Bio-fermentation for Soil Improvement (Thailand)
Type: Technologies
Creation: 2018-12-02 05:50 Updated: 2022-04-20 09:53
Compilers: Kukiat SOITONG
Reviewers: William Critchley, Rima Mekdaschi Studer, Joana Eichenberger
Country/ region/ locations where the Technology has been applied and which are covered by this assessment
- Country: Thailand
- Region/ State/ Province: Eastern region
- Further specification of location (e.g. municipality, town, etc.), if relevant: 62/1 Moo5 Maiket Sub-district, Muang District, Prachinburi Province 25230, Thailand
- Map: View Map
Description of the SLM Technology
Short description of the Technology
Bio-fermentation for the production of organic soil amendments is an alternative technology that helps restore degraded land caused by intensive use and return it to a fertility level that can produce crops effectively.
Detailed description of the Technology
Bio-fermentation for the production of organic soil improvement amendments is an alternative technology that helps restore degraded land caused by intensive use and return it to a fertility level that can produce crops effectively. A study was carried out in Prachinburi Province, Thailand, where there are chemical and physical degradation problems on the land. The area is lowland, with very sandy soil. The soil structure is poor and drainage is very slow. The organic matter and plant nutrient contents and soil fertility are low. Rice is grown but it gives very low yields. Farmers have changed their rice fields to orchards and grow fruit and other edible crops such as durian, banana, lemon, vegetables (including Acacia pennata – Cha-om). They developed the land by digging ditches to make 1m-wide beds for growing crops and 0.8m-wide x 0.8m-deep drainage ditches. Farmers apply high rates of chemicals for both pest/weed control and fertilizers, continuously. This is the main reason why farmers find the productivity of their land decreasing, caused by chemical soil degradation, and their farm investment has become unprofitable.
Organic agriculture has been found to be their solution. Farmers have learnt to develop their own bio-fermentation technology to produce organic fertilizers for soil improvement. There are three types of biological fermentation: (1) production of bio-fermented solution from discarded fish by-products by using microbial activators, (2) production of photosynthetic microorganisms, and (3) production of bio-fermented water from rice flour water. They use the three types of bio-fermentation products to improve the soil by mixing at a rate of 1:1:1 per 200 L of water and applying to the soil during the first 3 years of fruit-tree planting. The use of bio-fermentation to improve the soil involves a number of important activities: one is the process to produce bio-fermented solutions and the other is how to apply such solutions.
The impacts of the technology that the farmers have found are that it makes the soil more fertile, and organic matter and microorganisms in the soil (incl. earthworms) increase. The benefits from nutrients in the soil increase, as durian saplings can be grown which can be sold at a high price (e.g. 180 THB/sapling). The cost of the technology is low because the farm’s waste materials are used. The farmers’ income increases; farmers enjoy better life with no debts – they are self-reliant as they are using environmentally friendly technology. There are reasons why farmers like this technology. This technology comprises the knowledge derived from experiential/ practical experiments in the area of farmer-prototype technology users who can see the real results from using it. The methods/procedures are not complicated; it is therefore easy to use. The technology is available through many channels, so farmers can access it easily. But there are some reasons why farmers still do not agree with this technology, i.e. there have been no technical documents with analytical data of plant nutrients or other effective ingredients to support it. Other farmers generally lack the motivation to adopt the technology.
Photos of the Technology
- 📍 62/1 Moo5 Maiket Sub-district, Muang District, Prachinburi Province 25230, Thailand
- 📷 Parichart Paipakvan
- 📍 62/1 Moo5 Maiket Sub-district, Muang District, Prachinburi Province 25230, Thailand
- 📷 Parichart Paipakvan
- 📍 62/1 Moo5 Maiket Sub-district, Muang District, Prachinburi Province 25230, Thailand
- 📷 Siriporn Sa-Nguanrat