Iran’s blockade raises alarm in agriculture and reaffirms the urgency for fertilizer research

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The recent escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf, marked by the blockade of the Strait of Hormuz and the consequent surge in urea and natural gas prices, has exposed the strategic vulnerability of food production in Brazil. According to data from the consulting firm Agrinvest, approximately 41% of the country’s urea imports pass through this route, which is now under threat. In this scenario, food sovereignty ceases to be a theoretical concept and becomes a state emergency. It is in this context of global crisis that Coppe’s innovations gain protagonism: researchers at the institution have already analyzed technologies that transform urban waste and biogas into nitrogen fertilizers, offering real protection against geopolitical conflicts.

From paradox to autonomy: the role of PNF

Brazil faces a paradox that threatens its security: despite being a giant food exporter (US$164.3 billion in 2024), it maintains a critical dependence on the inputs that sustain its productivity. According to an analysis by Insper Agro Global and data from Embrapa, approximately 90% of the country’s fertilizer consumption is supplied by imports. With the instability in Iran and restrictions imposed by major producers such as Russia and China, the National Fertilizer Plan (PNF) finds in Coppe’s research the materialization of its goals: to reduce external dependence by 2050 through a circular economy.

The technological route to sovereignty

With the recent interruption of liquefied natural gas (LNG) production, used in the production of nitrogen fertilizers, and the surge in input prices in Egypt, Coppe’s Laboratory of Software Development for Process Optimization and Control (LADES) already has the scientific routes that eliminate the need for imported natural gas. The technology, coordinated by professors Argimiro Secchi and Príamo Melo, from the Chemical Engineering Program (PEQ), uses biogas from landfill treatment plants as well as agricultural and urban organic waste as raw material.

“Conventional urea production depends almost entirely on fossil fuels and emits approximately one ton of CO₂ for every ton produced,” explains Professor Príamo Melo. “Our solution not only decarbonizes this process, but also transforms an environmental liability into a strategic asset, reducing the exposure of national agribusiness to conflicts in unstable regions, such as those we see today in the Middle East and Eastern Europe.”

Computer simulations by LADES indicate that production from waste is technically feasible and economically competitive in cities with more than 600,000 inhabitants. Studies show that it is possible to obtain fertilizer with a purity greater than 90% at costs close to those of imported products, which are currently suffering from inflation resulting from wars.

Alignment with the National Fertilizer Plan and circular economy

Coppe’s innovations make it possible to materialize the guidelines of the National Fertilizer Plan (PNF), a state policy that has established ambitious goals to reduce the country’s external dependence by 2050. The PNF prioritizes precisely the development of sustainable technologies and the circular economy, a concept that proposes transforming waste into resources, closing production cycles and generating value from what was previously discarded.

“This research delivers exactly what the PNF advocates: national technological innovation that promotes sovereignty and efficiency,” highlights Melo, who is also part of the Management Committee for Strategies to Promote Fertilizer Production in the State of Rio de Janeiro. “We are converting an urban problem, waste management, into a strategic solution for the countryside.”

Innovation ecosystem: CEFENP and FertBrasi Network

Brazil’s response to the global crisis will be enhanced by integrating this technology into the Center of Excellence in Fertilizers and Plant Nutrition (CEFENP), which is being implemented at UFRJ’s Science Park. The Center, presented by the Ministry of Agriculture at COP30, will act as a hub to accelerate the transition of these already evaluated solutions from the laboratory to the industry, connecting them to the FertBrasil Network.

The global relevance of this innovation is already attracting international attention. In early 2025, an international mission on sustainable agriculture visited Rio de Janeiro to learn about the project, and Professor Príamo Melo presented the results at the Darsh Wasan Lecture 2025 in the US, demonstrating that the answer to the security of the Brazilian countryside may lie in the intelligent management of urban waste and agricultural residues.

Multiple benefits

In addition to mitigating geopolitical vulnerability, each fertilizer production plant using waste can prevent the emission of hundreds of thousands of tons of CO₂ per year. For Brazil, this advancement means less waste sent to landfills, a strengthened national industry and a guarantee that grain production will not be held hostage by blockades in the Strait of Hormuz.