fertilizer

A Cuban state-run newspaper recently promoted an article touting the alleged benefits of using human urine as an agricultural fertilizer, the independent website Cubanet reported on Wednesday.

Nigeria’s government recently purchased potash, a raw ingredient used to blend agricultural fertilizer, from Canada after its traditional supply of Russian potash was disrupted due to Western sanctions against Moscow in response to its latest war with Ukraine, Reuters reported Tuesday.

The Economic Times of India on Wednesday reported export quotas for fertilizer from Russia have been dramatically increased, despite international sanctions pressure against Russia for its invasion of Ukraine. 

The president of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Gotabaya Rajapaksa admitted in remarks on Monday that his controversial decision to ban the use of chemical fertilizers was a “mistake,” contributing to the nation’s worst economic crisis in its history.

The IMF has become the most recent global body to release a warning regarding forthcoming global food shortages, saying that vulnerable nations are at risk of civil unrest amid supply issues.

Reuters on Monday cited shipping data showing at least 24 ships filled with 678,000 tonnes of Russian fertilizer are en route to Brazil, despite heavy sanctions imposed after the Russian invasion of Ukraine in February.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has laid bare reliance on Vladimir Putin’s oil and gas exports but the damage does not stop there. In the invaded country itself, the “breadbasket of Europe,” farming operations have virtually shut down which could drive  global food shortages.

The Peruvian government imposed a 22-hour-long curfew on Lima, Peru’s national capital, on Tuesday in an effort to quell violent protests against surging fuel and fertilizers costs in Peru directly tied to Russia’s latest war with Ukraine, Peru’s Gestión newspaper reported.

The China Nitrogen Fertilizer Industry Association warned on Friday that coronavirus lockdowns could jeopardize the spring corn and soybean planting season by disrupting the supply of fertilizer to farms in northeastern China.

Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has caused grain costs to soar as both countries contribute a large portion of those products globally.

Washington State is poised to become the first state in the Union to allow “human composting,” or the “accelerated conversion of human remains to soil.”