What sets these apart from other crops you ask? These personify a step towards reducing India’s major dependence on importing phosphoric fertilisers. These exemplify the successful use of human urine and well decomposed excreta as fertiliser. “In all these experiments, the crop yields were on par or slightly higher in plots receiving recommended dose of urine to meet the nitrogen requirement of crop and the balance of P (phosphorus) and K (potassium) through fertilizers,” states Dr CA Srinivasamurthy, professor and university head, University of Agricultural Science, Bangalore, who has spent more than eight years fleshing out this concept. If the conundrum is the reason to resort to human urine and excreta as fertilisers, the answer lies in India’s import figures. According to Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) statistics, the world phosphate demand is expected to increase from 41.5 million tonnes in 2012 to 45.0 million tonnes in 2016. Of the overall increasing in demand, 58 per cent is from Asia, and among Asian countries, 25 per cent is from India. “Unfortunately, the phosphorus reserves in India are on the decline and also our phosphorus reserves are of low grade. Only few countries in the
world like Tunisia, Morocco, China and Jordan have phosphorus reserves of high grade quality,” states the professor,
adding that in addition to solving the problems of phosphatic fertilizers in the years to come, human urine also helps in solving the problems of potassic fertilizers, since India does not have any potassium reserves, thereby increasing the need
to import potassic fertilizers as well. Explaining its scientific significance to agriculture, Srinivasamurthy states
human urine has nitrogen to an extent of 0.3 per cent, phosphorus and potassium content at around 0.17 per cent and 0.16 per cent respectively. In addition, it has appreciable quantities of calcium, magnesium, sulphur, Iron, manganese, zinc and boron, due to which it is considered a wholesome fertilizer.While numbers say it all, how accepted
has this concept been?
Barring a few scientists and farmers,
the experiment has gained support
from several quarters.
“In Karnataka, NGO Arghyam and
few others have provided funds and
technical know how for construction
of ecosan toilets in three villages.
These toilets help in source separation
of urine and excreta. The urine
is being used as a liquid fertilizer in
these villages and the well decomposed
humanure is being used in
place of farm yard manure,” states
Srinivasamurthy.
The journey hasn’t been easy for
UK-based organisation Wherever the
Need (WTN) either, which has provided
about 1,800 ecological sanitation,
or ecosan, toilets in India, used
by more than 30,000 people.
Established in 1997, WTN had to
first create awareness about a technology
that people knew little and
were wary about. After several meetings
with government officials and
recce trips to existing toilet structures,
the need for ecosan toilets was
pronounced. Their research also revealed
some horrifying sanitation
facts such as over 90 per cent of Tamil
Nadu’s tested drinking water contained
faecal traces or that 60 per
cent of the global population practicing
open defecation live in India,
which amounts to about 626 million
people.
“Though ecosan toilet model was
included in the guidelines, because
of the high construction cost not
many were able to afford it. The (government)
subsidy then was Rs 3,200,
which was raised to Rs 4,200. It was
still unaffordable for many. In 2012,
the government restructured the Total
Sanitation Campaign (TSC) programme
as Nirmal Bharat Abhiyan
(NBA) and agreed to increase the
subsidy to Rs 10,100 by adding MGNREGP
funds for constructing ecosan
toilet,” states S Paramasivam, country
director, WTN.
Deconstructing the fundamentals
of an ecosan toilet, Paramasivam
states it comprises a raised platform
above a sealed chamber. After every
use of the toilet, materials like ash,
sawdust, lime or other organic material
are used to cover the faeces,
helping it dry faster and introducing
carbon for quick composting. This
oxygenates the composting process
and neutralises odours.
“Ecosan toilets do not smell, as faeces
and urine are not allowed to mix;
when this occurs it reacts creating
ammonia fumes and odour. A pipe
which is laid in the floor takes urine
to a separate container. When filtered,
treated and diluted appropriately
with water the collected urine can be
used to enrich and nourish soil, providing
essential nutrients (nitrogen,
phosphorous and potassium) and improving
crop growth and yields,”
states the WTN India head.
However, this technology hasn’t
gained ground in Goa yet.
According to Orlando Rodrigues,
director, department of agriculture,
“noone in Goa used human excreta
or urine as fertilizers, it is mainly
cattle manure.” There are government
subsidies for biogas fertilizers,
he adds.
Meanwhile, back in Bangalore,
perpetuating Prime Minister Narendra
Modi’s recently raised point of
‘lab to land’, the scientists at University
of Agricultural Science are busy
initiating new experiments to study
the manurial value of source separated
humanure obtained from
ecosan toilets, the sewage sludge obtained
from sewage treatment plants
and pit toilet sludge which are being
dumped into agricultural fields.
“The experiments conducted so
far have demonstrated the fertilizer
value of urine as a liquid fertilizer
and the possibility of saving money
which they would otherwise spend
on fertilizers. Since the major problem
is encountered during handling,
storage and application of human
urine as liquid fertilizer, research
need to be done in coming out with
safe and hygienic methods of handling,
storage and application,” says
Srinivasamurthy.
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