Vermicomposting: A maturing technology

Call it a "maturing technology."

Vermicomposting, the use of earthworms for composting biodegradable materials, is an environment-friendly and efficient way of converting farm and household wastes into useful products.

The method produces vermicompost that can be used as a soil conditioner and organic fertilizer as well as earthworm biomass that can be processed into vermimeal for feeding fish and livestock.

To further promote the emerging "science and technology" of vermicompost and vermimeal production for the tropical setting, a noted scientist, Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, has written a "Handbook of Vermicompost and Vermimeal Production in the Philippines." Dr. Guerrero is the executive director of the Los Baños-based Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD).

The National Academy of Science and Technology (DOST) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST) has provided a research fellowship grant to Dr. Guerrero for the preparation of the handbook.

There are more than 400 native and introduced species of earthworms in the Philippines. More than 4,000 species of these creatures scientifically called annelids are known to man, according to a leading earthworm taxonomist, Dr. San James.

Dr. Guerrero noted that the culture of earthworm (vermiculture) for the production of fish bait is an old industry in the United States. Vermicomposting started in the US in the 1960s.

Vermiculture and vermicomposting were introduced in the Philippines in the 1970s.

The handbook, Dr. Guerrero said, embodies the results of studies done by researchers and the experiences of practitioners for the effective application of the vermicompost and vermimeal production technologies in the country. – RAF