A Lilongwe-based company, Environmental Industries Malawi says it has finished conducting a trial for a urine generated fertilizer called “Bio-Nitrate Fertilizer”.
Founder and manager of the company Goodfellow Phiri has told ProjectM in an interview that trials conducted in the just ended rainy season have indicated that the fertilizer is capable of helping farmers harvest more yields than using chemical fertilizers.
Phiri says he launched the trial after some farmers expressed reservations over its effectiveness.
“I started manufacturing this product in 2017, but over the years, a lot of farmers have been refusing to purchase it saying it is unreliable,” Phiri said.
The production of the fertilizer uses human urine as the main raw material and water.
“Human urine or urine in general contains a lot of nutrients that plants use including nitrogen and our company has utilized this to come up with this fertilizer,” said Phiri.
He has since described the fertilizer as reliable, saying farmers who used the product in the just ended growing season have realized more harvests at a much lower cost compared to those who opted for chemical fertilizers.
“We are urging those still doubting about it’s effectiveness to purchase it and use it for winter cropping,” he said.
The company has lamented the slow adoption of innovative ways of farming by local farmers, saying it took 5 years from 2017 for a farmer to purchase a gallon of the fertilizer.
The fertilizer is being sold in gallons at the company’s shop located in Lilongwe.
