SuSanA Library - Sustainable Sanitation Alliance

Developing fortified excreta pellets for use in agriculture Various documents on results from research grant Cofie, O. (2015)

This library entry contains background documents for a grant that Olufunke Cofie and Josiane Nikiema are leading and which is funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Further information and a discussion is available on the SuSanA discussion Forum, see link below. Short description of the project: Excreta are rich source of essential plant nutrients and organic matter that can be recycled as fertilizer-cum-soil conditioner – an effect not shared by chemical fertilizers and of dare need in tropical soils. While the principles that underlie the use of excreta in agriculture and associated benefits are known, the wide use of excreta is still constrained by factors such as the cost of transportation and handling as well as negative perception of communities with regards to using FS in agriculture. To address both challenges, this project hypothesized that producing excreta pellets could be the solution. The project explored ways to produce safe, efficient and cost effective fertilizer pellets from FS. The project focused on developing a marketable product from this waste, and explored options for pelletization of fecal sludge composts to increase; marketability, general acceptability, ease of handling and on-farm distribution, and to improve fertilizer use efficiency and affordability. The project involved a multi-disciplinary team of economists, environmental scientists, agronomists and engineers. The collective name for our various excreta based fertilizer formulations is referred to as Fortifer. Objective: The main goal of the project is to convert excreta into safe and efficient fertilizer pellets that could enhance agricultural productivity in sub-Saharan Africa and make fecal sludge reuse attractive and profitable for private entrepreneurs. Research or implementation partners: • Tema Metropolitan Assembly, Ghana • Centre for Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR), Accra, Ghana • Biotechnology and Nuclear Agriculture Research Institute (BNARI), Accra, Ghana • Valley View University, Accra, Ghana • University of Ibadan, Nigeria Authors: Nikiema, J., Cofie, O., Impraim, R., Drechsel, P. Phase 2: From Waste to Food, a GCE Phase II project started in Ghana in 2013 following the development of fortified excreta Pellets in the country (GCE Phase I result). The project is funded jointly by Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation (BMGF), UK Department for International Development (DFID) and Grand Challenges Canada (GCC). Our previous studies resulted in different faecal sludge (FS)-based fertilizer formulations (composted, enriched or pelletized) which we collectively describe as Fortifer. Title of grant: Scaling out the Recovery of Nutrients and Organic Matter from Faecal Sludge for Food Production in Ghana: From Waste to Food (WaFo) +++++++++++ Documents available for download below: 1 - Fortified excreta pellets for agriculture (paper at FSM2 Conference in Durban, South Africa, Oct. 2012) 2 - Fortified excreta pellets for agriculture: An update on research in Ghana (presentation at FSM2 Conference in Durban, South Africa, Oct. 2012) 3 - Phase 2 Project Brief (April 2013) 4 - Phase 1 Final Report (December 2013) 5 - Short presentation by Josiane Nikiema at webinar on "Large scale production and commercialization of "Fortifer" - a fertilizer manufactured from faecal sludge - in Ghana" (Feb. 2014) 6 - Presentation on converting faecal sludge to fertilizer pellets: the case of Fortifer, FSM3 Conference in Hanoi, Jan. 2015

Bibliographic information

Cofie, O. (2015). Developing fortified excreta pellets for use in agriculture Various documents on results from research grant International Water Management Institute, Accra, Ghana