FER-PLAY and NOVAFERT are two Horizon Europe projects that kicked off in September 2022 and aim at fostering the market uptake of circular fertilisers through a series of actions, like fertiliser mapping and database creation1,2,3, multi-assessment of the environmental4, social5, economic, upscaling6 and regulatory aspects7, stakeholder engagement and co-creation of guidelines for farmers, fertilizer producers, local administrations and policy makers8. Now approaching the finish line, these projects have collaborated to extract key lessons learned and are eager to share recommendations with R&D project implementers and designers. These insights serve as a foundation for the successful implementation of ongoing and future initiatives with similar objectives: promoting circular fertilizers for healthier soils and more resilient nutrient markets and agricultural sectors.