Agriculture Business Week

Vermicomposting, the process of producing compost with earthworms, began in the United States in the 1940s. It started in the household with kitchen wastes being processed with the “red wiggler” (Eisenia fetida). The first use of the term “vermicomposting” (coined from vermis, Latin word for worm, and compost, decomposed organic matter) was in 1980 at the First Applied Workshop on the Role of Earthworms in the Stabilization of Organic Residues held at Kalamazoo, Michigan.

Since then, the science and technology of vermiculture (earthworm raising) and vermicomposting have advanced. Of note are the pioneering work of Roy Hartenstein and his co-workers on the use of earthworms for the stabilization of sewage sludge in Syracuse, New York and the studies of Clive Edwards on the role of earthworms in soil ecology in the Rothamstead Experimental Station in England.

This writer was invited by Dr. Clive Edwards, professor and head of the Soil Ecology Laboratory of the Ohio State University to visit commercial vermicomposting farms and exchange experiences with researchers in the U.S. My visit was sponsored by a collaborative project supported by the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

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Posted on August 28th, 2012 under Organic, Special Report. Tags: Earthworm, Vermicompost, Vermicomposting. Comments: None

“Ang halaman doon ay sari-sari. Singkatnas at talong, sigarilyas at mans, sitaw, bataw, patani, kundol, patola, upo, kalabasa, labanos, mustasa, sibuyas, kamatis,bawang, luya at linga…”

So goes a familiar line of the very popular Filipino folksong “Bahay Kubo.” The 18 crops mentioned in the song are Grown in the Bahay Kubo Garden of the Department of Crop Science of the College ofAgriculture of the Central Luzon State University (CLSU).

A new project of the department, the 200 square-meter garden serves as model for farmers and for urban families in growing organic vegetables in limited space. The garden has planting boxes for each crops. What’s interesting with this is that the crops are planted in the order these are sung in the folk song.

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Posted on August 12th, 2010 under Organic. Tags: Bahay Kubo, CLSU, Garden, Organic, Vermicompost. Comments: 2

Although there are more than 400 earthworm species in the country, only a few are efficient for vermicomposting

Earthworms are beneficial soil invertebrates that play an important role in conserving soil and enhancing its fertility. By digesting organic matter, earthworms produce castings that are rich in humus and friendly microbes.

The culture of earthworms or vermiculture is an old industry that began in the United States for the production of worms as fish baits. Its use for the production of organic fertilizer (vermicompost) and for waste management started only in the 1950s.

In the Philippines, vermiculture was introduced in the late 1970s. Although there are more than 400 earthworm species in the country, only a few are efficient for vermicomposting. The “African night crawler” (ANC), an epigeic species (surface-dwelling) is considered the most suitable for the tropics. It was brought into the country by this author in 1982 through a colleague in Germany. After extensive studies, the ANC is now widely cultured in the Philippines for vermicompost and vermimeal (earthworm meal) production.

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Posted on July 6th, 2010 under Organic, SPOTlight. Tags: Earthworm, Vermicompost, Vermicomposting, Worm. Comments: 12

In the last five years or so, the high price of commercial fertilizer has become one of the major concerns of our farmers. Due to this, many farmers cannot give their plants substantial amount of fertilize: Also, due to the use of these chemical fertilizers, many important soil nutrients were lost, resulting in unhealthy crops.

Here in Ilocos Sur, it has been agreed to avoid using inorganic fertilizer for five years. The reason, says the local government, is to lessen the cost of production and to restore lost soil nutrients.

For this reason, a vermicomposting facility has been set up at the 16-hectare BaRang-ay Demo farm in Labing, San Juan. Called Demo on Vermiculture utilizing Biodegradable Substrate (DVBS), the facility will serve as a model in the production of organic fertilizer.

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Posted on February 10th, 2010 under Organic. Tags: Earthworm, Fertilizer, Ilocos Sur, Organic, Vermicompost, Vermicomposting. Comments: 6

Small-scale farmers in the uplands of Kalinga have increase production of indigenous rice with the use of vermicompost from the culture of earthworms, says Virginai Buliyat, development facilitator of Heifer International Philippines (HI-IP)

Forty farmers and their families at Barangay Upper Kalinga in the Municipality of Lubuagan were assisted by the HI-P with the provision of nine goats (AngloNubian and Toggenburg breeds) per family. The goats are fed with grass and leaves of legumes such as Flemingia and kakawate. The manure of the goats is then converted into organic fertilizer through vermicomposting, or the production of vermicompost with earthworms.

“We learned the process of vermicomposting from a training conducted by the Kalinga-Apayao State College in Tabuk City last year,” Buliyat relates. “We also procured our initial stocks of the African nightcrawler, a composting earthworm species, from the KASC.”

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Posted on September 6th, 2009 under Organic, Rice. Tags: Earthworm, Kalinga, Rice, Vermicompost. Comments: 1

The Tagbac Elementary School in Barangay Tagbac Sur, Oton, Iloilo is a typical public school with a land area of more than half a hectare. It is attended by 168 students who are in Grades 1-6 and 40 Early Childhood Care Development (pre-school) pupils. There are eight teachers in the school, including the pre-school, including the pre-school teacher and head teacher, who are all women.

The school’s children come from families of agricultural barangays mainly producing rice in their irrigated farms. With the high cost of agricultural inputs (chemical fertilizers and pesticides), the incomes of such families have only provided for their basic needs and are barely enough for the attendance of their children in school.

“We had problems of poor attendance and performance of our students because they came to school hungry without having breakfast,” Head Teacher Emma Caballero said. “The children do not absorb, what they are taught in their classes” with empty stomachs. Many of them have a headache and fall asleep.”

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Posted on July 19th, 2009 under Organic. Tags: Iloilo, School, Vermicompost. Comments: None

It is used to be dumpsite where all sorts of garbage would be found. Today, it is a haven for rice crop, vegetables, and ornamental plants where residents relax and children play.

That’s the Salayusoy Park of Barangay Villafuerte in San Mateo, Isabela. It’s one of the reasons why Barangay Villafuerte has been chosen as the municipal recipient of the model barangay on ecological waste management system title in 2008. The park also serves as the playground of the children in the community’s day care center.

The development of the dumpsite started in 2008 when the government intensified its solid waste management program, pursuant to the Ecological Solid Waste Management Act. The residents were made aware on the importance of managing waste in preserving the environment, and the effect of this in them was great. They were encouraged to rehabilitate the site to turn it into a park.

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Posted on May 26th, 2009 under Organic, SPOTlight. Tags: Dumpsite, Park, Vermicompost. Comments: None

Poverty in the country’s rural areas is pervasive. Among the reasons for this are the low income and productivity of families, non-sustainable practices of natural resources management, and the lack of viable livelihood industries.

A national program now ur place to help address the above concerns intends to harness “earthworm power” for rural development. Known as the National Vermicompost and Vermimeal Production Program or N2V2P for short, it is supported by the Philippine Japan Program for Underprivileged Farmers of the National Economic Development Authority (NEDA) and coordinated by the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD) of the Department of Science and Technology (DOST).

Earthworms are harmless and useful soil-dwelling animals without backbones (invertebrates scientifically known as annelids or segmented worms) that contribute to soil fertility and conservation through their environment-friendly characteristics. They enrich the soil with humus (organic matter) and enhance beneficial microbial activities that promote plant growth and resistance to pests and diseases. Unlike parasitic worms such as the hookworm and tapeworm that many of us detest, earthworms have been considered as the “intestines of the earth,” “angels of the soil,” and “bio-engineers,” by various authorities from ancient to modem times.

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Posted on January 12th, 2009 under Organic. Tags: Earthworm, Vermicompost. Comments: 12

India is one of the leading countries where vermicomposting, the production of organic fertilizer from biodegradable wastes with earthworms, is widely applied by thousands of small farmers and many industries.

We learned aboUt low-cost but effective vermin technologies that can readily be adopted in the Philippines from the Indo-US Workshop Vermitechnology in Human Welfare held recently at the Kongunadu Arts and Science College at Coimbatore, Karnataka, India.

Much of the success in the widespread application of vermicomposting particularly at the southern part of India is attributed to Dr. Radha Kale, a retired professor of zoology of the University of Agricultural Sciences (UAS) in Bangalore, who is still very active in promoting sustainable agriculture for rural women. She has conducted numerous studies on the use of the African nightcrawler (Eudrilus eugeniae) for vermicomposting.

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Posted on December 28th, 2008 under Organic. Tags: India, Organic, Vermicompost. Comments: 31

Instead of applying costly inorganic fertilizers, farmers may produce and use vermicasts, or feces of earthworms deposited on soil, as organic soil enhancer and bioactive fertilizer.

This is what Dr. Rafael D. Guerrero III, executive director of the Philippine Council for Aquatic and Marine Research and Development (PCAMRD), said in the Trainors’ Training on Vermicompost and Vermimeal Production and Utilization recently held at the Visayas State University in Baybay City, Leyte.

Dr. Guerrero, who also heads the National Vermicompost and Vermimeal Production Program, explained that aside from vermicasts, farmers can also make vermicompost or the mixture of vermicasts and biodegradable materials such as farm and household wastes.

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Posted on December 2nd, 2008 under Organic. Tags: Fertilizer, Vermicompost. Comments: 8

Hulls, straws, and stubbles. These are common remnants on a newly harvested ricefield. Most farmers consider them waste, hut these bits and pieces can, in the long run, make the soil fertile and productive.

A PhilRice study led by soil expert Evelyn Javier proved that when rice farm wastes are processed into organic fertilizer, these can increase the indigenous nutrient content of the soil after three years of continuous application.

“Organic fertilizer alone is not sufficient to feed the rice crop, but it enhances soil fertility and productivity through years of usage,” Javier said.

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Posted on November 24th, 2008 under Farming, Organic. Tags: Fertilizer, Organic, Vermicompost. Comments: 2

Gonzalo “Jun” Catans name has long been associated with household and industrial pest control. He has been in that business since 1961 and is still very much in the same business. Of late, however, he has also turned his attention in a big way to recycling farm wastes into gold.

He has three main commercial products recycled from various wastes. Foremost is activated carbon which has many industrial uses like purifying water supplies, softdrinks and many more. He makes activated carbon out of coconut shell which is plentiful in Southern Luzon where he also has his factory.

Another product is what he calls green charcoal, a fuel that produces higher heat than the ordinary wood charcoal. It is made of grass and other biomass like water hyacinth (wrongly called water lily in this country), tree leaves and many more.
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Posted on November 22nd, 2008 under Entrepreneurs. Tags: Entrepreneurs, Vermicompost, Wastes. Comments: 16