Anisul Islam Noor :
Substantial and sustainable promotion of biogas plant has become indispensable for more production and use of bioslurry, main effluent of biogas plant, to improve soil fertility and increase crop productions in the northern region of the country, agricultural extension officials and scientists said.
They viewed that the enhanced use of bioslurry has enormous contribution towards reducing use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides in the farming fields, which is directly or indirectly harmful for the total farming system.
An optimum use of bio-fertilizers always improves soil textures, fertility, increase its water and nutrient storing capacities, upgrade sandy land to sandy-loamy and sandy loamy to loamy and then clay soil in course of time.
Aminul Islam, a seed contract-grower of Bidirpur under Godagari upazila in Rajshahi district, said that he had made his seed production activities profitable using bioslurry from his two-biogas plants.
“In addition to cooking meals of our eight-member family, I have been running a cow-fattening farm with 26 cattle and seed production project on 45 bighas of land commercially with my two biogas plants simultaneously for the last one and half years,” he mentioned.
He had set up a 2.5 diameter plant with his own initiative in 2007 for meeting his domestic fuel demands. Witnessing the success, he installed another 4.8 diameter plant in 2010 for fulfilling his domestic and commercial demands through using the natural resources especially eco- friendly biogas and slurry. Aminul said, there is no doubt that bioslurry acts as the best resource of organic fertilizer. Around 80 families have set up biogas plants in Godagari upazila of the district particularly Premtali and its surrounding areas.
Biogas is not only used as fuel for cooking foods, the slurry is being used as organic fertilizer in the farming fields for boosting its production.
“If the farmers increase productions of green fertilizers in their homesteads and ensure usages, the annual consumption of urea, TSP, MoP and other fertilizers and pesticides would be reduced remarkably,” said Dr Israil Hossain, Chief Scientific Officer of Regional Wheat Research Centre.
He said, expanded production and use of eco-friendly bioslurry fertilizer help emergence of beneficial insects, birds and fishes and maintain ecology, bio-diversity and environment.
“It was evident that the highest gross margin was obtained form bioslurry applied field and the farmers are very much impressed to have a satisfactory grain yield and income,” said Dr Israil Hossain. Nowadays, biogas plants are increasing gradually in the country, so it may be a popular and excellent source of organic fertilizer in farmers’ field.
Dr Israil said that the biogas plants could be a great solution for those rural households, who want to cook food by clean energy sources and reduce indoor pollutions. He said a biogas plant now costs over Taka 35,000, but the costs could be recovered in three years.
The concept of biogas has been pioneered by Bangladesh Center for Science and Industrial Research (BCSIR) in early eighties and they set up bulk of the biogas plants across the region. But much of the plants could not sustain due to lack of proper supervision and maintenance. New more initiative should be taken to popularize the system through technical and cash incentives.
More training, demonstration and field days should be arranged on this technology for rapid dissemination of its uses.
