American Natural Fertilizer Introduced to Cambodian Farmers

By Soy Sophea

It takes nearly three months for Chung Say to test a new liquid fertilizer on his three hectares of land devoted to rice farming. Chung Say, 45, a farmer living in Samrong district, Takeo province, said that he was curious to use the new natural fertilizer in order to revitalize his farmland. After eight years of chemical fertilizers is plot is not as bountiful as it once was.

Say said that until now, he had no choice but to dig chemicals into his land as these were all that were available. “I have used chemical fertilizers to the extent that the yield is no longer sufficient to provide a living,” he said. “The time is now right to switch to an organic alternative.”

He said that since he had used Bio One, an American fertilizer, his rice crop had increased to more satisfactory levels. It also made good financial sense as this product costs less than chemical fertilizer.

“I am very happy when I see my farming land improve, especially when this is achieved at a lower price than before,” he said. “I spent only US $33 per hectare on this product compared to the $100 I am used to spending on chemicals.”

The fertilizer is a revolutionary solution to some of the most pressing concerns of world agriculture, is kind to the environment and is economical said Yung Samrok, general manager for Bio One Co. Ltd.

Samrok said that the fertilizer revitalizes farmlands by promoting deep root penetration through improved soil structure. He added that it provides the right environment to nurtures corps, which are healthier and more resilient to environmental elements such insects and drought.

He asserted that Bio One fertilizer is 100 percent natural, concentrated liquid microbial biomass, and it contains a wide variety of free living and naturally occurring soil microbes and their nutrient media. It also has the ability to fix atmospheric nitrogen, making nitrate available to plants.

He said that each one liter bottle of Bio One is enough to cover one hectare of land using a simple method: one liter of Bio One is mixed with 1,000 liters of water. To this, one kilo of local sugar palm is added and the liquid left to rest for 48 hours. The product has been available in Cambodia since May 2008.

The product has been approved by the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MoAFF). 160 field tests have also been carried out in Cambodia. These tests have mostly concentrated on provinces where farmlands have been damaged by many years of chemical fertilizer use.

These tests have so far demonstrated that Bio One is the right fertilizer to revitalize and improve Cambodia’s farmland, and increase resistance to disease, insects, and drought. More importantly, Bio One fertilizer makes farming more economical by keeping fertilizer costs down.

However, Sok Chamroeurn, chairman of Cambodian Farmer’s Association, told the Cambodia Weekly that the chemical versus natural fertilizer controversy was a matter of indifference to him. He said that the Mekong River covers his 4,000 hectares of farming land. “I don’t much care about fertilizers because every rainy season the Mekong River gives me the prefect mix of nutrients.”

Chamroeurn added that he would prefer it if the US were to help Cambodia build irrigation systems, rather than exporting fertilizer to Cambodia.

Lim Saody, chief of the Agriculture Marketing Office at the Department of Planning and Statistics at MoAFF, said that even though there were many new chemical and natural fertilizers imported into Cambodia, the price remained high and some Cambodian farmers were unable to afford them.
He said that according to his statistics, the average price of fertilizers in January 2008 was 131,000 riel per 50 kilos. However, in September 2008 the price increased to 215,300 riel per 50 kilos.