DEI Organics International Ltd, part of DEI group of companies, recently launched their new organic fertilizer on the market named Organic New Earth, offering farmers in Uganda another option of an organic product as competition with genetically modified organisms intensifies.
Speaking on behalf of DEI Group, Moses Musoke, said the new product is poised to enhance productivity for farmers in Uganda.
“With this fertilizer, farmers will be able to increase their yields, hence boosting their income at the end of every season. This will, in turn, have an effect on the economy, with increase in employment,” he said.
He was speaking at the launch on April 30 at Mestil hotel in Kampala. Herbert Gasasira, the director of Operations, said the fertiliser is made from a combination of raw chicken manure and green waste, including plant husks, wood chips, wood shavings, all of which are natural raw materials.
Gasasira noted that although some farmers may have been feeling comfortable using raw chicken manure alone as fertilizers, it is not advisable to continue with such because raw chicken manure emits greenhouse gases for a long period of time, hence contaminating the surrounding environment.
“We use a dominant microb formula that remediates waste, creating an organic fertil- izer within 30 to 45 days. During this process of decomposition, microorganisms consume organic matter and release heat and carbondioxide. However, most of the carbon released is contained in the compost, and not released into the atmosphere, making the fertiliser environmentally-safe,” said Gasasira.
With Uganda still ranking the lowest in the region in terms of quantity of fertilizers used per acre, currently at 2kg of fertilizers per acre, there is still a huge gap to fill if Uganda is to compete.
Agnes Mbabazi, a board member for the Agricultural Chemicals Board, said: “We need to revive our soil by using such organic products so as to bring sustainability to our environment and the farmers who produce the food. Our productivity is low because of inadequate use of fertilizers or use of synthetic ones. Today, we produce just about 10 bags of maize out of one acre, yet our counterparts in Kenya are able to get over 40 bags. This needs to change.”
Dr Matthias Magoola, the founder and managing director of DEI group of companies, told farmers that his love for investing in organic fertilizers stemmed from his business trips abroad, where he noticed that the food and fruits they are consuming was, “not anywhere compared to what Uganda produces.”
He added that when he engaged the major food stores in the United States of America, he realised the urgency with which they needed a supplier of organically grown products.
Magoola, however, called upon government to make it easy for agricultural producers to get the necessary certifications for their technology and produce so as to compete in markets like the United States of America.
“I am advocating for these certifications so that we can be able to export to markets where it has been hard for us to do so. The reason I invest in such huge establishments is because I don’t want to be rich alone; I want Uganda to get out of poverty,” Magoola said.
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Lots of business hot air for the Uganda farmer as thousands of tonnes of organic manure rests idle at the Kiteezi rubbish heap now many years and counting!