DA Honors BSWM Leaders. We Must Honor The Soils Too

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Yesterday, Monday, 08 June 2020, I was looking at the (above superimposed) image of a big tractor carrying out green manuring, on which I wanted to write next. It happens that also yesterday was the 69th anniversary of the Bureau of Soils & Water Management, BSWM, an agency of the Department of Agriculture, DA. In the main image is shown DA Chief William Dar/Manong Willie with BSWM Director Sonia M Salguero, to whom Manong Willie handed a Leadership Award. BSWM is an agency of the DA.

During the anniversary celebration that honored the men and women of the BSWM, Manong Willie said that “in adapting to the ‘new normal,’ the BSWM must “reinvent itself” along with the DA’s other bureaus, regional field offices, and attached agencies “to stay relevant by focusing on four major areas: soils, water, farming systems, and policy advocacy.”

Considering the call of Manong Willie for all of DA to reinvent itself, the number “69” is perfect! In numerology, according to InformationBlog, the message of that number is “to release the past and the old to make room for new things and people in your life[1].”

Focusing on soils, yes. Green manuring is an old-gold good agricultural practice that enriches the soil naturally. Right now I identify with Philippine soils, which I personally know are degraded. The superimposed image above is that of a tractor engaged in green manuring (from SciRange[2]). In SciRange, Oliver Otieno Okumu and Hillary MO Otieno write that when the field soil degrades, the harvest is lower, the small farmer’s income is less, and his poverty is more.

But why or how does the crop yield decrease? The authors say:

The decrease in crop productivity is partly due to the declining soil organic matter levels resulting in low release of nutrients upon mineralization and also reduce(d) nutrient use efficiencies.

The reason for the “declining soil organic matter levels” in the soil is that farmers do not add to the organic matter of that soil and instead apply non-natural or chemical fertilizers. Of course, since fertilizers are expensive, this increases production costs and therefore decreases the farmer’s income.

That is why I have been looking at the above image of a big tractor with those blades cutting the soil and weeds, but not burying the green. A disciple of green manuring since around the middle of the 1960s when I first read Edward H Faulkner’s book Soil Development, where he describes trash mulching, this is the first time I believe I am looking at a proper and better way of green manuring.

Note that the soil and weeds are cut to pieces together in one operation of the tractor blades and therefore are somewhat mixed, soil and plant. This is your organic mulch already laid across the field. This is your natural organic fertilizer already applied for you.

Visiting the BSWM webpage, I did not see green manuring. After browsing, I see the whole website has much work to do to catch up with the Digital Age!@517

 


[1]https://www.redargentina.com/the-meaning-of-the-number-69-and-numerology/

[2]https://scirange.com/blog-detail/green-manure-what-should-farmers-know-before-application


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