balita.ph; February 14, 2014 7:39 am 

SOLSONA,ILOCOS NORTE, Feb. 13 — So, you want to keep people out of poverty? In Solsona town, its local government unit has the answer—don’t give them cash but give them earthworms. Yes, teach them how to grow earthworms or the African night crawler at that. Not only they bring you cash but they also bring back a sustainable environment, away from the sight of foul-smelling garbage or buzzing fruit flies.

In the last three years, local residents here have live up to organic lifestyle. Market goers from nearby municipalities or even from outside provinces look forward to buy or sell products at the huge two-storey Solsona market for their display of fresh organic vegetables including rare exotic plants and products like sun-dried meat of wild boar or dear, gokgok (a wild giant frog), freshwater fish such as dalag bukto, paltat, and shells like agurong, liddeg, bisukol, tukmem or bennek and many others.

When you chance to be at the open market set three times a week every Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays, Solsona town, which had been a hall of fame in the cleanest and greenest municipality in the Philippines in 2001, made even better its effort to make the town known as the “vermiculture capital” of Ilocos Norte producing almost a million kilos or 14,322 bags of vermicast since January this year or about 40 percent increase compared to last year.

In point of fact, Solsona was recently awarded by the national government for its effort in promoting organic agriculture.

When the Department of Social Welfare and Development (DSWD) had livelihood assistance worth less than a million for poverty eradication program, former Solsona town mayor now vice mayor Joseph de Lara made sure that the fund should not be put to waste. Instead of giving the money in cash to the indigent recipients, he gave it in kind—a kilo of earthworm (African night crawler), 300 pieces of hallow blocks, cement and steel bars for the construction of vermibeds.

Recipients were selected based on their economic status and those who are willing to learn and cooperate with the project.

“If you give them the money, they may just spend it for a day but if you give them earthworms, this can be their source of livelihood for a lifetime,” said De Lara.

In 2011 or three years ago, the municipality has already piloted a vermiculture project in support of the municipal government’s zero waste management, envisioned as a holistic approach to alleviate poverty and care for the environment.

Starting from at least 12 vermibeds, the municipal agriculture office has designated one agricultural technologist, two casual employees and one officer-in-charge, Engr. Ranison Narciso to personally work on the project.

After perfecting the technology, the Solsona government has started to introduce organic fertilizer to farmers, selling them bags of vermicast to reduce the cost of farm inputs.

“We dream not for ourselves but for our children and children’s children. We work to offer them a life better than what we have today. But money is not only that counts. What counts most is a life that is well-rounded. A life with not only money but also a safe and sound environment. We therefore work not only for money but also for the restoration of our Mother Earth. And the CALL is URGENT. . . so we should act now. Not only you, not only me, but YOU and ME. Not tomorrow but NOW!!!”, said in a bold statement at the municipal government website www.solsona.gov.ph where both executive and legislative bodies, dominated by a local family dynasty of the De Laras took the lead in showcasing the vermiculture technology to its people.

From a start-up capital of one kilo African night crawler brought to Solsona from Laguna province, the municipality is now the leading producer of vermicast organic fertilizer involving the total 22 barangays of Solsona with 638 individual producers this year.

Pegged at P5 per kilo of vermicast, producers sell their harvest directly to the municipality and the municipality delivers them to public and private individuals in need of organic fertilizer.

According to De Lara, the municipality has allotted at least 300,000 capital fund for the purchase of vermicast to producers, who just deliver their harvest to the municipality’s warehouse building every time they go the market or they have something to buy at the town proper. Aside from vermicast, the municipality also buys recycled plastic materials which the municipality is turning into bricks or vases for plants.

As of this year, the Solsona Vermi Producers Association has delivered a total of 716,076 kilos of vermicast or equivalent to more than 3.5 million pesos in cash.

Citing a vermicast producer maintaining at least 5-7 vermibeds in a remote Catangraran village, Solsona mayor Jonathan de Lara (son of former mayor now vice mayor Joseph de Lara) said he is gaining an income of P7,000 from his weekly harvest of vermicast. Another was a piggery raiser who gave up his farm and concentrate instead in vermiculture.

The demand for vermicast in the province is high as the provincial government under the administration of Ilocos Norte Governor Imee Marcos pushes for organic farming to defray high cost of farm inputs.

Vermicomposting uses earthworms to turn organic wastes into very high quality compost. It requires only a minimum capital of less than 1,000 pesos to buy a kilo of African night crawler sold at P400-800 per kilo and for the construction of a 2 by 2 ft. vermibed with a height of six inches where you feed them with a 50-50 mixed of animal wastes, market or household wastes, weeds, grass and farm wastes like rice stalks and corn stalks. From a kilo of earthworm, you can raise it to 6 kilos in 40-45 days.

In what used to be as some hesitant cooperators of the project, De Lara said that more and more individuals are becoming interested in vermicomposting as even farmers from nearby municipalities visit them for educational tours which they gladly welcome.

In point of fact, De Lara said that they are planning to declare these earthworms as their “One town, one product” with the Department of Trade and Industry as it ensures local residents here a source of lifetime livelihood while nurturing the environment.

“It’s nice to see our constituents hunting for wastes at the public market or even at the slaughter house to feed their earthworms,” said De Lara citing the problem on garbage disposal has been significantly reduced because of these earthworms dubbed as “angels of the earth.” [(PNA)FPV/LGA/JSD]

Source: Earthworms bring cash crop to Ilocos town’s indigents