Dear Marijn

Thank you for your detailed explanation as this is of great assistance Sir. Now I can understand why the sudden need for companies to manufacture products such as soil enhancers etc.

In our country, the government is establishing Co Operatives. My question to them is creating Co Operatives for what purpose?. At the end it's about allowing people to have sustainable incomes by providing them with models,skills,training and mentor-ship.

So in the agricultural industry,many have been farming traditionally and it would be great to introduce organic methods. Also one can look at urban and rural organic farming.I would like to create groups in communities and villages and teach them to farm organically.

I have started my own vermi composting by using 3 Styrofoam boxes. First one would be for storage of liquid gold, the one on top of it has 8 holes, I added some mushroom organic fertiliser and worms.I am told that once food source is finished in this box, the worms will move into the third box.

So I am trying things and trying to educate myself with this regard. If one has to however look at this as a model or pilot project, then we would require professional assistance.

So I really thank you as your input is much appreciated.

Nazir

Dear Nazir,

I would say that organic farming is not necessarily more expensive, but it does require considerable knowledge to do it right. Also there is often more labor involved.

Switching from conventional to organic agriculture is a long process. Conventional agriculture (the one relying on chemical / synthetical inputs) essentially removes soil organic matter, which is essential for soil health.

In organic agriculture you need to regard the soil as a living thing, it is full of life small and big. A healthy soil is necessary (but not sufficient) to grow healthy plants that have some resistance to disease. Though many other measures as: crop rotation, hedge cropping, maybe use of bio-pesticides and companion crops are also needed.

Therefore to successfully grow organic you need to restore the soil health, for instance by using compost as a starting point. This process can take a couple of years and thus switching from conventional agriculture to organic may result in yield losses for some years. Unless of course you are in a development setting, where people do not yet rely on synthetic fertilizer, there benefits can occur in one season. Ultimately your goal is to recycle all nutrients and carbon (plant matter produced by growing crops) back into your soil, so you do not need external inputs (though in practice 100% recycling is not feasible).

The forum here is as you know about Ecosan, which aims to re-use nutrients from human waste into agriculture in a safe way. You could incorporate these technologies in your approach, but may not be able to sell your products as organic in that case (depends on regulations in your country).

Kind regards

Marijn

Dear Marijn

Sir you are so correct in your reply. What would you suggest for long term sustainable organic farming solutions in rural areas.Many people believe that organic methods are expensive. I am looking at alternatives to chemical procedures and at the same time it has to be feasible.

Thank You.

Nazir

Dear Nazir,

The product you describe is most likely an EM mixture (EM=Effective microbes). This is based on work done in Japan and many commercial products are now available. For work in development settings many of these mixtures are too expensive. Though in some countries similar mixtures are available from universities or research institutes, these can usually be simply propagated by farmers. However none of these mixtures will have very good effects without having sufficient soil organic matter (humus / compost) to feed of.

rgds

Marijn

Gentlemen.

Thank you for your kind replies. Here is some information I received:

The product, in layman‘s terminology, is basically concentrated “Mother Nature” — a cocktail of 30+ carefully selected microorganisms. It rehabilitates the soil, making the soil healthier, and is highly compatible with sustainable, organic farming.
Has demonstrated the ability to increase crop yields by 20% to 400+% while decreasing fertilizer usage from 50-100% thereby significantly increasing profits for farmers. The product also reduces water (estimated 20+%) and pesticide usage. Additional benefits for crops grown with product are higher nutrient content, faster and earlier germination rates, earlier maturation, and better ability to withstand stresses such as wind and drought. The proprietary biotic product is organic, sustainable, and environmentally friendly. It has worked on all crops with which it has been used, in a variety of growing conditions.
It has a broad spectrum (works on all crops), stimulative (increases yield), poly-microbial inoculants, with multiple, complementary functions. Perhaps, even more importantly, does not contain any genetically modified organisms (GMO), growth hormones, nor chemicals.
It is innovative for four reasons. First, it contains multiple groups of organisms (up to eight compared to competitors with no more than three) within each function. Second, the product has six functions compared to competitors with no more than two functions. Third, unlike its counterparts, It‘s formulation retains viability over a long period of time at ambient temperature. Fourth,the product is concentrated at 1017, compared to its competitors at 108, 109 or 1010. A concentration at 1017 means one hundred thousand trillion colony farming units per milliliter.

Thank You.

Nazir

Good day to you! I do agree with your opinion about the article of this forum that the best and simplest soil enhancer is good old compost. For me, old compost is rich in minerals and nutrients which able to help the water in the soil retain and so many other contributions.

Best regards

xxx

Note by moderator: please sign with your name and put a link to your company (if you want) into the footer of the posting - but not instead of your name. The way you have done it now is too much like plain advertising.

Dear Nazir,

I guess the question here is what do you mean by soil enhancers? There are some commercial products based on synthetic polymers, but I have never heard of any research project working on them.

As far as organic farming, the best know and simplest soil enhancer is good old compost. It helps to retain water in the soil, releases CO2 for plants and helps keep nutrients in the soil by binding them in the top soil (Cation Exchange Capacity). Composting with worms (vermi-composting) or with Effective Microbes (Bokashi composting) are improved versions of this.

Regards

Marijn

Hi Friends

I have a keen interest in organic farming methods. I have noticed that many new technologies have come about. Something of interest to me was soil enhancers. Manufacturers claim that the use of these enhancers allows less water to be used as well as less fertiliser.

I would like to know if anyone in this forum know more about soil enhancers and also if anyone has knowledge of any alternatives.

I thank You.

Nazir.