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An ode to the humble earthworm

The disappearing 'friend of the farmer,' the earthworm, will in all likelihood be given a new lease of life in fields across the country. The earthworm is now hardly seen in the fields where it used to do the natural tilling of the soil. Its population decreased very fast due to the excessive use of chemical fertilisers, pesticides and herbicides.

The earthworm's disappearance could prove to be the greatest loss of the millennium if immediate steps are not taken to recognise its utility, according to Mewalal, an expert on the matter. Recognising the value of the earthworm and the utility of its vermi-compost manure, Mewalal and members of his group have chalked out an ambitious plan to prevent its extinction.

Muskan Jyoti, the non-governmental organisation run by Mewalal in Lucknow, has helped grow roses with organic vibrations, thanks to the earthworm. Impressed by its efforts under a project named Krishi Mitra, Union Minister for Agriculture Nitish Kumar invited the NGO to run it on a pilot basis in his home district of Badh in eastern Bihar.

The project, says Mewalal, is an attempt to mobilise and train farmers for adopting an earthworm-based vermi-composting system. If successfully employed, the project would not only be able to contribute in producing quality organic products and improving land fertility but also save about Rs 900,000 each year for 1000 acres apiece, he claims.

Muskan Jyoti has developed its vermi-compost production and research centre at a ten-acre site in Lucknow and is producing ten tonnes of vermi-compost per day. It also trains farmers to make them self-reliant in the use of vermi-compost fertiliser and vermi-wash.

The importance of earthworms in sustainable agriculture cannot be ignored if we wish to, in the long term, save ourselves as well as the national economy, says Mewalal.

Modern agricultural practices have led to higher production but due to the rapid use of urea and DAP, the quality of land deteriorates affecting the entire ecosystem and the health of human beings. ''The deterioration of land increases our dependency on chemical fertiliser leading to the fall in the population of earthworms,'' he explains.

Mewalal believes that volumetrically increased dependence on chemical fertiliser traps people in a circle of poverty. In the context of the recent World Trade Organisation ministerial conference in Seattle, it becomes more imperative that we oppose the pressure for the globalisation of labour and the withdrawal of subsidies, he argues.

Mewalal says greater efforts are required to produce a living soil by using vermi-compost to increase the bacterial/microbial population and organic matter in the soil. The living soil can, in turn, provide a healthy and balanced nutrition to the plants which result in healthy plant growth.

Vermi-compost is an eco-friendly fertiliser which is made of organic waste such as farm and organic residue with the help of the earthworm and helps the soil retain its natural value and texture without harming the production level.

The earthworm adds organic matter to the soil and is a good manufacturer of fertiliser. Its casting has a nutrient and organic matter level much higher than of the surrounding soil. Everyday, it produces nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium and many micro-nutrients in a form that all plants can use.

It produces the fertiliser and also spreads it thoroughly within the top 12 inches of the soil. The earthworm also adds calcium carbonate, a compound which helps moderate soil acidity.

The worm also helps improve the soil structure, water movement, plant root growth and minimises thatch build up in the fields.

UNI

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