Farmerlarry’s Weblog

A new technology that was developed at the Integrated Farm System of the Municipality of Barotac Viejo is the Bio-activated Carbonized Rice Hull (BCRH) Technology for Odor Control and fast decomposition of hog wastes.

Encouraged by the success of the “No Wash Pig Technology”, Mayor Raul C. Tupas has encouraged the staff of the IFS to expand the use of the said technology. “As the costs of farm inputs escalate, we should be able to generate more technologies for our farmers in Barotac Viejo. Let us draw from the success of our technology and introduce its many applications to our people here”.

The team led by Municipal Agriculturist Jesus Balila started with the application of the technology at the Municipal Solid Waste Center where the town’s garbage is being dumped. The tons of segregated organic wastes collected from the residences and the public market are fed to earthworms but are topped with bio-activated carbonized rice hulls to minimize odor and speed up decomposition. BCRH contains molds, yeasts, lactobacilli, photosynthetic bacteria and other beneficial microorganisms that feed on the starches and cellulose of the organic matter, thereby speeding up its deterioration or decomposition.

When stall owners and vendors at the Barotac Viejo Public Market complained of the odor emitted by covered canals around the public market, Mayor Raul Tupas instructed the team to find an immediate solution. Sacks of BCRH were poured at strategic areas, particularly those canals feeding from the fish and meat sections to the lower portions going out of the public market. IMO/EM solutions were also poured into the drains especially in the wet sections where waste water were poured. Almost instantly, the BCRH worked and the odor was controlled.

Meanwhile BCRH saw many applications at the IFS. Aside from being applied as a base for the CRH-Rice Hull-Sand mix for the No Wash Pigs Technology, the BCRH is also applied to control the odor of pig manure in the catch ponds of the project. The fast decomposition of manure had been attributed to the action of the beneficial microorganisms contained in the BCRH.

BCRH is also directly applied to the soil as conditioner and base for microbial activity. Larger trials are now underway in the use of BCRH in the terraced vegetable plots that had been affected with nematodes. Initial trials by Vicente Batic-batic and Edward Jamola, farm personnel in charge of the experiments had indicated that BCRH improved growth and yield of potted vegetables compared to the controls that were not given.

Vicente is the first personnel to use BCRH extensively. Prior to his employment in the Demonstration Farm, he had been a hands-on farmer who attended seminars and trainings on various farming topics. At one instance, he attended a training-seminar on EM-Bokashi where he was exposed to the benefits of EM and its wide applications. Upon his entry in the IFS, he immediately proposed the extensive use of EM and its similar methods like the Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) technology promoted by the Department of Agriculture.

Vicente says that BCRH is an offshoot technology of EM. “It is easy to prepare and use. EM solution is simply mixed with CRH to populate it with beneficial bacteria. After a period of incubation where the beneficial microbes are allowed to multiply, the BCRH is now ready for use”.

“Extensive use of BCRH will enable farmers to save on farm inputs and increase yield. Production will improve as he lowers his costs. If a farmer makes his own fertilizers from his farm wastes such as carabao, pig and chicken manure, he will save time because BCRH cuts decomposition period by as much as 30% thus the farmer will be able to use the fertilizers he makes in a shorter time. BCRH will also enable the farmer to reduce odor of animal waste which is also a source of conflict among neighbors in a farming community”, says Vicente.

“Our ultimate goal is for our farmers in the whole municipality to experience and install the use of proven technologies in their farming activities as well as in their whole life. BCRH for us is a matured technology that’s why we are actively promoting it. We teach our farmers who visit the demo farm, the technologies that we have developed, one of them is how to make BCRH on their own. And as we develop new ones, we strive to transfer them in the fastest way possible”, said Mayor Raul Tupas.