URBAN VERMICOMPOSTING

Vermi composting is now popular  in Umingan ,Pangasinan. But producing  at the heart of Poblacion East  is no joke because of limited space and resources.Those are some of the challenges that  Mr. Emiliano Robles has gone through.He  learned to convert trash into cash by enganging in vermi composting.There is a great demand for organic fertilizer because farmers are now engaging  into organic farming to minimize using commercial or synthetic fertilizer since vermi cast is cheaper than commercial and have a positive effect to the environment.

Some Barangays in Umingan have prohobited the gathering of animal  manure in the rice fields so Mr Robles buys animal manure from Balungao ,Pangasinan at 13 pesos per sack pick-up price.

He  started his vermi composting last February 2015 with twenty eight (28) kilos of African Night Crawler Eartworm (EUDRILUS EUGENIAE)and after a month he harvested forty five (45) bags of vermicast sold at PhP 180 per bag wholesale price.

To date there are several organizations and individuals that are into vermi composting. They can be found in Don Montano,Calitlitan,Prado, Caurdanetaan and Annam to name a few.

Contributed by:

Vilma Lapuz-Abalos

FITS-ISS