Hope for agroecological farmers: Scientific Research supports urine-based weed management as safer alternative to glyphosate

The rationale was ambitious: evaluate the herbicidal effects of fermented human urine on weed suppression, crop performance and quality, soil physical and chemical properties, and the concentration of heavy metals in both the soil and edible parts of the crops.” According to Santo, the research confirmed that the human urine did not compromise the selected soil properties nor the root quality of the carrot.

That is precisely why, in May 2025, CIKOD made a strategic decision that would bridge the gap between farmer intuition and scientific validation: they engaged the Okuafopa Agribusiness Centre of the University of Energy and Natural Resources (UENR), Dormaa Campus, to rigorously test fermented human urine as a natural herbicide.