Chapter 01
REASONS FOR COMPOSTING
Compost is an organic fertilizer that can be made on the farm at very low cost.
The most important input is the farmer's labor. Compost is decomposed organic
matter, such as crop residues and/or animal manure. Most of these ingredients
can be easily found around the farm.
Agromisa’s Question and Answer Service frequently receives questions from
farmers who face a problem with a decreasing fertility of their soils. Due to
soil fertility problems, crop returns often decrease and the crops are more
susceptible to pests and diseases because they are in bad condition.
To increase soil fertility in the short run, nutrients have to be added to the
soil. This is often done by applying chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers,
however, are expensive to purchase and for most small-scale farmers this is
a problem. Preparation and use of compost can be a solution to that problem.
To really improve soil fertility in the long term, it is necessary to improve the
soil structure and to increase the organic matter content of the soil. Compost
is a good fertilizer because it contains nutrients as well as organic matter. The
role of organic matter is explained in more detail in Chapter 2.
Using compost as the only means to maintain soil fertility is possible, but in
that case, you need a very large quantity of compost. We advise you to apply
several practices at the same time to maintain the soil fertility in the long
term.
Some of these methods to improve soil fertility are:
➤ Crop husbandry methods, such as: mulching, green manure,
agroforestry and improved fallow.
➤ Applying organic manures such as: compost, liquid manure and
animal manure.
If animal manure is applied it should have matured for some time, otherwise it
might damage the plants. Composting animal manure makes it a better
fertilizer.
These methods to improve soil fertility and others are described
extensively in Agrodok no. 2: ‘Soil fertility management’ and Agrodok no.
16: ‘Agroforestry’.
, Contents of this Agrodok
This Agrodok concentrates on the preparation and use of compost. Chapter 8
gives a recipe of making liquid manure and plant teas. These are organic
fertilizers that are easily made to supply plants quickly with nutrients.
Bokashi is another type of organic fertilizer, prepared by fermenting
organic matter. In Chapter 9 it is explained in detail.
This Agrodok has been written for people who work with small scale
farmers in developing countries and for anybody with an interest in
composting and organic fertilizers.
Figure 1: Turning compost
(Source: KIOF)
REASONS FOR COMPOSTING
Compost is an organic fertilizer that can be made on the farm at very low cost.
The most important input is the farmer's labor. Compost is decomposed organic
matter, such as crop residues and/or animal manure. Most of these ingredients
can be easily found around the farm.
Agromisa’s Question and Answer Service frequently receives questions from
farmers who face a problem with a decreasing fertility of their soils. Due to
soil fertility problems, crop returns often decrease and the crops are more
susceptible to pests and diseases because they are in bad condition.
To increase soil fertility in the short run, nutrients have to be added to the
soil. This is often done by applying chemical fertilizers. Chemical fertilizers,
however, are expensive to purchase and for most small-scale farmers this is
a problem. Preparation and use of compost can be a solution to that problem.
To really improve soil fertility in the long term, it is necessary to improve the
soil structure and to increase the organic matter content of the soil. Compost
is a good fertilizer because it contains nutrients as well as organic matter. The
role of organic matter is explained in more detail in Chapter 2.
Using compost as the only means to maintain soil fertility is possible, but in
that case, you need a very large quantity of compost. We advise you to apply
several practices at the same time to maintain the soil fertility in the long
term.
Some of these methods to improve soil fertility are:
➤ Crop husbandry methods, such as: mulching, green manure,
agroforestry and improved fallow.
➤ Applying organic manures such as: compost, liquid manure and
animal manure.
If animal manure is applied it should have matured for some time, otherwise it
might damage the plants. Composting animal manure makes it a better
fertilizer.
These methods to improve soil fertility and others are described
extensively in Agrodok no. 2: ‘Soil fertility management’ and Agrodok no.
16: ‘Agroforestry’.
, Contents of this Agrodok
This Agrodok concentrates on the preparation and use of compost. Chapter 8
gives a recipe of making liquid manure and plant teas. These are organic
fertilizers that are easily made to supply plants quickly with nutrients.
Bokashi is another type of organic fertilizer, prepared by fermenting
organic matter. In Chapter 9 it is explained in detail.
This Agrodok has been written for people who work with small scale
farmers in developing countries and for anybody with an interest in
composting and organic fertilizers.
Figure 1: Turning compost
(Source: KIOF)
