MAMURRAS (Albania), Aug 13 (AFP): With the pandemic and the Ukraine conflict sending fertiliser prices through the roof, Albanian farmer Alban Cakalli has turned to coffee, one of the Balkan country's great loves, to nourish his fields.
The 38-year-old farmer owns only half a hectare in the town of Mamurras in northwestern Albania, but even still is unable to afford the chemical-based fertilisers imported from abroad.
As in other parts of the world, Albania's agricultural sector has been battered by rising costs, with fuel and fertiliser prices soaring after Russia, a major producer of both commodities, invaded Ukraine.
To curb expenditures, Cakalli has turned to coffee grounds, a natural fertiliser with readily available stocks in Albania, where drinking the caffeinated beverage remains a national pastime and cafes dot nearly every corner.
On an average day, Cakalli says he is able to collect up to 40 kilograms of coffee grounds.
"The Albanians are passionate about coffee," he tells AFP from his farm.
The process is time-consuming, requiring him to first collect the used beans before mixing the grounds with herbs and later composting the concoction for three months.
But the final product is "rich in nitrogen, magnesium and potassium and is a good substitute for chemical fertilisers" and "repels insects," says Cakalli.
Many of Albanian's 280,000 small time farmers have returned to similar traditional methods to enrich their soil rather than pay higher prices for imported fertilisers.
According to experts, fertilisers and fuels account for more than 45 per cent of the costs in agricultural production in the country.
