DIY fertilizer is a blessing as farmers face steep prices due to the Iran war
On 12 acres outside of Lusaka, Kanangwa Newlove has built a paradise.
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Newlove → face → paradise
Shady fruit trees dot her fields.
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trees → dot → fields
During the growing season, long tomato vines drape over trellises.
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vines → drape → trellises
"I started taking vegetables to my workmates, and before I knew it I was supplying the supermarket," Newlove says.
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Newlove → start → supermarket
"It went on and on."
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It → go → ?
The Iran war choked off the Strait of Hormuz and dramatically halted international trade shipments — including fertilizers.
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war → choke → fertilizers
Prices spiked globally.
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Prices → spike → ?
The effects were quickly felt in African countries, where smallholder farmers are often vulnerable to rapid changes in fertilizer costs.
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farmers → feel → costs
Newlove, however, didn't feel the pinch.
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Newlove → feel → pinch
For years, she's fertilized her plants with a homemade, fermented compost known as bokashi.
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she → fertilize → bokashi
With roots in ancient Korean farming traditions and popularized in Japan, bokashi is relatively easy to make.
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bokashi → popularize → Japan
According to Newlove, it's also highly effective.
uncertain
it → accord → Newlove
"We could now have a potent fertilizer —– organic —– which is ready in [weeks].
uncertain
which → have → weeks
For us that was amazing," Newlove says.
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Newlove → say → us
Bokashi has become so popular in Zambia, she says, that farmers now sell homemade bokashi compost at markets and swap tips on social media.
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farmers → become → media
The Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre offers bokashi training and often sends students to her farm to see it in action.
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it → offer → action
"[Zambian farmers] have been looking for alternatives — how to grow food but reduce costs," says Rabecca Mwila of the Knowledge Platform for Organic Agriculture and Agroecology in Africa.
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Mwila → look → Africa
"Inputs such as bokashi have come in to provide a cushion for them.
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Inputs → come → them
For home composters, bokashi is a method of fermenting food scraps in an anaerobic environment — no oxygen allowed!
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oxygen → ferment → environment
But many farmers make a version of bokashi outdoors.
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farmers → make → bokashi
Ingredients are often easy to find on a farm: leaves or crop residues, animal dung, charcoal and ash from a fireplace.
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Ingredients → find → fireplace
Then, they add yeast and a source of sugar (molasses or bananas, in a pinch) to jump start the fermentation process.
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they → add → process
The mixture heats up as microbes break it down.
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microbes → heat → it
After a couple of weeks of fermentation, the concoction is buried underground near Newlove's crops, so it can break down completely.
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it → bury → crops
"There's a lot of excitement from farmers because they've been able to testify that it's cheaper for them, and their soil is rebuilding," Mwila says.
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Mwila → be → them
"They're able to see earthworms.
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They → see → earthworms
"
As climate change makes rainfall less predictable and dry seasons longer, Mwila says farmers are increasingly interested in inexpensive, sustainable options.
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farmers → make → options
Many voice concerns about the longer-term impact of commercial fertilizers.
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Many → voice → fertilizers
"Because of the overuse of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides and herbicides, the soil is completely depleted," says Mwila.
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Mwila → deplete → fertilizers
Zambia once imported nearly all of its fertilizer.
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Zambia → import → fertilizer
After global prices tripled following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, finding alternatives became a matter of food security.
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finding → triple → security
In addition to bokashi, the Zambian government has promoted the growth of its domestic fertilizer industry.
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government → promote → industry
Last week, a Chinese-Zambian conglomerate announced its intention to build a $1.5 billion fertilizer plant in the country.
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conglomerate → announce → country
Although global fertilizer prices largely dropped over the summer, including in Zambia, some fertilizers remain expensive in southern African countries, including Malawi, Tanzania and South Africa.
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fertilizers → drop → Malawi
While the government subsidizes fertilizer, there isn't always enough to go around.
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government → subsidize → fertilizer
Donald Zulu, a lecturer and researcher at Copperbelt University in northern Zambia, says that without subsidies — a farmer will pay about $400 USD to buy enough fertilizer to grow 2.5 acres of corn.
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farmer → say → corn
"It's quite expensive and out of reach for many smallholder farmers," Zulu says.
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Zulu → say → farmers
Do veggies like it?
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veggies → like → it
Seeking an alternative, he started working with WeForest and local farmers to study how well bokashi worked on corn and cabbage in 2024.
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bokashi → seek → 2024
"The results were very encouraging," Zulu says.
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Zulu → say → ?
…and 7 more, not listed.
The Aporia
