Filipino scientist taught farmers and wanna-bes about microbial farming in his Intensive Microbial Farming Training/Seminar, held

last January 29-30, 2011 at Herbana Farms, Burol, Calamba, Laguna, PH.

Gil Carandang, the resource speaker of the event, ushered the participants into his farm to teach them about the methods of intensive gardening and the concept and techniques of culturing beneficial indigenous microbes, also called as BIM. Fifteen participants marveled as Carandang revealed to them the underlying principles of the effectiveness of using BIMs in their farms and gardens.

On the first day of the seminar, Carandang taught them about intensive gardening. This is a method of designing the garden in such a way that the use of the land area is maximized, and the most produce possible from a given space is yielded with less labor. Various techniques for this type of gardening include raised beds, vertical gardening, interplanting, and key-hole gardening.

The second day of the seminar was spent for learning how to culture and cultivate beneficial indigenous microorganisms or what we call BIMs. The participants experienced firsthand the cultivation of BIMs using several modes such as attracting microorganisms or planting specific microorganisms.

Malaki ang maitutulong sa amin ng paraan ng pagtatanim na ito dahil mura at madali lang, Mang Tonio, a 54-year-old participant of the training/seminar said. He farms a tract of land just beside the Herbana Farms and he has been enthusiastic in learning a new, easy, and affordable way of farming. Yung mga pertilaysers kasi na nabibili ay mahal, at minsan napapasama rin ang halaman kung masyadong maraming mailagay, he furthered.

The event, which was open for everyone who is willing to learn and pay the Php 4000 fee, lasted for two days.

As a Fulbright scholar and considered by colleagues and students in the agricultural community as the Father of Philippine Organic Farming, Carandang travels around the world to spread the word of organic farming as a tool for achieving sustainable agriculture. He has seen organic products used in farms in other parts of the world, but the farmers buy these products, therefore they do not have

control over them. I conduct these seminar-workshops to empower farmers to produce their own important organic inputs for their farms.

Sustainability is a concern in agriculture that gained more attention as climate change and other environmental problems affected the yield of agricultural crops. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization or FAO, sustainable development (agriculture, forestry and fisheries sectors) conserves land, water, plant and animal resources, is environmentally non-degrading, technically appropriate, economically viable and socially acceptable. In a simple note, sustainability integrates three main goals: environmental stewardship, farm profitability, and prosperous farming communities.

As was mentioned earlier, organic farming is an instrument to achieve sustainable agriculture. As Carandang puts it, For organic farmers, the goal and direction is to sustain agricultural productivity.

The task is not just to produce chemical free crops but sustainably produced crops. But what exactly is his principle behind organic farming?

Organic farming all about the soil

The nation that destroys its soil destroys itself. This statement by Franklin D. Roosevelt speaks a lot about the principle behind organic farming soil fertility. It is not on the amount of organic fertilizers or pesticides you put in the plant; rather, it is about growing the soil, nurturing and maintaining it. If the soil dies, everything it supports goes with it.

Soil dies or loses its fertility because of over-application of chemical fertilizers. If supplied too much, the left-over fertilizers will travel into the soil, groundwater, stream, lakes, and ponds due to rainfall. This causes adverse effect to the environment.

Organic fertilizers and pesticides, such as cultured beneficial indigenous microorganisms, do not offer these dangers. Microorganisms are what make the soil alive. Without these, the soil will not support as much life forms such as plants and animals. Beneficial indigenous microorganisms, or BIMs, are simply the naturally-occurring microorganisms found in the immediate surrounding of the farm. These microorganisms are added to the compost pile to hasten the decomposition processes in the soil,

and thereby hasten the fertilization of the soil. In our country, BIMs can be found in the simplest foods and substances around us, such as fruits, ginger-garlic extracts, water lettuce, bamboo, and the soil itself.

Carandang believes in the phrase Feed the soil and let it feed the plants. What does this mean? Rather than grow plants, Carandang believes in growing the soil to assure sustainability. Growing the soil does not mean multiplying dirt, rather building up the soils life and diversity. This is the foundation of the system. And the building blocks are microorganisms, whose most essential function is to break down nutrients into forms that plants can access. BIMs are always present in soils and their diversity actually dictates the soil fertility and productivity. The more diverse the BIMs are, the more fertile the soil is.

BIMs as workhorses in farms

BIMs, as said earlier, accelerate the decomposition process of composts. These composts are examples of what we call organic matter. Organic matter is generally derived from living things. If supplied in adequate amount, organic matter make the soil less erodible, have increased nutrient retention, and also easier to work and plow. Other advantages include greater fertility, better root growth of crops, and improved crop yields.

Organic matter is indeed very important for plants; however, organic matter is in a form which plants cannot absorb. In other words, plants cannot directly take in organic matters. They need to be broken down into inorganic compounds which the plants can absorb. Inorganic compounds are obtained from nonliving things. Water and minerals such as boron, copper, potassium, phosphorous, iron, molybdenum, manganese, magnesium, sulfur and zinc are inorganic compounds. These minerals have specific roles and functions for plant growth and development. The role of BIMs is to hasten the conversion of organic matters to inorganic compounds. Beneficial microorganisms in soil should be diverse and in adequate amounts to ensure the high availability of nutrients and minerals. This is how microorganisms dictate the soil fertility. After all, soil fertility is the abundance and diversity of beneficial microbes and available nutrients.

BIMs also protect the plants from pests and diseases. According to Carandang, Disease-causing microbes, which are called pathogens, comprise only three to five percent of all microbes. So we dont have anything to worry about, good microbes outnumber bad microbes. If pathogens comprise a larger percent of microbes then wed all be dead. Again, the concept of diversity comes in. Plants are protected from pathogens by diversity. Diversity of microorganisms leads to competition, which prevents any single microbe from going out of control. In the forest, this diversity comes naturally as different plants and animals attract and support different microorganisms. Pests and diseases are controlled by the diverse population of said beneficial microorganisms. Basics in culturing BIMs

There are countless BIMs that can be cultured in many different ways. First, you have to find the microbes. Microbes can be bacteria, fungi, or protozoan parasites. The most beneficial microbes are those that are found nearest to the farm because they are naturally adapted to the environment. Also, it has to be collected from a place with the greatest diversity. The second step is to attract the microbes through setting out carbohydrates. Lets take forest microbes as examples. Forest microbes are collected using cooked white rice. The appearance of mold in the cooked white rice after a few days signifies the presence of microbes. In the case of Lacto bacilli, a specific beneficial microbe, the curdling of milk indicates that the microbes are already present in the milk. Other microbes simply produce sour smell to the liquid they are in. The next step is to feed the microbes sugar so they will multiply. The sugar you will feed the microbes can vary according to the microbes. For an instance, Lacto bacilli are fed with milk. After feeding the microbes, dilute the potion and apply it to the areas in your farm that need help.

Another method of culturing BIMs is planting specific microorganisms. This method is used if you want to cultivate BIMs for specific plants. You need to trap the beneficial microorganisms of specific plants you are growing or will grow. Lets use rice for an example. If you want to trap and culture beneficial microorganisms from rice, you should then select a healthy rice plant. Cut it and put inverted cooked rice container over the cut rice plant. Again, beneficial microorganisms specific to rice will be attracted to the cooked rice. You can use this technique to any other plant of choice and the same procedure of culture will be used as previously described.

There are lots of BIM cultivating methods and techniques one can try. Indigenous Microorganisms: Grow Your Own - Beneficial Indigenous Microorganisms and Bionutrients in Natural Farming, a book by Carandang published on 2003, contains all the principles and techniques of the cultivation of BIMs. It also contains other natural farming practices that support sustainable agriculture.

No other choice but sustainability

The environmental issues we are facing today calls for agricultural practices wherein the farmer and the environment mutually benefit. Sustainable agriculture is the key. Sustainability is the ability to sustain production in perpetuity, said Carandang. In sustainable agriculture, the focus is the soil, its ability to produce food forever. The cultivation of BIMs to be used in ones farm as insecticide and pesticides builds up the soils fertility and productivity and at the same time cuts the costs of farmers. For Carandang, there is no other way but to be sustainable. Whether we like it or not, the norm of the future is green.