Grupa Azoty Group for the European Green Deal

An important part of the efforts designed to mitigate climate change is the implementation of one of the objectives of the European Green Deal: the Farm to Fork strategy. The goal is to reduce the use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers by 50% by 2030 and increase the area of organic crops. One of the numerous initiatives taken by the Grupa Azoty Group to meet this goal was the acquisition of Compo Expert by Grupa Azoty S.A. The company manufactures specialty fertilizers that reduce nutrient losses by such means as coating techniques, which directly fits in with the Farm to Fork strategy. The efficiency of using these products is 50% higher than that of traditional ones, with fertilizer application reduced by 20%.

100% biodegradable plastic

Grupa Azoty S.A. is the first company in Central and Eastern Europe to offer fully biodegradable plastics. The Tarnów-based company has launched a pilot line for the production of thermoplastic starch, with an annual capacity of 300,000 tonnes. It has also signed cooperation agreements with Polska Grupa Opakowaniowa Opakomet S.A. and the Forestry Research Institute, as well as a letter of intent with the State Forests National Forest Holding.

Environmentally friendly fertilizers

The Grupa Azoty Group has launched the Fosfarm product line – modern and environmentally-friendly NPK fertilizers providing an ample and efficient source of soil nutrients. The new line developed by the Grupa Azoty Group’s Gdańsk-based company is another step taken by the Group towards achieving the goals of the European Green Deal. Fosfarm is a line of compound fertilizers manufactured in accordance with the principles of sustainable development, including circular economy. They are enriched with calcium, magnesium, sulfur and micro-elements, such as copper and zinc. Notably, the phosphorus, calcium, magnesium and micro-elements contained in the fertilizer are from renewable sources only. Fosfarm fertilizers contain ammoniacal nitrogen, magnesium and sulfur, which facilitate absorption of phosphorus by plants – this is called synergism between elements. The phosphorus contained in the fertilizers is soluble in ammonium citrate and water (one-fourth of the phosphorus is water soluble). Phosphorus compounds soluble in those two substances show comparable effectiveness regardless of when they are applied, provided they are placed at the correct depth in the soil.

Hydrogen revolution

The Grupa Azoty Group has joined in the efforts to create the “Polish Hydrogen Agreement.” At the initiative of the Ministry of Climate, a letter of intent to establish a partnership for building a hydrogen economy and enter into a sectoral hydrogen agreement has been signed.

Ecologically for the Małopolska region

Grupa Azoty S.A. and the Province of Kraków will closely cooperate to protect air and climate as part of the project “LIFE EKOMAŁOPOLSKA – Implementation of the Regional Action Plan for Climate and Energy”. The cooperation agreement, in which Grupa Azoty S.A. declared, among other things, that it would work towards achieving by 2050 climate neutrality in its production processes and activities carried out in the Małopolska region, was signed on February 23rd 2021. Grupa Azoty S.A. committed itself in the agreement that it would work towards achieving by 2050 climate neutrality in its production processes and activities carried out in the Małopolska region and that it would implement projects involving the use of renewable energy sources and development of green ammonia and green hydrogen technologies.

Abundance is What Matters

With the use of Agrocares scanners, Grupa Azoty Group representatives are now able to perform quick soil analyses for farmers all over Poland. Based on the positive experience from the pilot project, from 2021 onwards all Grupa Azoty representatives working with farmers in Poland will be equipped with soil scanners. The resulting soil analysis report is available from the farmer’s phone within minutes of the test, and the farmers receive precise recommendations regarding mineral requirements of each part of their land. Using that information, the farmer can then quickly decide which fertilizers manufactured by the Grupa Azoty Group need to be applied to supply the missing nutrients in the soil. To compare, the traditional soil testing requires taking and sending soil samples to external laboratories, which may take even a few weeks to analyse the samples and send back the results. The Grupa Azoty Group’s scanners make it possible to perform nutrient testing directly on the field, with the farmer’s participation. The use of precision farming techniques ensures that only the necessary nutrients are supplied to the soil, which is consistent with the idea of the European Green Deal.

Precision farming

The Grupa Azoty Group supports Polish farmers by promoting the idea of precision farming and offering satellite crop monitoring services to its customers. The SatAgro service uses automatically processed data from NASA satellites, the European Space Agency and private operators. With a mobile or fixed application, users can monitor the current status of their crops, have access to meteorological data, but above all can plan the right fertilisation strategy, thus maximising financial performance of their farms. Application maps can be uploaded to GPS-fitted agricultural machines, which enables precise fertilizer application. This solution helps to use 15% less agrochemicals and offers efficiency gains that support higher volumes and better quality of crops. All this helps to protect the environment and properly address the challenges of the European Green Deal, aiming to make EU economies climate-neutral.