region – says Tore Piana, president of the organization – it will be a mortal blow for the farms that will fall within the perimeters of the ZVN boundaries".

Csa goes into detail: "For these companies the obligations will be: prohibition of fertilizing crops with nitrogenous fertilizers over 170 kg per hectare compared to about 370/400 needed for agricultural crops, the construction of storage tanks for livestock effluents, particular rules on 'conditionality', this practice – concludes Piana – is mandatory in order to receive the contributions of the Single Fund of the CAP. A burden that Sardinian farms, suffering from a deep economic crisis, cannot really take on ". (Ansa).