Farmers worldwide turn to manure and urine as synthetic nitrogen prices surge

Farmers across Europe, Asia and Africa are turning to manure, human urine and microbial products to offset soaring synthetic nitrogen costs, a trend accelerating as the Strait of Hormuz closure enters its fourth month with no resolution in sight.

James Mills, a wheat and oat grower in Yorkshire, England, said chicken manure from a relative’s friend now commands a waiting list — something unthinkable before February. About a third of globally traded urea (a solid nitrogen fertilizer used across nearly every food crop) originates from the Persian Gulf, and with commercial traffic through the Strait effectively halted since late February, prices have surged to multi-year highs.

French startup Toopi Organics, which converts human urine collected from schools and festivals into a bacterial inoculant that helps crops grow, reported roughly a 25% increase in sales since the Hormuz closure began, according to founder François Gérard. The product has held steady on price because, he said, supply is abundant.

Other farms are trialing ground almond shells and plant-based composts as partial nitrogen substitutes. While these inputs can buffer nitrogen demand in the short term, agronomists caution they cannot match the precision or volume delivery of synthetic fertilizers at scale. The substitution effect is most pronounced in smallholder systems across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, where farmers lack pre-purchased supply and face spot market prices directly.

The World Bank expects fertilizer prices to rise by nearly a third in 2026, extending a spike that has already pushed urea up roughly 53% from pre-conflict levels. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization warns that because farmers plan purchases months in advance, the supply crunch could depress crop yields as far out as 2027.

Source: Bloomberg