Earthworm production venture gains ground

LOS BAÑOS, Laguna – Fourteen state colleges and universities (SCUs) and two government agencies are now being harnessed in a program that aims to generate earthworm-based technologies to boost countryside development.

Dubbed the National Vermicompost and Vermimeal Production Program (NV2P2), the venture is being supported by the National Economic and Development Authority (NEDA) and the Japanese government through the KR2 Program for Underprivileged Farmers.

The Los Baños-based Department of Science and Technology-Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (DOST-PCAMRD) is coordinating the program.

Under the program, PCAMRD executive director Rafael Guerrero III said 16 regional vermicompost and vermimeal production centers have been put up across the country “to demonstrate the commercial feasibility of the vermin technologies as an economical and environment-friendly option for recycling of biodegradable materials (household, farm, and municipal wastes).”

Guerrero presented the project’s accomplishments in his executive report on PCAMRD’s major achievements in 2007 in a recent program marking the council’s 20th anniversary.

The program was launched last year to promote vermicompost and vermimeal technologies nationwide through training and technology demonstration and transfer strategies with SCUs and other government agencies.

Vermicompost and vermimeal are organic fertilizer and feeds, respectively, produced from earthworm.

Vermicompost is a soil amendment rich in plant nutrients, organic matter, and plant growth-enhancing substances produced by composting earthworm with proper culture techniques. It can replace up to 50 percent of chemical fertilizers used in gardens and plantations.

Vermicompost has also been found effective in promoting the natural food of fish in fishponds and as a food supplement for fish, livestock, and poultry. It only costs P2 to P3 to produce a kilogram while it can be sold for P5 to P10 per kilogram.

Vermimeal can substitute for imported high-quality fishmeal for use in aquaculture and agriculture. The price of locally produced vermimeal has been found competitive with that of imported fishmeal.

The 16 regional centers are now producing the suitable earthworms species (Eudrilus eugeniae) for dissemination nationwide at an affordable price to increase access of small farmers to earthworm biomass and enhance livelihood opportunities while reducing pollution. Nine of the centers are in Luzon, namely the Kalinga-Apayao State College in Tabuk City, Kalinga; Nueva Vizcaya State University in Bayombong, Nueva Vizcaya; Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University in La Union; Central Luzon State University, Department of Agriculture-Bureau of Fisheries and Aquatic Resources-National Fisheries Technology Center, DOST-Region 3, all based in the Science City of Muñoz, Nueva Ecija; Cavite State University in Indang, Cavite; Western Palawan University in Puerto Princesa City; and Camarines Norte State College in Daet.

Those in the Visayas are the University of the Philippines Visayas in Miag-ao, Iloilo; Visayas State University in Baybay City, Leyte; and Central Visayas State College of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries in Bilar, Bohol.

The centers in Mindanao are the University of Southern Mindanao in Kabacan, North Cotabato; Central Mindanao University in Musuan, Bukidnon; Northern Mindanao State Institute of Science and Technology in Butuan City; and Josefina H. Cerilles State College in San Miguel, Mati, Zamboanga del Sur.