Bio-slurry a promising natural pesticide to fight against fall armyworm
A farmer fought against fall armyworm and experienced positive result by applying bio-slurry as a pesticide.
Bio-digester user farmers are applying bio-slury on their farm land not only to improve its fertility but also to fight against pests like fall armyworm. A farmer in Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ State is experiencing positive results from the application of the liquid bio-slurry on maize plant to prevent fall army-worm. On the hand, farmers in Amhara revealed promising results from the application of liquid bio-slurry to prevent striga in sorghum fields.
National Biogas Programme of Ethiopia and key partners came together to review the progress in bio-slurry utilisation after the communication by Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to use bio-slurry as organic fertiliser.
Bio-digester user farmers are applying bio-slury on their farm land not only to improve its fertility but also to fight against pests like fall armyworm. A farmer in Southern Nations Nationalities and Peoples’ State is experiencing positive results from the application of the liquid bio-slurry on maize plant to prevent fall army-worm. On the hand, farmers in Amhara revealed promising results from the application of liquid bio-slurry to prevent striga in sorghum fields.
National Biogas Programme of Ethiopia and key partners came together to review the progress in bio-slurry utilisation after the communication by Ministry of Agriculture and Natural Resources to use bio-slurry as organic fertiliser.
Following the communication, all regions started to mainstream bio-slurry in the agricultural sector particularly to their respective Soil Fertility Management Directorate (SFMD). Regions such as Oromia and Tigray trained woreda experts and development agents and established demonstration sites in bio-slurry on farmers’ fields. Model farmers in those regions have benefited from the output of the demonstrations and started to share their experiences to other farmers.
The National Biogas Programme of Ethiopia partners including SNV and ISD discussed the progress and identified gaps in bio-slurry mainstreaming. In the discussion, participants learnt that demonstrations conducted in bio-slurry as organic fertiliser on users’ fields resulted in comparable even better yields than produced using chemical fertiliser. For example, bio-slurry users experienced increase in yield of wheat, papaya, coffee and banana in Tigray, Oromia and SNNPR, respectively.
Teketel Matewos, Deputy Head of Mines and Energy Agency, stressed the need to strengthen the work related to mainstreaming of bio-slurry as it showing positive results. “There are gaps in integration of actors in areas of mainstreaming bio-slurry to BoANR and starting of bio-slurry research activities despite signing of MoU among partners, creation of regional bio-slurry forum and development of joint research projects with Hawassa University” added Teketel.
The discussions revealed that the need for technical support in bio-sulrry application, handling and management, enhancing awareness on bio-slurry through organising promotional events, disseminating guiding documents and expanding the scope of bio-digester promotion from energy biased to cooking and agriculture. This will address gaps in inconsistency, mainstreaming and management of bio-slurry.
Participants drown from SNNPR relevent stakeholders – Bureau of Agriculture and Natural Resources (BoANR), Bureau of Livestock and Fisheries (BoLF), Hawassa University (HU), Regional Biogas Programme Coordination Unit (RBPCU), Arba Minch Zuria woreda OoANR and South Agricultural Research Institute (SARI), from National Biogas Programme Coordination Unit (NBPCU), regional bio slurry officers from Amhara and Oromia as well as from SNV.
In the mainstreaming process SNV has worked in awareness creation, bio-slurry training materials development, providing support for RBPCUs in the implementation of demonstrations and in strengthening of the mainstreaming activities.