We are confronted with countless problems resulting from conflicts in ideologies, lack of resources, as well as issues intrinsic in the pursuit of economic development. Two of the biggest predicaments impacting national initiatives and local efforts are the problem on food and the debasement of our environment due to our excessive use of chemicals and other artificial substances.
A lower-middle-income country, the Philippines has a food insufficiency issue that is aggravated by the compounded impacts of man-made adversities and natural catastrophes which include earthquakes, typhoons and armed conflict.
As one of the world’s most disaster-prone nations, our country ranks 3rd out of 171 countries on the 2015 World Risk Index and 4th out of 188 countries on the 2016 Global Climate Risk Index.
Here in the City of Dumaguete, wrong and indiscriminate solid waste disposal practices pose a huge threat to the environment and high risks to human health. Not many of us realize that many of these wastes are actually biodegradable and can be converted into valuable resources that can reduce negative impacts.
Consider these facts:
For eight months from January to August this year, Dumaguete, through the City Agriculturist’s Office, collected a total of 48,155 kilos of fruit and vegetable wastes from the public market, from vendors along Pinili St., from the Paunay sa PAO in Bgy. Daro, and from local traders;
From the 48,000 kilos of waste collected, the City produced 912 bags or 32,488 kilos of organic fertilizers called Indigenous Productivity Enhancers (IPE).
These fertilizers are being distributed for free to City farmers and to various public schools, an endeavor that provides subsidy for the cost of crop production. Many have testified about their excellent organic yield from a variety of crops, like rice, corn, and vegetables.
It should be noted that wastes from fruits and vegetables are basically biodegradable and, when recycled, can be transformed into superior organic fertilizers that can enhance soil fertility and productivity of various crops.
The process of creating the IPE is simple, quick and facilitates for the creation of a large quantity of fertilizer in a short duration of time:
Segregation. As soon as the raw materials (fruit and vegetable wastes) are delivered to the Material Recovery Facility in the vicinity of the dumpsite in Bgy. Candau-ay, they are sorted within the 100 square meter area
Fermentation. The biodegradable wastes placed on the 100 sqm area are covered one-inch thick with 300 kilos of manure from cattle, swine, goat, etc.) collected from the City Slaughterhouse. It will be kept there for the next 10 days. Each week, we collect about 2,000 kls (two tons) of animal manure for use in the production of IPE fertilizer.
Spraying of vermi tea. Then we spray the biowastes with inoculants called vermi tea to hasten the fermentation process. Vermi tea is produced by mixing one kilo of molasses placed in a 1.5 liter of container with vermicasts, plus 200 liters of unchlorinated water. Since our water source is the Dumaguete Water District which is chlorinated, the 200 liters of water must be left untouched overnight to eliminate the chlorine.
Loading to vermi bins. After 10 days, the fermented bio wastes are loaded on to five cemented vermi bins, each measuring about 10 sqm meters. Each bin can accommodate 900 kilos of fermented bio-wastes and 275 kilos of animal manure. The fermented bio-wastes serve as feeding materials for the vermi worms (African Crawlers) inside each bin. For the next 30 days, the African Crawlers would break down the organic matter into nutrients that plants can use. In 30 days, verme tea is also sprayed once a week to speed up the decomposition process. Verme worms work in concert with other microorganisms to break down organic waste.
Sacking. After 30 days, the resulting pure vermicast is placed inside a 40-kilo container sack, mixed with 60 percent pure vermicast, and 40 percent vermi-compost. Two layers will be created in each bin after 30 days. The first layer contains the feces of verme worms. Worms go up every time they move their feces; afterwhich, they get down to the second layer to eat. The second layer contains materials not fully consumed by the worms. The first layer is called the vermicast. The second layer is called vermicompost. Vermicast enriches the soil and helps to ensure that plants receive all the nutrients they need to grow successfully. Vermicast renews the soil and is used as a natural fertilizer. Vermicompost is a product which contains worm castings in combination with other forms of decomposing organic matter.
Why use worms? ScienceBlog reports that using worms is not just a convenient way of breaking up organic waste, or creating fertilizer. They can also play a crucial role in remediating wastes and removing toxic heavy metals from bio solids.
Dr. Norman Arancon, assistant professor of Horticulture at the University of Hawaii in Hilo, said in a New York Times article: “…soil that has been heavily exposed to synthetic fertilizers, pesticides and herbicides lacks microbial richness and diversity, qualities that can be restored naturally by adding the microbes from worms.”
When there is too much artificiality, diversity is ruined and natural qualities of our environs cannot work as they should. Thus, the creation of the indigenous productivity enhancers is a timely initiative that can provide the right ammunition to the city’s efforts in combating food insufficiency and in preserving the environment.
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