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Archive -Seychelles

Organic waste to compost – The benefits for our country |17 August 2018

Last week the Farmers Association of Anse Boileau, through the Ministry of Fisheries and Agriculture (MoFA) and through the support of the Competitive Local Innovations for Small-Scale Agriculture (Clissa), were assisted with a wood chipper machine by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (Ifad).

Following the handover ceremony, the principal secretary (PS) in the Department of Agriculture, Antoine-Marie Moustache, at the MoFA, spoke to the Seychelles NATION to share some details as to how the benefits of the machine will extend throughout the population.

The machine, which will be based at Anse Boileau, will be used principally by the Farmers Association of Anse Boileau, but it will also be available for use by other communities at a fee (currently still being decided upon) which will help to maintain the machine, and to remunerate the operators who are currently undergoing training with a South African expert for the correct handling and maintenance of the machine.

This project comes following the observation by local farmers that there is a large quantity of organic debris on the islands, including coconut branches, leaves and husks which can be valorised for conditioning our soils. It is also a way to make use of the large amounts of organic material that can be found everywhere.

The soils in Seychelles are not very fertile, and as such, the machine will assist farmers and other communities to make use of and valorise organic debris to improve the fertility of their soil for the betterment of their farms.

In turn, this will enhance output and production, leading to greater food availability, better incomes and enhanced values.

PS Moustache notes that a machine which churns organic material will contribute towards the theme for the upcoming World Food Day – ‘Our Actions are our Future’.

To increase agricultural production, a lot of fertilisers can be used, however, this does not necessarily help and can actually do more harm than good to the crops and soil. Manure is a good source of organic matter, but it might not necessarily be immediately available.

On the other hand, organic debris which is more readily available acts like a sponge, giving immediate benefits to the crops since it is able to retain water and nutrients. This helps to improve the texture of the soil, making it less prone to erosion and this is more sustainable.

It is expected that through this project, farmers can potentially increase their agricultural output by about 33% but they will need to follow through with the accompanying stages, e.g. composting the waste from the machine, to ensure that the large heaps of compost are incorporated into the soil and used up by the crops.

To note, the Seychelles Institute of Agriculture and Horticulture (SIAH) has agreed to conduct a training on composting so that all interested stakeholders can learn how to compost the waste from the machine.

PS Moustache has said that overall, improved soil management will surely contribute towards our national food output, food and nutrition security, incomes and livelihoods.

 

 

 

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