Organic agriculture is the production system that avoids synthetic chemical but uses organic materials thereby promoting soil health and biodiversity. Organic agriculture is already enjoying growing acceptance in many advanced countries.
The practice ensures the long term security of human and material resources, produces sufficient food of high quality while protecting the environment and conserving biodiversity. The use of organic materials in farming leads to production of organic food which is better than inorganic food, health wise. Organic food is more costly in America and elsewhere. In Nigeria, for now, we are still applying both organic and inorganic fertilizers in farm production.
Modern technology and indigenous innovations, combined with good cultural practices, effective soil management principles, management of natural shrubs, trees, cover crops, grasses and effective utilization of farms and or animal manure could help to provide close substitutes or alternatives to inorganic or chemical fertilizers.
Organic agriculture is non-chemical agriculture, which is now gaining popularity in Europe and America. Other developing countries including Nigeria should join the practice of non-chemical agriculture. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) had patronized local organic fertilizer for National Programme for Food Security (NPFS) and for Fadama Development Programme in Nigeria since 2003. The advantages of using organic fertilizer are legion. They include promotion of the activities of living creatures in the soil such as earthworms and termites, improvement of soil structure because colloidal materials in them help to bind loose soil particles.
It also helps to conserve soil moisture and reduces rapid soil temperature fluctuations and mineralizes the humus, adds nutrients to the soil which will lead to an increase in plant yield as well as contribute in balancing the acid base condition of the soil. It also helps in preventing soil erosion because it improves the structure of the soil and reduces the speed of run-off.
Organic materials can be used to store dry seeds like maize, cowpea or beans. The dried guava and neem leaves otherwise known as Dogoyaro can be reduced by grinding into powdery form and used to store maize or beans. Also, dry neem leaves mixed with hot pepper can equally be used for storing beans in airtight containers. Other indigenous knowledge include dressing seed yams with palm ash against to ward off fungal attack before planting and the use of palm ash to rub on bruised yam seedlings to avoid decay and to prevent pests and diseases. These are biological or organic applications.
In Nigeria, we cannot talk about organic agriculture without placing emphasis on farmyard manure like sheep and goat faeces, cattle and pig dungs, as well as poultry manure. The urine from grasscutters is used as organic fertilizers. The integration of animals into crop production systems will make available to the farmer almost a free supply of fertilizer. The faeces, urine and other metabolic waste products of domestic animals can all be utilized effectively in the preparation of farmyard manure. In addition, organic agriculture must make extensive practice of composting, which is the process of rotting down of plants and animal remains in heaps before the residue is applied to the soil.
Green manure and fallows are yet other forms of organic fertilizer which help to promote organic agriculture in Nigeria. Green manuring may involve burying growing crops in the soil. They can serve as cover, enrich and maintain soil fertility. The following leguminous plants can be used as cover crops or green manure. They are melon (Egusi), groundnuts, beans and so on. They have the effects of protecting the surface of the soil from direct heat of the sun thereby keeping the soil humid during dry season. They increase the amount of nitrogen present, conserve moisture, reduce leaching and generally serve as natural fertilizer, which is non-chemical, organic in nature, and contribute their quota to promoting organic agriculture.
Written by LIVINUS NNEBEDUM
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