DA-BSWM pushing wider adoption of vermicomposting

MANILA, Philippines - The Bureau of Soils and Water Management (BSWM) is aggressively pushing for the wider adoption of vermicomposting among farmers to support the vision of Agriculture Secretary Proceso Alcala that natural farming methods be made more available to agriculture stakeholders. 

BSWM executive director Dr. Silvino Tejada said that regional vermicompost congresses will be held in all regions of the country to consult farmers on the problems they encounter in adopting vermicomposting, and to come up with needed inputs for another tie up between beneficiaries and the BSWM. The congress will run until May 25, 2012. 

“What the BSWM envisions is that farmers and farmer associations will be able to produce their own vermicompost and achieve a high level of production so they can sell the organic fertilizer they produce to other farmers,” he added. 

Under its Organic Fertilizer Production Project (OFPP), the BSWM has established 2,722 composting facilities that include shredder, vermitea brewers, African Night Crawlers, vermibeds and the training for vermicomposting.

To strengthen and sustain the success of the OFPP, Tejada said that the newest project of the bureau, the Expanded Modified Rapid Composting (EMRC), is aligned with the OFPP as it would supply the needed organic fertilizers. 

To help implement the program and monitor its success, the BWSM is proposing that a federation of various programs’ beneficiaries be formed.

Expected to attend the vermicomposting congress are officials and technicians of the BSWM and Department of Agriculture, local government officials, and the targeted farmer-beneficiaries. 

Tejada said that while many farmers are into conventional farming methods, many are slowly realizing that using organic fertilizers from the vermicompost has many benefits like rejuvenating the soil’s macro and micro nutrients providing plant growth hormones and enzymes as well as beneficial micro-organisms.

Likewise, farmers who have shifted to using 100 percent vermicompost report getting harvests that are tastier and have longer shelf life. 

“Vermicomposting is a proven organic intervention used by millions of farmers worldwide. And it has been proven to be a very good source of organic fertilizer in the past 100 years,” Tejada said.