Keywords Earthworms · Mesophilic composting · Nutrient loss · Ionic nutrients ·
Soil quality
18.1 Introduction
The rapidly growing world population has increased food demand leading to
intensification of agricultural and industrial activities to meet this demand
(Mupambwa and Mnkeni 2018). Intensification of agricultural systems in the cropbased systems has, however, seen the overuse of and overdependence on synthetic
inorganic fertilizers to provide nutrition to crops. The use of synthetic fertilizers, was
the major driver of success for the green revolution; but of late, this has been realized
to have its own challenges such as environmental pollution and causing soil degradation. Against this background, Rahmann et al. (2017) suggested that future food
production and consumption challenges will require to focus on the following:
(1) producing enough, healthy and safe food for the growing world population;
(2) reducing environmental pollution associated with feeding this population;
(3) employing renewable energy and recycled nutrients in food production;
(4) adapting and improving agriculture resilience to climate change; and
(5) protecting soil health and its function. The growing realization of the negative
impacts of inorganic fertilizers to soil health and their economic impact on agriculture has stimulated interest in the use of soil health compatible organic nutrient
sources like vermicomposts (Arancon et al. 2004, 2008). However, the low macronutrient concentrations of organic nutrient sources relative to inorganic fertilizers has
been among the major limitations to the sustained use of organic fertilizers like
vermicomposts in agriculture. In this chapter, we give in-depth insights to how
improved organic fertilizers like vermicomposts can be critical in driving the future
sustainability of crop-based agriculture.
18.2 What Is Organic Agriculture: The Basics
The idea of organic agriculture is widely believed to have been pioneered by Rudolf
Steiner (1861–1925) through a series of lectures that gave birth to the movement of
biodynamic agriculture (Rahmann et al. 2017; Paull and Hennig 2011). Rudolf
Steiner ran this first course on organic agriculture in 1924 to a group of farmers in
the Polish village of Koberwitz now known as Kobierzyce (Paull and Hennig 2011).
According to literature, Rudolf Steiner’s lectures were in partial response to the
growing chemicalization of agriculture, which was being principally driven by
industrialization of the Haber–Bosch process developed by Fritz Haber and Carl
Bosch in 1909, allowing for the production of nitrogen fertilizer (Paull and Hennig
2011). Generally, the system of organic agriculture, which arose at the beginning of
the twentieth century, has gone through three stages outlined by Rahmann et al.
300
H. A. Mupambwa et al.
Soil quality
18.1 Introduction
The rapidly growing world population has increased food demand leading to
intensification of agricultural and industrial activities to meet this demand
(Mupambwa and Mnkeni 2018). Intensification of agricultural systems in the cropbased systems has, however, seen the overuse of and overdependence on synthetic
inorganic fertilizers to provide nutrition to crops. The use of synthetic fertilizers, was
the major driver of success for the green revolution; but of late, this has been realized
to have its own challenges such as environmental pollution and causing soil degradation. Against this background, Rahmann et al. (2017) suggested that future food
production and consumption challenges will require to focus on the following:
(1) producing enough, healthy and safe food for the growing world population;
(2) reducing environmental pollution associated with feeding this population;
(3) employing renewable energy and recycled nutrients in food production;
(4) adapting and improving agriculture resilience to climate change; and
(5) protecting soil health and its function. The growing realization of the negative
impacts of inorganic fertilizers to soil health and their economic impact on agriculture has stimulated interest in the use of soil health compatible organic nutrient
sources like vermicomposts (Arancon et al. 2004, 2008). However, the low macronutrient concentrations of organic nutrient sources relative to inorganic fertilizers has
been among the major limitations to the sustained use of organic fertilizers like
vermicomposts in agriculture. In this chapter, we give in-depth insights to how
improved organic fertilizers like vermicomposts can be critical in driving the future
sustainability of crop-based agriculture.
18.2 What Is Organic Agriculture: The Basics
The idea of organic agriculture is widely believed to have been pioneered by Rudolf
Steiner (1861–1925) through a series of lectures that gave birth to the movement of
biodynamic agriculture (Rahmann et al. 2017; Paull and Hennig 2011). Rudolf
Steiner ran this first course on organic agriculture in 1924 to a group of farmers in
the Polish village of Koberwitz now known as Kobierzyce (Paull and Hennig 2011).
According to literature, Rudolf Steiner’s lectures were in partial response to the
growing chemicalization of agriculture, which was being principally driven by
industrialization of the Haber–Bosch process developed by Fritz Haber and Carl
Bosch in 1909, allowing for the production of nitrogen fertilizer (Paull and Hennig
2011). Generally, the system of organic agriculture, which arose at the beginning of
the twentieth century, has gone through three stages outlined by Rahmann et al.
300
H. A. Mupambwa et al.