It's cheap, recycled, and has centuries of tradition: "shimogoe" or "fertilizer from a person's bottom" is finding new favor in Japan as Ukraine's war hikes the price of chemical alternatives.
As in several parts of the world, the use of "night soil" to fertilize crops was once common in Japan. However, the advent of sewage systems and treatment facilities, as well as chemical fertilizers, saw it fall out of fashion.
About a decade ago, Japanese treatment facilities wondered if they could revive interest in avoiding sewage sludge disposal -- a costly and potentially environmentally damaging process. But enthusiasm was limited until Russia's invasion of Ukraine sent the cost of chemical fertilizers soaring.
That has been a bonanza for a facility in northern Japan's Tome, where sales of shimogoe were up 160 percent year-on-year by March 2023. For the first time since the city began producing the fertilizer in 2010, it has sold out.
The demand is easy to explain, said facility vice president Toshiaki Kato. "Our fertilizer is popular because it is cheap, and it is helping farmers cut soaring costs," he told AFP. "It is also good for the environment."
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