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[av_heading heading=’ URBAN FARMER ‘ tag=’h3′ style=’blockquote modern-quote’ size=” subheading_active=’subheading_below’ subheading_size=’15’ padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=”]
BY JULIO P. YAP JR.
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Role of composting in relation to organic agriculture
COMPOSTING plays a crucial role in the promotion of organic agriculture.
Sen. Cynthia A. Villar says that those who will benefit from organic agriculture and production of organic fertilizer are the small farmers.
BSWM assistant director Sonia M. Salguero says the establishment of CFBWs is an integral part of the National Organic Agriculture Program (NOAP), where the agency will be turning over CFBWs to the beneficiaries in Regions 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, and Cordillera Administrative Region.
Villar, chairperson of the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Food, was the guest of honor and keynote speaker during the recent event.
Even the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has emphasized that 70 percent of the food we consume globally comes from small farmers.
About 1.5 billion of people globally are estimated to be involved in family farming in over 500 million small farms worldwide.
The establishment of composting facilities is a very effective waste management practice, where the involvement of the local government units (LGUs) is crucial.
It is expected to boost the institutional capacities of LGUs in terms of sorting, collecting and composting community wastes.
Tons of biodegradable wastes are produced in the country, which could be converted to organic fertilizer through composting.
FAO says that we should compost all our wastes and bring them back to the soil, particularly here in the country, where 38 percent of our soils are already degraded.
Based on a data from the BSWM, out of the Philippines’ total land area of 29.55 million hectares, 11.45 million hectares are “vulnerable areas” to land degradation or moderately to severely degraded, and 2.6 million hectares are “hotspots” or in an advanced stage of land degradation.
Soil nutrient management is an integrated system to manage soils, nutrients, and crops in a sustainable manner to optimize crop production and improve soil health.
To grow what we eat and to eat what we grow, we need healthy soils. We need to protect our prime agricultural lands from degradation which can come in the form of neglect as manifested by increased erosion or in the form of abuse such as over fertilization, excessive pesticide application, and intensive cropping system.
The CFBW is composed of one unit rotary composter, one unit shredding machine.
Here in the country, these machineries are produced by Bacolod City-based RU Foundry and Machine Shop Corporation (RUFMSC).
RUFMSC head Ramon Uy Sr.also saysthe small farmers should be supported and should be provided with the much-need help.
Organic agriculture covers the promotion and commercialization of organic farming practices, cultivation and adoption of production and processing methods, capacity building of farmers, and the education of consumers, among others.
Organic fertilizers produced from agricultural residues are intensively used as alternative to inorganic/synthetic fertilizers.
Considering that large amount of biodegradable wastes are also coming from markets and residences, there is a need to set-up facilities near markets, trading posts and residential areas that will convert those wastes into organic fertilizers/compost which could be used by farmers. (jaypeeyap@ymail.com/PN)
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