By: Denis Opoka
Kitgum
In cotton stalks, David Odong Adonga, has found treasure.
For a decade, Adonga, a cotton farmer in Onyaa Central Village Kitgum Matidi Sub-county Kitgum District, unknowingly made a heap of the remains of the crops and set them on fire.
But in 2017, he was taught that what he saw as trash was real cash in the form of biochar.
Biochar is a charcoal-like, carbon-rich material made of organic materials such as wood, sewage sludge cattle manure, dry produce, or a combination of these.
In a process termed pyrolysis, the agricultural waste materials are placed in a tight container and burned in an oxygen-free environment. The end product of the burning is a charcoal-like product that is grounded into a fine powder and applied in a crop garden in the same way as chemical fertilizer.
Adonga, who has been a cotton farmer for 15 years, was trained on how to make biochar out of cotton stalks by the Cotton Development Organization from Kitgum Municipality.
The organization later gave him the tools such as a simple container made of steel iron to use as a burner and a grinder, to make biochar.
The first time Adonga applied the biochar on his exhausted land, his harvest was surprisingly bumper. Before applying biochar, Adonga could get two or fewer bags of cotton from one acre of cotton, but now, he gets between four to five bags from the same garden.
Farmers attest to this innovation
Because of its effectiveness, some farmers asked to get some biochar from him and gave positive feedback.
“They would tell me that biochar works better than chemical fertilizers. Besides, it lasts longer in the soil than chemical fertilizers,” he said.
Patrick Ojok Ajuk, a farmer from Pagwar Shamba village Kitgum Matidi Sub County, said when he applied the biochar on his 4 acres of land that he had already abandoned due to its infertility, his story changed.
“I used to get six bags of maize from my four-acre maize garden, but now I get close to 20 bags or more because I use biochar,” Ajuk said.
Ajulina Ageno Otim, a resident of Lela Pwot village, Lokung Sub-county Lamwo district, testified that when her friend told her about biochar, she ignored her, thinking it worked as a chemical fertilizer.
“But when started using it, I didn’t have to apply yearly like chemical fertilizers, but after five years or more,” she added.
Biochar friendly to environment
Denis Ocira, the Kitgum District Agriculture Officer, said though the use of Biochar is very rare in Acholi sub-region, it is beneficial for composting since it reduces greenhouse gas emissions, prevents the loss of nutrients in the compost, and also promotes microbial activities that speed up the decomposing process.
“It helps promote microbial activity, which speeds up the composting process and helps in reducing the compost’s ammonia losses, bulk density, and odor,” Ocira explained.
However, Ocira advised that before using or applying biochar, farmers should consider the state of their soil and always mix biochar with compost or other materials to add other nutrients and beneficial organisms.
He further advised farmers to avoid burning crop residues, saying it loses soil fertility and humus needed for their crops.
According to Co-energy a conservationist company, biochar has the potential to absorb and maintain water and minerals, allowing crop roots to grow easily and get vital nutrients from it. Their absorbent nature also makes them excellent organic soil amendments in areas that suffer frequent droughts, thus reducing the need to irrigate.
It is also said to be beneficial in reducing carbon footprints and absorbing carbon-dioxide from the atmosphere. Experts estimate that 2,000 kilograms of biochar can absorb 1,000 kilograms of carbon, making it a high-value carbon credit material.
