NATURAL FERTILIZER FOR CHEMICAL-FREE FARMING
Sadly, only 6% of Africa’s cultivated land is irrigated, and fertilizer use is less than 13% of that used by the top agricultural countries of the world.
At World Hunger Team, we are working to change that statistic. Few small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa can afford fertilizer. Everyone is familiar with the NPK fertilizer we use on our lawns and in our gardens. NPK is short for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). All three are important for plant growth. It is the “K” part of the equation that is in short supply in Africa. Potash is the standard supplier of potassium, but it is only found in large supply in Ethiopia and Egypt. Transportation plus the high cost of mining this mineral makes fertilizer too expensive for most small farmers. We are looking at alternative sources of potassium that are right out in the open – plain as the nose on your face.
One key source is the invasive Water Hyacinth plant that has taken over Lake Victoria, bordering Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It is a nuisance that is crippling the fishing and tourism industries of these nations. But it could be a godsend for the fertilizer market.
That is because Water Hyacinth contains up to 5% Potassium. It is quite literally the world’s fastest-growing plant, and it is pulling the mineral directly from the lake bed. We are also looking into the use of inedible fish parts as another key source of minerals. A little known fact is that Native Americans throughout history used fish heads when planting corn. They provide all of the nutrients the corn needed to thrive, with little further attention required. These are just some of the alternative fertilizer products we are working on here at WHT.
Science Direct – Extraction and retrieval of potassium from water hyacinth
Sadly, only 6% of Africa’s cultivated land is irrigated, and fertilizer use is less than 13% of that used by the top agricultural countries of the world.*
*https://afap-partnership.org/africa-fertilizer-map-2020/
At World Hunger Team, we are working to change that statistic.
Few small-scale farmers in sub-Saharan Africa can afford fertilizer. Everyone is familiar with the NPK fertilizer we use on our lawns and in our gardens. NPK is short for nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P), and potassium (K). All three are important for plant growth.
It is the “K” part of the equation that is in short supply in Africa. Potash is the standard supplier of potassium, but it is only found in large supply in Ethiopia and Egypt. Transportation plus the high cost of mining this mineral makes fertilizer too expensive for most small farmers.
We are looking at alternative sources of potassium that are right out in the open – plain as the nose on your face.
One key source is the invasive Water Hyacinth plant that has taken over Lake Victoria, bordering Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. It is a nuisance that is crippling the fishing and tourism industries of these nations. But it could be a godsend for the fertilizer market.
That is because Water Hyacinth contains up to 5% Potassium*. It is quite literally the world’s fastest-growing plant, and it is pulling the mineral directly from the lake bed.
We are also looking into the use of inedible fish parts as another key source of minerals. A little known fact is that Native Americans throughout history used fish heads when planting corn. They provide all of the nutrients the corn needed to thrive, with little further attention required.
These are just some of the systems we are working on here at WHT. For more information please download the white paper on the link below.
