Kanangwa Newlove grows 12 acres of crops outside Lusaka, Zambia — and she has not bought fertilizer in years. Instead, Newlove makes bokashi, a fermented compost she says works as well as the store-bought kind — and costs next to nothing.
Newlove grows shady fruit trees, tomato vines, corn, pumpkins, a local leafy green called blackjack, and 11 varieties of lettuce. She sells her excess vegetables to a supermarket and to her workmates, and she has been using bokashi for years.
The Iran war choked off the Strait of Hormuz and halted international trade shipments, including fertilizers, in 2026. Fertilizer prices spiked globally, and the effects were quickly felt in African countries where smallholder farmers are vulnerable to rapid changes in fertilizer costs.
Bokashi’s Ancient Roots
Bokashi has roots in ancient Korean farming traditions and was popularized in Japan. Farmers in Zambia now sell homemade bokashi compost at markets and swap tips on social media.
The Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre offers bokashi training and sends students to Newlove’s farm to see it in action.
What Bokashi Takes
Bokashi is made by fermenting food scraps in an anaerobic environment, using leaves or crop residues, animal dung, charcoal, and ash, plus yeast and a sugar source like molasses or bananas. The mixture is buried underground near crops for a couple of weeks to break down completely.
Rabecca Mwila of the Knowledge Platform for Organic Agriculture and Agroecology in Africa says Zambian farmers have been looking for alternatives to reduce costs.
Farmers are able to see earthworms as their soil rebuilds, according to Mwila.
The Cost Problem
Climate change is making rainfall less predictable and dry seasons longer, increasing interest in inexpensive, sustainable options. Mwila says overuse of synthetic fertilizers and pesticides has depleted the soil.
Zambia once imported nearly all of its fertilizer. Global fertilizer prices tripled following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the Iran war made things worse.
The government subsidizes fertilizer, but there isn’t always enough to go around. Donald Zulu, a lecturer and researcher at Copperbelt University in northern Zambia, says a farmer without subsidies pays about $400 USD to buy enough fertilizer to grow 2.5 acres of corn.
The Research Behind It
In 2024, Zulu worked with WeForest and local farmers to study how bokashi performed on corn and cabbage. The results were very encouraging, with bokashi echoing the yields of mineral fertilizer.
The best-performing crops were planted with smaller amounts of both bokashi and mineral fertilizers.
Newlove’s Call
Newlove sees bokashi as a way to build a sustainable farming practice that preserves the land. She notes that making bokashi requires no mask or harmful chemicals, calling it “a labor of love.”
What’s Happening Now
Global fertilizer prices largely dropped over the summer, including in Zambia. Some fertilizers remain expensive in southern African countries such as Malawi, Tanzania, and South Africa.
The Zambian government has promoted its domestic fertilizer industry, and last week a Chinese-Zambian conglomerate announced it will build a $1.5 billion fertilizer plant in the country.
The Verdict on Bokashi
The most striking thing about this story is how simple it is: a farmer ferments kitchen scraps, buries them, and grows food as well as the next person. It is a small, practical solution to a large problem, and it is being passed from farmer to farmer through markets and social media.
The government’s $1.5 billion fertilizer plant is a large-scale answer to the same question. The bokashi method, by contrast, is cheap, immediate, and already proven.
The two approaches are not competitors. The plant may lower prices for farmers who need the subsidy. The bokashi method gives everyone a way to grow food without waiting for the government to act.
Newlove’s farm is a case study in doing what works rather than what is easiest. She made a choice, stuck with it, and now she is proving to other farmers that the choice pays off.
The Zambian government’s push for a domestic fertilizer industry and the Chinese consortium’s $1.5 billion plant are big, expensive projects. Bokashi is small, cheap, and has been in use for years. The comparison is simple, and the farmers who try it will know which one works best.
| Event | Date |
|---|---|
| Iran war cuts off Strait of Hormuz | 2026 |
| Global fertilizer prices triple | Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russian invasion of Ukraine |
| Bokashi study on corn and cabbage | 2024 |
| Chinese-Zambian conglomerate announces $1.5 billion fertilizer plant | Last week |
The choice is clear for now: farmers can wait for the government’s factory or they can start digging in the ground right away.
Where the paper stands
The paper backs Kanangwa Newlove’s low-cost bokashi fertilizer solution and is against the foreign entanglements that spiked fertilizer prices globally, even for a small Zambian farmer’s everyday costs. The paper’s position is to focus at home and keep the channels open for trade, diplomacy and compromise. The story shows the damage of foreign entanglements through the Iran war, which choked off the Strait of Hormuz and halted international trade shipments, pushing up fertilizer costs across Africa.
Newlove’s story is a case study in doing what works rather than what is easiest. She makes bokashi from kitchen scraps, buried underground near her crops, and she grows her food as well as the next person. The Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre offers training, and students come to see it in action. Bokashi has ancient roots in Korean farming and was popularized in Japan. Farmers now sell it at markets and swap tips on social media.
The Zambian government and a Chinese-Zambian conglomerate are building a $1.5 billion fertilizer plant. The paper is sceptical of large, expensive projects, especially when cheaper, proven solutions already exist. Bokashi is cheap, immediate, and already in use. Farmers can choose to wait for the factory or start digging in the ground right away.
Source material: “DIY fertilizer is a blessing as farmers face steep prices due to the Iran war,” NPR.
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