Organic manure has become gold in Katsina State as farmers rush to stockpile them as substitute to fertiliser, which many say is beyond their reach.
Our correspondent in the state reports that rising market prices of farm produce and that of chemical fertiliser is fueling the mad rush for organic manure.
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A bag of urea fertiliser now goes for N16,000, that of NPK 15:15:15 while 20:10:10 goes for N21,000 and N16,000 respectively, a development that made peasant farmers to massively seek alternative inorganic manure.
This, our correspondent further reports, has further jerked up price of manure in virtually all parts of the state and youths and women are now making brisk business from gathering waste, which they decompose into manure.
Daily Trust on Sunday reports that the use of manure was an old practice among peasant farmers in the state to improve their farms’ fertility until the introduction of chemical fertiliser and other inputs that most farmers now rely upon for instantaneous results.
But according to some of the farmers, the rising cost of chemical fertiliser and other inputs, as well as the adverse effects they have on the soil, has made the farmers to fully revert to the use of manure.
Shamsu Abdullahi, a farmer in Malumfashi, said the growing demand for manure had made almost every household to have secured refuse disposal place to save manure for sale or use in their farms.
“Check around towns and villages, every refuse disposal place you see belongs to someone who periodically removes nylons, bottles and tins and
allows it to decompose before he sells or used it in his farm.
“Children of 10 to 16 years now exploit opportunities in refuse disposal as some of them can earn up to N30,000 at the eve of planting season,” Shamsu Abdullahi said.
He added that gutters, drainages, culverts are now lucrative sources of revenue to local youths and farmers.
“Manure entrepreneurs are now booking for cesspits at home. They also partake in culverts and drainage clearance, especially in dry season to gather decomposed wastes for processing as manure,” he said.
One of the refuse workers in Funtua, Hussaini Adamu, said that in the past four years, he had realised not less than N500,000 from the sale of manure to farmers.
“Apart from the other menial jobs I do for a living, I also prepare manure from refuse disposal centres every year because the demand is increasing considering the rise in prices of chemical fertiliser and farm produce. I sold manure of N160,000 last year alone. But it is a tedious job that requires you to work in a filthy environment,” he said.
On whether they were aware of the health implications of working on refuse dump grounds, Adamu pointed out that they had become de factor sanitary workers in their areas.
“If not for the high demand of manure by farmers, our environments would
have been inhabitable as sanitary work and inspection are in decline and our population is fast growing. By May or June, our environment will be clean as dumping grounds, culverts and drainages will be cleared,” Adamu said.
Some of the residents interviewed by our reporter expressed joy that their environment was no longer littered with dirt.
Aminu Sani said even at home, his wives would keep refuse to decompose before selling it to farmers.
“Women take partake in the business. They pile up refuse from their homes. Sometimes they buy in piecemeal from children. Some of the children can go far in the bush to gather animal dung and mix it with refuse to decompose. At the end, they earn up to N50,000, depending on the quality of the manure,” said Aminu Sani.
