ANNUAL REPORT 2006
As this year’s Annual Report is about energy, let me state some fundamental truths which are evident to us but often seem to be overlooked in the general debate. There is no life without energy. All living beings – plants, animals and humans – need energy in order to live and grow. Agriculture’s primary purpose is to supply this energy by growing crops. With the help of solar energy, plants form their complex organic matter through photosynthesis, using carbon dioxide (CO2) taken from the air, inorganic nutrients from the soil, and water in the process. The raison d’être of our industry is to make inorganic nutrients as fertilizers available to agriculture and thereby to provide the fundaments for feeding a growing world population. To fulfil this mission, we in turn need energy and feedstock in the form of natural gas. It can be said, that once made into fertilizers, gas is ultimately one of the basic raw materials for food. The European fertilizer industry is the biggest single user of gas in the European Union. Natural gas represents 50 to 70% of the total costs of finished fertilizers. It is obvious that access to competitively priced gas is vital to the continued prosperity of a nitrogen fertilizer industry in Europe. Access to this gas is increasingly challenging for many industrial users as well as private consumers. It is therefore no surprise that the energy issue has seen itself ascending on the European Commission’s list of priorities, as well as in the EU Member States and on a global level. The industry’s response to this challenge is more specifically explained in the Gas Task Force chapter in this report.
There are, however, also opportunities. Worldwide agricultural production, and with it fertilizer consumption, is growing. Why should this trend be so different for Europe? In order to feed a growing population, the world not only needs high yield agriculture, but also a considerable contribution from Europe. Uniquely blessed with fertile soils and favourable climate conditions, the European agricultural sector is extremely productive. It contributes considerably to world cereal production as the second biggest wheat producer after Asia, achieving yields twice as much per hectare as North America. In addition, European agriculture is actively taking up today’s environmental challenges and contributes with sustainable solutions. In a more recent development, agriculture’s role is not only to produce food but also to help provide more sustainable forms of energy. Fertilizers greatly increase the positive energy balance of agriculture. Harvesting Energy with Fertilizers is therefore a very appropriate title for the 2002 EFMA publication which explains these fundamentals. In all these developments, the European manufacturers are fully committed to being the supplier of choice and delivering optimum value to the European farmers. Many parts of this report testify to what we uniquely have to offer to make European agriculture prosper.
2006 has been a year of transition and further development of our new working structure. The Executive Board will report in their chapter on our experiences and progress. On 15th May we welcomed Esa Härmälä as our new Director General. Previously President of The Central Union of Agricultural Producers and Forest Owners in Finland (MTK), Esa has an impressive career in Finland within government, including missions to Brussels, but also in the private sector. With his agricultural background, Esa is strongly developing the voice of EFMA as well as pursuing a close dialogue with our agricultural stakeholders. He has put his forceful mark on many activities in this report. Helmuth Aldinger leaves EFMA by the end of this year. I appreciate and thank Helmuth for what EFMA has become during the nine years of his leadership. The challenges and achievements were many during his time. The reason for ultimate success is the contribution and support from many in the EFMA community. However, to coordinate these contributions and steer our efforts in one forward direction without losing people on the way often looks like a tormenting task and I am therefore happy to see Helmuth in good spirits, looking forward to other treats life has to offer. In conclusion, I would like to thank the entire EFMA family for their hard work and positive spirit in which they have served the industry. I trust that this will continue in the face of an even more demanding future.
3