The National Agricultural Research and Extension Institute (NAREI) is joining environmentally conscientious organizations to embrace a globally green future, to make a positive impact on the planet.
Starting with green farming practices, NAREI recently completed the first Vermicompost project in Region Six with Brian Albert, a farmer at his garden in Philadelphia.
Vermicompost is the product of the composting process using the California Red Earth worms (Eisenia fetida) to create a heterogeneous mixture of decomposing vegetables or food waste, bedding materials and vermicast.
Vermicast is the end product of the breakdown of organic matters by an earthworm. It contains water-soluble nutrients and is an excellent, nutrient-rich organic fertilizer and soil conditioner. It is used in farming and small scale sustainable, organic farming.
NAREI’s Extension Officer in Region Six, Candy Thomas said that they completed their first Vermicompost project in August last with Mr. Albert. She said that they placed 200 worms in a vermicompost bin with fresh cow manure and kitchen waste—rotten fruits and vegetables.
“During the six months process, the earthworms converted waste materials to a nutrient rich material,” Thomas said while adding that at the end of the six months, there is organic humus (vermicast) to enrich the soil.
“Once you put the black humus into the soil, you plant your crops and they grow healthy,” the Extension Officer said while adding that vermicompost is needed because farmers have been planting on the same plot of land over and over, and they have been using synthetic fertilizer.
According to Thomas, the Region Six farmer has already planted crops using the organic humus and has started to harvest the organic humus again.
Currently, there are a number of farmers in the region who have expressed an interest in vermicompost and as such, staffers are preparing to visit their farm and distribute the earth worms. Staffers will also be monitoring the process to ensure the worms do not die.
“What happens is that when we first put the worms, at the end of the period they multiply by four times the amount so we will use those worms to work with other farmers,” Thomas said.This project was introduced by NAREI to minimize the use of inorganic fertilizer.