Jabulani

You just published an article in Frontiers in Sustainable Food Systems. Was it a smooth process, or did you have to edit? Tell us more about this experience.

It was not smooth at all. But it was the kind of rigorous process that makes you proud of the outcome. I received detailed feedback from three independent reviewers, and the revisions were not minor. I had to edit extensively and even redo parts of the analysis to strengthen the evidence and clarity. What surprised me most was that after addressing the first round, there was still a second round of comments before the paper was finally accepted. Looking back, I see it as a robust quality assurance process. It pushed me to sharpen the articulation of the findings and produce a final paper that is truly worthy of a high-impact journal in sustainable food systems.

12 of your FAR LeaF cohort were co-authors. Tell me how this came about and how you found touchpoints in your work.

This collaboration was born from the FAR-LeaF experience itself. During our first workshop, we had the rare chance to interact closely with fellows from different countries, disciplines, and research traditions. Very quickly, we realised we were not just working in parallel. We were working on the same story from different angles. That moment created an exciting spark. The touchpoints were natural because many of us are focused on the core challenges shaping food systems in the Global South, including sustainability, innovation, equity, and policy relevance. What made it special is that it did not end at networking. The clusters created a real structure for continued collaboration. Co-authoring the paper became a meaningful way to advance cross-cutting science and ensure our research contributes to informed policy recommendations across Africa and beyond.

Beyond the bottle: factors affecting adoption of liquid urine fertilizer among https://doi.org/10.3389/fsufs.2025.1736709

How did it come about that you work with urine-based fertilisers? What inspired you to become involved with this topic?

My inspiration comes directly from the realities faced by smallholder farmers in Malawi. I have always been driven by one central question. How do we develop solutions that farmers can actually afford, access, and use sustainably? Building on my PhD work at Kyoto University, I saw that urine fertiliser from ecological sanitation toilets has strong potential as a low-cost nitrogen source. For many income-constrained farmers, inorganic fertiliser is simply unaffordable. That makes alternative nutrient pathways not just interesting, but essential. However, I also discovered a significant limitation. Liquid urine fertiliser suffers major nitrogen losses through leaching and volatilisation. That is when I realised the innovation had to go beyond reuse. It had to solve the efficiency problem. That is what inspired the development of granulated urine fertiliser. The goal is simple and transformative. Convert liquid urine into a granular product that supports slow nitrogen release, reduces losses, and improves crop productivity.

There is also a human story behind it. Climate shocks, such as recent tropical cyclones, have hit women and youth especially hard. This work is also about resilience and recovery. It is about ensuring vulnerable groups can access affordable organic fertilisers that support food security and income stability.

The smell of urine-based fertilisers seems to be a significant problem for smallholder farmers. How do you address this?

Yes, and farmers are very direct about it. The smell is one of the most significant barriers to adoption, and it cannot be ignored. That is precisely why odour reduction is not a side issue in my research. It is central. The granulated urine fertiliser is processed with special precipitants, which significantly reduce odour compared to raw or liquid urine fertiliser. In simple terms, we are taking something farmers are hesitant to touch and transforming it into a product that is more acceptable, more practical, and easier to handle. That is the kind of innovation that makes uptake realistic.

What is the most exciting information gleaned so far by your research, and how do you plan to harness it for your work in the following months?

The most exciting finding is farmers' willingness to use granulated fertiliser. That is a breakthrough. It means science is not just staying in the lab. It has a real chance of moving into communities. Another encouraging insight is that farmers are also willing to provide space for local urine collection systems. That is huge. It signals long-term sustainability and shows that circular agricultural systems can be embraced at the community level.

In the coming months, my focus is on scaling the evidence. I am currently conducting field trials in collaboration with government counterparts to deliver strong results that can support certification through the Department of Research Services under the Ministry of Agriculture. Beyond trials, I am also pursuing investment partnerships. My vision is to support the establishment of a large-scale organic fertiliser production facility. This would strengthen local production, support import substitution, and contribute to Malawi's agricultural transformation by providing affordable, climate-smart nutrient solutions.

Dr Jabulani Nyengere in conversation with Heidi Sonnekus (FAR-LeaF programme)