A special field day was held for ginger farmers in Naitasiri on Friday last week by Baywater Engineering (Pte) Ltd in a bid to raise awareness and demonstrate the effectiveness of their locally made liquid compost soil conditioner.
In a media release, Australian Government funded Market Development Facility (MDF) said OrganicPlus was an innovative farming solution that used discarded organic material, such as chicken manure and distillery waste, to produce an environmentally sustainable and affordable soil conditioner for horticultural and root crop farming.
“We tested our OrganicPlus Liquid Compost with the Ministry of Agriculture and independent consultants and found it effectively rehabilitates soils and requires less effort to apply in comparison to similar soil conditioners,” said Robert Hay, Baywater Engineering’s Director.
“Just four litres of our liquid compost concentrate can cover around one acre of land on average.”
Mr Hay said Baywater Engineering, with support of the Australian government’s aid program, would undertake several initiatives to showcase how their product, which was more affordable than similar products on the market, could support higher yields and incomes for farmers.
One of the key activities will be the eight farmer field days held in four locations around the country, supported through a partnership with MDF.
According to the media release Baywater Engineering will also install a liquid fertiliser filling station at Naivurevure during the farmer field day, so neighbouring farmers have easier access to purchase the product.
“We are looking forward to holding our first farmer field day at Naivurevure, Naitasiri, showing how effective our product is for ginger farming. We’re inviting farmers in neighbouring communities to participate. Anyone interested in attending is welcome to contact our office directly for more details,” said Mr Hay.
He shared that the application of organic and sustainable soil conditioners was an important farming practice to mitigate deteriorating soil health.
He said the availability of locally produced fertilisers was becoming increasingly important for Fiji’s agriculture sector, with the current limited supply and rising costs of imported products because of the impact of COVID-19 and the war in Ukraine.
MDF Fiji country director Malcolm Bossley said better access to quality local products such as OrganicPlus was very important in the market, as it provided an affordable alternative to imported synthetic agriculture inputs and would encourage more sustainable farming practices and better returns for farmers in the country .
The initial field day at each demonstration site will show how to apply the organic liquid compost for specific crops.
The follow-up field day will be held at the same locations at time of harvest to demonstrate the effectiveness of the product.
The Pacific Organic and Ethical Trade Community (POETCom) also attended the first farmer field day to present on organic and sustainable farming practices.
Farmers interested in attending the farmer field day demonstration can contact Robert Hay at Baywater Engineering on their OrganicPlus Fiji Facebook page or via email: robert@baywaterfiji.com
