Vermicomposting as a waste management method and organic fertilizer among local farmers in Sri Lanka

Abstract

Vermicomposting is the process of making vermicompost. The raw materials for the vermicomposting process are red earth warms and organic waste. The process of making vermicompost is occurring inside the digestive system of the earthworms. The earthworms break down organic waste chemically and physically to produce vermicompost as the final product, the temperature range for the earthworms to function properly is 13 – 25 degrees Celsius, and maintaining the moisture is important inside the vermicomposting unit. The vermicomposting process function as a waste management method and an organic fertilizer with a high value of nutrition. The research focuses on how the concept of vermicompost is impacted local farmers in Sri Lanka. The focus group which included 26 farmers (n =26) and the results of the interviews carried out suggested that the poor waste management and the overuse of synthetic fertilizers have a great impact on the environment of the research area which connects with the public health. Moreover, the prohibition of the use of synthetic fertilizers in Sri Lanka by the current government made a crisis among farmers to produce organic fertilizers which arose issues related to food security and food availability. Thus, the research focuses on the introduction of vermicompost to the local farmers worth a lot as a great solution for the economic, food, environmental, and human health crisis currently happening in Sri Lanka.