Organic Agriculture Africa Blog

How to Turn Trash to Treasure: Start Composting Today with Materials You Already Have

Bokashi compost making during the IFOAM TOTOT refresher training in Zambia. Photo: By Rabecca Mwila

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The Secret Behind Thriving Farms Isn’t What You Think

As concerns over environmental degradation, pesticide resistance, and soil depletion grow, farmers worldwide are transitioning from conventional farming to sustainable farming methods such as agroecology and organic farming. While some farmers are struggling with rising fertiliser costs and declining soil quality, others are discovering an ancient secret that’s transforming their fields: the art of building living soil through composting.

Why Should You Use Compost

Composts:

  • Enriches soil with essential nutrients (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium) for plant growth
  • Increases organic matter, improving soil texture and structure.
  • Enhances microbial activity, promoting a healthy soil ecosystem.
  • Provides a natural, slow-release source of nutrients, reducing the need for synthetic fertilizers.
  • Prevents soil degradation caused by chemical overuse.
  • Helps soil hold moisture longer, reducing the need for frequent irrigation.
  • Diverts organic waste (food scraps, crop residues, manure) from landfills.
  • Helps reduce greenhouse gas emissions, particularly methane from decomposing waste.
  • Lowers the risk of water pollution from chemical fertilizer runoff.
  • Reduces carbon footprint by promoting natural soil carbon storage.

Did you know that beneath your feet lies the potential to double your crop yield without spending an extra money on chemical fertilisers?

Why Your Soil Might Be Crying Out for Help

Take a moment to pick up a handful of soil from your field. Does it feel alive? Is it dark and crumbly, filled with earthworms and natural life? Or is it becoming harder, drier, and less productive each season?

The truth is that many  farm lands across africa are losing their natural fertility because:

  • Chemical fertilisers are slowly depleting soil life, organic matter, reducing soil fertility over time. This leads to soil compaction, making it harder for roots to penetrate and absorb nutrients
  • Beneficial microorganisms are disappearing. Chemical fertiliser can kill beneficial microbes that help decompose organic matter and improve soil health. A reduction in micro living organisms in the soil weakens the structure of the soil an depletes soil nutrients
  • Overuse of chemical fertilisers causes an excess of certain nutrients such as nitrogen and phosphorus while depleting others, leading to soil nutrient imbalance.
  • Over time, soils become dependent on chemical inputs, as natural fertility declines.

Everything you need to create rich, fertile soil is already on your farm.

Bokashi compost making during the IFOAM TOTOT refresher training in Zambia. Photo: By Rabecca Mwila

Read more on composting from the Knowledge product by Kasisi Agricultural Training Centre

Rabecca Mwila
Author: Rabecca Mwila

Rabecca Mwila is a passionate advocate for sustainable agriculture and environmental stewardship. With a background in climate change and communications, she has spent years telling the untold stories of the realities of climate change, environmental and climate injustices and how they affect vulnerable communities in Africa and beyond.

The Organic Agriculture Africa Blog features sustainable farming practices and organic solutions tailored for African farmers. It addresses unique challenges like soil health, crop protection, water conservation and much more with practical strategies.
 
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