Composting

Most farmers do not understand the concept of composting, while the big farms see the importance of composting and do it every year. Composting is key in producing a better crop yield and getting out what you put into a field of crops. The small farms that don’t compost seem to have lower crop yield and do not even get the same amount of money that they put into a field and find themselves losing crops.

Compost is a mixture of ingredients used as plant fertilizer and to improve soil’s physical, chemical and biological properties. It is commonly prepared by decomposing plant, food waste, recycling organic materials and manure. The resulting mixture is rich in plant nutrients and beneficial organisms, such as bacteria, protozoa, nematodes and fungi. Compost improves soil fertility in gardens, landscaping, horticulture, urban agriculture, and organic farming, reducing dependency on commercial chemical fertilizers. The benefits of compost include providing nutrients to crops as fertilizer, acting as a soil conditioner, increasing the humus or humic acid contents of the soil, and introducing beneficial microbes that help to suppress pathogens in the soil and reduce soil-borne diseases.

During the twentieth century composting has evolved greatly. According to Eliot Epstein in “The Science of Composting”, Epstein explained that composting to many is a simple process. The lack of appreciation for the complexity and involvement of the biological, physical and chemical aspects of composting has resulted in major failings and setbacks. Composting is a biological process that affects and is affected by physical and chemical forces. 

Soil reduction is a major problem throughout the world. The reduction of soil is caused by farms not taking care of it and not replenishing the ground as farmers proceed to take nutrients from grounds each year and the soil can not keep up. Addis Ababa mentioned in “A review on impact of compost on soil properties, water use and crop productivity” that, 

“Compost use is one of the most important factors, which contribute to increased 

 productivity and sustainable agriculture. In addition, compost can solve the 

 problem faced by farmers with decreasing fertility of their soil. Due to soil fertility 

 problems, crops returns often decrease and the crops are more susceptible to 

 pest and disease because they are in bad condition”

Compost consists of the relatively stable decomposed organic materials resulting from the accelerated biological degradation of organic materials. Using compost can improve the capacity to produce safe clean green horticultural produce and importantly increase the potential for large scale organic food production.

A huge problem throughout Earth is waste management. “One man’s trash is another man’s treasure”, according to Hector Urquhart’s. Adewale Matthew Taiwo in “Composting as A Sustainable Waste Management Technique in Developing Countries” explained,

Solid waste management is the second most important problem after the water quality in

developing countries all over the world. Most of the populace lack access to proper and routine removal of garbage. According to UNEP, disposal of solid wastes is a major issue of concern in less-developed nations due to population explosion, poverty and high urbanization rates combined with ineffective and under-funding by the government to proffer efficient management of waste.”

 Waste management is all about how to dispose of all the things you don’t want on the farm. Composting is a sustainable waste management practice that converts any volume of accumulated organic waste into a usable product. When organic wastes are broken down by microorganisms in a heat-generating environment, waste volume is reduced, many harmful organisms are destroyed, and a useful, potentially marketable, product is produced. 

R. V. Misra explains how Global interest in organic recycling methods like composting has been rekindled as a result of environmental and soil productivity concerns.Composting is an appealing option for converting organic waste from farms into useful farm resources.For various circumstances, a variety of composting strategies have been utilized.However, there is still a lack of information on recently developed methods for quick composting, particularly those that are suitable for small farmers, and it is necessary to consolidate it.The purpose of the publication is to encourage widespread adoption of on-farm composting methods, with a focus on rapid composting processes, with the ultimate goals of increasing soil productivity in developing nations and protecting the environment from degradation.

References

Epstein, E. (2017). The Science of Composting. In Google Books. CRC Press. 

  https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=1EoPEAAAQBAJ&o  i=fnd&pg=PP1&dq=what+is+composting&ots=KjwLmbR93C&sig=o9_ Y-XxNYCaZYlL5_kXIzNc8Z5E#v=onepage&q=what%20is%20composting&f=false

A review on impact of compost on soil properties, water use and crop … (n.d.). Retrieved

 November 9, 2022, from https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Getinet-Adugna/ publication/329655248_A_review_on_impact_of_compost_on_soil_properties_water_use_and_crop_productivity/links/5c13adf2a6fdcc494ff3cbc1/A-review-on-impact-of-compost-on-soil-properties-water-use-and-crop-productivity.pdf?origin=publication_detail 

Taiwo, A. M. (2011). Composting as A Sustainable Waste Management Technique in 

 Developing Countries. Journal of Environmental Science and 

Technology, 4(2), 93–102. https://doi.org/10.3923/jest.2011.93.102

Misra, R. V., Roy, R. N., & Hiraoka, H. (1970, January 1). On-farm composting methods. 

 VTechWorks Home. Retrieved November 9, 2022, from 

https://vtechworks.lib.vt.edu/handle/10919/65466