Effective micro-organisms: The key to healthy soil and healthy diets in rural Fontem

Hello fans, welcome to Suzy Farms. Today we are going to share with you a story about Mrs. Nven, who successfully restore a healthy soil for healthy plants and healthy diet within her community. Kindly read till the end and share your own opinion in the comment section below.

 Mrs. Nven usually wakes early to prepare breakfast for her family of seven (7). After sending off the four younger children to school, she starts working in her vegetable garden. There she will harvest some vegetables like huckleberry, amaranth greens, leaves of fluted pumpkin and water leaves, then she proceed to the market where she sells them. When she return in the evening, she will pick some more vegetables to prepare food for the family dinner.  Although Mrs. Nven comes from a farming family, she hadn’t always worked with vegetables before. Her parents had exclusively cultivated cocoa, just like most other families in her village Takwei in Fontem. You may be shock to know that they have never enjoyed the product of the cocoa plants.  Cocoa is cultivated mostly for export to the West which makes them just bare labourers at the bottom of the business pyramid. So when Mrs. Nven finally married her husband Mr. Awung, she settled into a similar life: her husband grew mainly cocoa, and worked as a labourer in the off-seasons. But, because they were dependent on a single crop for sustenance, her family – just like the others – faced food shortages for 4-5 months of each year.

In 2016, Mrs. Nven started a vegetable garden, measuring 200 square meters. She hoped the family could save what they spent on buying fresh produce from the market and be assured of a varied and nutritious diet. But few vegetables flourished in the hard, red soil. Desperate not to lose the inputs and effort she had already invested, she drained her savings on chemical fertilizers. At first the chemicals seemed to work. The vegetables flourished. But gradually, she noticed that the soil was getting harder still, water would not drain, and the vegetables developed a strange bitter taste. Then, in 2020 she was advice to use effective microorganism which brings with it a unique approach: Effective Micro-organisms (EM) are specially cultivated bacteria that could condition the soil and manage pests. Though she was very skeptical when told, she finally decided to give it a try. 

She bought just 2 litter and begins by combining the EM mixture with fixed proportions of sugar, molasses and chopped-up vegetable waste. The mixture is sealed and stored, and the bacteria get to work, turning it into a rich, soupy compost. Once ready, the mixture is diluted and applied to vegetables or other crops. This activates the natural micro-organisms in the soil, conditioning it so other beneficial creatures, such as earthworms, can flourish. It also counts as a nature-based solution: a holistic approach to improving local conditions that promotes the well-being of people and the environment. Soon other farmers too were interested after seeing the result in her vegetable farm. They got a litter of EM and started adding it to their compost heap too.

Through a combination of trainings on her farm, visits to other sites, and connecting with other farmers, Mrs. Nven eagerly learned how to produce EM. She expanded her garden to 1000 square meters, devoting 100 square meters of it to a greenhouse where she could grow organic vegetables year-round. Since then Mrs. Nven garden has flourished. Same with most farmers in her community who have also learn to produce EM from scratch. Bingo, what a wonderful way to recycle waste into fertilizers to enhance beneficial soil microbes to restore soil nutrients for healthy plants, optimum yield and reduce pest. Yes, self-production of EM and no more buying of expensive chemicals resulted to low input and higher output. Isn’t this what every farmer of entrepreneur looks for? Low cost, high yield, high profit returns, poverty alleviation, food security, reduce malnutrition, community development, restoration of ecosystem, pollution reduction, etc.

“The quality of the soil is better,” she says. “There are more earthworms and fewer soil-borne pests. Weed growth has reduced, my vegetables grow faster and the soil has become rich and dark. I see ladybirds in my garden now, and I’ve noticed better drainage. More importantly, now we can keep the produce for a longer time.” Mrs. Nven plot is now an active community learning site. Farmers come, even from other villages, to learn how to replicate her successes.  “If used efficiently, EM can be a farmer’s friend, as it provides more nutrients and yield. This might seem rather a minor benefit to some but here, in remote rural areas, it is everything. It leads to improved nutrition, better incomes and sustainable living conditions for small-scale farmers.”

Indeed, agriculture is the main source of subsistence and livelihoods for the Bangwa clan. But these agricultural resources are also highly climate-sensitive, leaving the Nweh people with little capacity to adapt to the changing climate. Solutions like EM are therefore crucial to helping small-scale farmers build resilience and improve nutrition, livelihoods and soil health at the same time. We hope that, all rural farming households can benefit from the use of self-made EM application in their farms and bid goodbye to conventional fertilizers. There are many new effective technologies and techniques to improve their food and cash crops that we shall be sharing on this platform. Kindly like, share, subscribe to keep up with update.

Don’t forget to share your own opinion in the comment section below. We keep learning from each other and growing as a team. Wouldn’t it be wonderful if many farmers in rural areas especially in Sub-Sahara Africa were able to double their vegetable and crop yields without the use of chemical fertilizers? This will make the per-capita income of participating households to double, too. It is evident from the result as the production of vegetables for farmers using EM in their farms rose considerable while in non-participating villages, the volume and yield of these same crops registered a decline in production with little or no profit.

Mrs. Nven produces: Huckleberry, cabbage, lettuce, Amaranth greens, leek, chili pepper, garden egg, Koki bean, cucumber, water leaves, pumpkin, tomatoes and sweet bitter leaves. Her family eats well, and she has plenty to sell in the markets, where the quality and safety of her organic vegetables is well known. She can boost of a year round vegetable supply from her farm and greenhouse thanks to the application of EM. The days when the family spent part of the year short on food are now a distant memory.  This is what she had to say

“We can smell the freshness in the vegetables now,” she says. “When using chemical fertilizers and pesticides, we could not smell it – quite the opposite. And we can sell our produce all year round at a good price, even in the rainy season.” 

Watch the full video on Suzy Farms (youtube)

Suzy-Farms - Vegetables companion to promote growth, increase yield, enh...

Importance of Soil Organic Matter

 

The role of soil organic matter in agriculture

It is important for farmers to maintain healthy soil because it produces healthy crops that nourish people. Plants obtain nutrients from organic matter and minerals. Organic matters are plants and animal materials that return to the soil and decompose to produce nutrients, bind soil particles into aggregates, improve water holding capacity of the soil and harbor other soil organisms. These soil organisms convert dead materials, decaying matter and minerals into plant nutrients. Their biological activities depend on the organic matter supply and the type of substrate. The exchange of these nutrients between organic matter, water and soil is vital to soil fertility. Organic matter and soil nutrients need to be maintained for the continuous production of food. The soil fertility will decline if the land is cultivated without restoring the organic matter, nutrients and soil structure. This may further destroy the agro-ecosystem and reduce food yield. Organic matter thus plays a vital role in improving soil productivity and sustainable crop production, especially in the tropics. 

Mulching preserves moisture & organic matter

What is soil organic matter?

Soil Organic Matter (SOM) is a wide range of carbon-containing compounds formed from organic material – the products of on-site biological decomposition which keeps the soil healthy. SOM helps to feed plants, increases growth and yield; improves the soil structure, fertility and acts as a mulch to suppress weeds, protects the soil and reduces water lost. Soil organic matter is key to drought-resistant soil, sustaining food and increasing production. It can also be called soil improver, soil conditioner, or humus.

The soil organic matter is governed by the carbon cycle. The plant grows and adds organic matter to the soil through its roots, fallen leaves and dead plants. Most animals feed on plants and animal matter is also returned to the soil.  When they decompose, the organic matter releases carbon dioxide that is used by the plant in photosynthesis and valuable plant nutrients such as Nitrogen, Phosphorus and minerals.

The continuous supply of organic matter also acts as a food source for micro-organisms and helps build up soil carbon in a process called assimilation – which is vital for soil formation, nutrient availability and cycling. Different types of organic matter produce different organic matter fractions because they have different assimilation and decomposition characteristics. So if the rate of decomposition is more than assimilation, the SOM will reduce quickly (e.g. poultry manure); but if the rate of assimilation is more than decomposition, the SOM will increase (e.g. woodchips). The rate at which decomposition occur depends on oxygen, temperature, moisture, the surface area of the particle and its chemical structure. It takes more than 1 or 2 years for most organic matter to decompose and an ideal active soil organic matter contains about one-third of decomposable organic matter.

Avocado planted without tillage 

Why use organic matter?

In a natural forest, organic matter accumulates in soils.  Natural soils contain about 40% more organic matter than cultivated soils. When we cultivate the soil, the SOM declines because planted crops supply less organic residues than natural vegetation and the effects of tillage (digging, hoeing …) further increase the rate of SOM loss. It continues to decline to a level where the soil function is impaired and becomes unproductive. 

SOM influences several critical soil functions. It helps the soil to hold water and nutrient, improves soil structure, enhances productivity and environmental quality, reduces the severity of droughts, soil erosion and atmospheric carbon dioxide that contribute to climate change. SOM binds soil particles into aggregates that hold moisture and nutrients (preventing them from being washed away by rain). When plant roots penetrate these aggregates, the nutrients are released to feed the plants.

What human intervention decreases organic matter?

Repetitive harvesting of crops reduces soil nutrients and SOM. So much effort is needed to replenish these nutrients and restore soil quality. Most agricultural practices like ploughing, tillage and burning of vegetation increase the decomposition of soil organic matter and the soil become infertile and susceptible to erosion. Land use and management practices affect SOM. Below are some human activities that greatly decrease organic matter;

•  Decrease in biomass production such as replacement of perennial crops, replacement of mixed vegetation to monoculture or pastures, high level of harvesting (e.g. corn with stalks) and the use of bare fallow.
• Reduction of organic matter supply like burning of natural vegetation or crop residues (wildfires), overgrazing, and removal of crop residues.
•  Increasing decomposition rate through tillage, draining, fertilizers and pesticide usage.

How do we increase SOM in farms and gardens?

The key to soil restoration is to maximize the retention and recycling of plants' nutrients and organic matter while minimizing the loss of soil components through leaching, erosion and runoff. This will help to maintain, improve and rebuild soil health and sustain agricultural productivity. Farmers or gardeners need to continuously add sufficient organic matter (3-6%) to increase soil nutrients holding capacity, moisture and plant growth. Severe impacts may occur if the organic matter levels fall below 2%. Fortunately, you don’t need to test the soil to know if it needs organic matter or not. Soils that are light in color and compact when wet or dry probably require organic matter.

Some good conservation agricultural practices like zero or minimal tillage, cover cropping, agroforestry, perennial forage crops and crop rotations can help to maintain surface residues, roots and SOM. They can also suppress weeds, enhance soil aggregates and intact large spores which in turn allow water filtration and reduce water erosion and run-offs. The diverse soil organisms in SOM contribute to pests control and other essential ecological processes. Permaculture or well-managed integrated mixed crop-livestock farming systems are able to enhance SOM and restore soil health.

Mango planted with a little digging

Sources of organic matter

There are different sources of organic matter according to the different land use. The most important source of organic matter is biomass production.

•  Agricultural farms can get organic matter from crop residues, animal manure, green manure. The application of livestock manure to agricultural land increases soil organic matter in the soil profile.
•  Home gardens can get organic matter from household waste, commercial waste, old wood, green waste and compost - kitchen compost (from vegetables, fruit and gardening waste) and green compost (from pruning, branches, grass and leaf litter).

Garden compost is less costly and effective. Some compost can be bought as soil improvers or conditioners. Composted animal manure, spent hops from local breweries and spent mushroom compost can also be collected and used. Some councils offer municipal compost to gardeners (beware of weed killer residues). Organic matter can be stored - stacked and cover with rainproof material to prevent nutrients from being washed off by rain.

How to apply organic matter to soil

Into the soil: -Always add only well-composted materials into the soil to avoid soil nitrogen depletion. 5kg of compost per square meter is sufficient.

On the soil as mulch: - Most organic material can be used directly as mulch e.g. shredded wood waste, wood chip, bark, leaves. Coarser materials will take a longer time to break down. 2-5 cm mulch is enough for weed control or no-tillage gardens.

Leaves return to the soil as organic matter

Always wear boots and gloves when handling the organic matter; avoid eating, drinking, smoking and wash hands after application. Apply nutrients a week before planting and don’t over-fertilize to avoid contamination of water bodies.

Organic matter saves on fertilizer costs because manure contains about 0.8% nitrogen, 0.3% phosphate and 0.8% potash. Unlike fertilizers, the nutrients in organic matter are released slowly with little wastage and the organic matter themselves improves soil structure. Organic matter can be applied every 2 years because the nutrients are mainly available in the first 2 years after application and decrease thereafter. Make sure your compost is free of pests, diseases and weed seeds.

 Conclusion

Maintaining levels of SOM and optimizing nutrient cycling is vital in agricultural productivity. Some SOM fractions function as natural plant hormones that improve seed germination, root initiation, uptake of plant nutrients and provide N, P and S. Farmers should aim to achieve optimal agro-ecosystems that are socially, ecologically and economically sustainable by practicing conservation agriculture - a system that is able to convert low-input agricultural systems into a more productive one. Farmers need to understand the linkages between soil life, functions of the ecosystem and the impact of human activities to know how to enhance soil health and capture the full benefits of soil biological activities that lead to a more sustainable and productive agricultural system. A healthy soil ecosystem does the following:

• Decompose organic matter to form humus
• Retain Nitrogen, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Potassium and Calcium.
• Glue soil particles together into aggregates for the best structure
• Protect roots from pests and diseases
• Make retained nutrients available to the plant.
• Produce hormones that help plants grow
• Retain water moisture

SOM at different decomposition levels

Farmers! Let’s benefit from this knowledge and increase productivity. Take appropriate action now and let’s together feed the growing population while maintaining agro-ecosystems. Leave a comment or question below so we know you were here.

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