Picture: Compost fertilizer.

Research is currently underway by the Agronomy Research Team under the Ministry of Agriculture on a formula to compost various waste materials and boost it with rich sources of nitrogen and phosphorous to create a compost fertilizer that will have the nutrients readily available for crops to grow productively.  

The Ministry of Agriculture, Agronomy Research Team, Senior Research Officer, Dr Tekini Nakidakida said they understood that replacing chemical fertilizer was a very big challenge because not every nutrient that a crop needed was readily available in the soil. 

“Nutrients naturally available for crops to grow are produced when micro-organisms decompose or break down organic matter available in the soil. Chemical fertilizers were manufactured to make nutrients readily available for crops to grow,” Dr Nakidakida explained. 

He said socio-economic aspects of agriculture could not be sidelined.

“Farm size will dictate whether a farmer can totally replace chemical fertilizers with organic substitutes or reduce the application of chemical fertilizers and replenish the deficiency with organics. 

“What if we could pre-decompose organic matter through an efficient composting process and have a compost fertilizer that also has nutrients readily available for our crops to grow productively?” Dr Nakidakida asked. 

He added the pandemic had given them more time to carry out field tests and observations to provide farmers with as much information as required. 

Agriculture Permanent Secretary, Mr Ritesh Dass said the Ministry understood the importance of chemical fertilizers and recognized their contribution to the economy, at the same time, it was mindful of protecting and sustaining agricultural soils for long term food and nutrition security. 

“Agriculture is very vulnerable to climate change and it is only with Climate Smart Agriculture that we can sustain our food system and socio-economic well-being." 

“We plead with our farmers to practice sustainable agriculture and do not abusively apply chemical fertilizers." 

Mr Dass said the Organic Initiative of the Ministry targeted to reduce Fiji’s consumption of chemical fertilizers, improve soil health and soil carbon, improve soil biodiversity and sustain agricultural land for long term food security. 

-ENDS-

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