On March 13th, 2019, members of the Mawandiwe Irrigation Club were trained on making organic fertilizer by using locally sourced materials.

There are many advantages to using organic fertilizer, not the least of which is the financial savings. One 50kg bag of inorganic fertilizer, diluted and mixed with compost products can produce upwards of five 250kg bags of organic fertilizer. That’s over five times the fertilizer yield. The organic fertilizer also improves soil fertility and structure, retains moisture and provides nutrients that benefit the crops!

Materials:

Chicken or pig manure 20kg

Maize bran 20kg

Ash 10L

Water 8L

Inorganic fertilizer 10kg (MK 4,400)

The following pictures show farmers making a 50kg organic fertilizer at Mlezi 

Step 1: Measuring manure

Step 2: Measuring and adding maize bran to the manure

Step 3: Thoroughly mixing manure with maize bran

1. Measuring manure

2. Measuring and adding maize bran to the manure

3. Thoroughly mixing manure with maize bran

4. Measuring and adding ash to the mixture of manure and maize bran

5. Thoroughly mixing ash with manure and maze bran

6. Measuring and adding organic fertilizer

7. Thoroughly mixing inorganic fertilizer with the mixture of manure, bran and ash

8. Sprinkling water onto the mixture slowly and keep mixing the material until it is a little bit wet

9. Putting the manure in a sack with a plastic inside and tying the bag with a rope to avoid exchange of gas and influence chemical reaction. The bag is then put on a cool dry place for 21 days and drying the material on the sun to be used or stored for future use.