Rationale

Intensified crop production became highly dependent on inorganic fertilizers to meet the nutrient requirement of crops and thereby increase soil productivity. However, without using recommended rates of inorganic fertilizers based on soil analysis, excessive or imbalanced application can result to soil acidity and nutrient deficiency over time, as well as increased susceptibility of plants to diseases, reduced soil organic matter and microbial activity and increased environmental pollution (Das et al., 2015). Also, the rising cost of fertilizers have led to growing interest on alternative fertilization strategies for crop production.

Several studies have investigated the potential organic soil amendments as alternative to inorganic fertilizers, and results revealed their ability to significantly improve soil properties and yield of several crops due to increased organic matter, nutrient availability and microbial communities (Shang et al., 2020; Sun et al., 2015). At the same time, RA 10068 also known as Organic Agriculture Act of 2010 was enacted in the Philippines to promote, propagate, further develop and implement the practice of organic agriculture in the country in order to enrich soil fertility, increase farm productivity and reduce pollution and other negative environmental impacts.

The National Soil and Water Resources Research and Development Center for Hillyland Pedo-ecological Zone (NSWRRDC HILLPEZ) of the Bureau of Soils and Water Management also implemented a long-term research on influence of vermicompost application on soil properties and on growth and yield of selected vegetables in hillyland soils. Results indicated the ability of vermicompost application to significantly improve soil pH, organic matter, cation exchange capacity water holding capacity and nutrient levels of acidic soils over certain period of application. Certain rates were also found to significantly improve yield of selected vegetables. The results of this study will be used to validate the effect of organic soil amendments like vermicompost and chicken manure on yield of several vegetables suitable in hillyland soils.

The NSWRRDC HILLPEZ is also mandated to screen and validate agro-technologies and showcase cost efficient, socially acceptable and environment-friendly soil and water management technologies in hillyland pedo-ecological zone. Currently, the Center is maintaining various technology demonstrations on organic perennials for showcasing and promotion among hillyland farmers. Through this project, the Center is also targeting annual production of 10 tons of vermicompost, 200 liters of Mokusaku and 500 liters of vermi-tea as inputs for the technology validation and demonstration. Aside from technology demonstrations, capacity building activities can also showcase and continuously transfer information to the target beneficiaries. With these reasons, this project is proposed with the aim of promoting sustainable land management through technology validation and demonstration of organic farming and conduct of capacity building activities among hillyland farmers and other interested clients.