Thiruvananthapuram Corporation to make organic manure

Thiruvananthapuram: With most households returning the organic manure they produce at home compost bins as they have little use of it, the corporation is planning to launch an organic manure for organic farming projects which will make use of the compost to enrich soil in grow bags. Corporation officials said the project was included in the draft of this year’s corporation projects and the recently-held development seminar had decided to take the project forward.

It is understood that the inability of Haritha Gramam, the waste management agency that works in many of the Corporation's Suchitwa wards, to dispose of the compost has also forced the corporation to speed up the project. An agriculture officer   said the Corporation has indeed made such a proposal. “The compost is partially digested organic manure,” she said. “It needs to be sorted, enriched and converted into proper potting manure before it can be used in grow bags.”

Corporation sources said there will be takers for the manure if there is a proper mechanism to make it available to the needy. “We collect 20-30 tonnes of compost and gives away 10-12 tonnes to farmers and those interested in rooftop farming every month. Individuals take up to 200 kg,” said a senior Haritha Gramam official.

The agency found it difficult to scale up the process as it had no space for introducing mechanisation in the sorting process. Corporation officials say that they are mulling over using the Corporation land at Jagathy for the purpose. The agency says that there is as assured market for the manure as the potting mixture decomposes and reduces itself by 30-35 per cent in some time. “The potting mixture needs to be constantly replenished and the compost from kitchen bins will be able to meet this demand,” the official said.