Sustainable Agriculture with Organic FertilizerPreface
Sustainable agriculture is recognized as a farming system producing
foods and fiber materials on a sustainable basis harmonizing agricultural
production with the natural environment. Recently, organic fertilizer is more
apt to be a focus, as it may contribute to the reduction of the use of chemicalfertilizer, which has been causing environmental problems such as
eutrophication in water system or land degradation. Additionally, chemicalfertilizer and chemical pesticide applied in agricultural fields affect foodsafety and human health.
The compost made from crop residues or the fallen leaves of trees
utilizing the decomposition ability of soil microbes or animals can maintainland productivity continuously. That is the way of substance circulation
through agricultural production.
However, there is a tendency for more chemical fertilizer and chemical
pesticide to be applied in farmland for increasing agricultural productivity inthe short run. This tendency is obvious not only in the developed countries
but also in the developing countries in Southeast Asia, and has been causing
serious environmental problems.
This guidebook has been prepared for the purposes of advancing
compost use and decreasing the amounts of chemical fertilizer and otherchemicals in farmland. We are happy if many people realize the importanceof sustainable agriculture with organic fertilizer through this guidebook.

Machito MIHARA and Akimi FUJIMOTO
July 2007
1

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

Editors in chief
Machito MIHARA and Akimi FUJIMOTO

Editing committee
Tokyo University of Agriculture, Japan
Keishiro ITAGAKI and Hiroki INAIZUMIInstitute of Environment Rehabilitation and Conservation, Japan
Takashi UENO, Lalita SIRIWATTANANON and Chika ISHIYAMA
Kasetsart University, Thailand
Thawansak PHAOSANG and Rangsan PITIPUNYARoyal University of Agriculture, Cambodia
Bunthan NGO, Chenda SENG and Asikin YOEU
Asian Environmental and Rural Development, Thailand
Jeeranuch SAKKHAMDUANG

Authors
Machito MIHARA (Chief author)
Yan CHEN
Thayalan GOPAL
Aya KANEKO
Hiromu OKAZAWA
Janya SANG-ARUN
Lalita SIRIWATTANANON
Naoyuki YAMAMOTO

2

Contents
Preface

1

Contents3

1. Soil supporting our life4

2. Soil conserving environment

5

3. Environment problems of soil in farmland

8

4. Importance of sustainable agriculture

11

5. Organic fertilizer maintaining soil quality

13

6. Application of non-composted organic fertilizer

15

7. Application of composted organic fertilizer

20

8. Application of granular compost

25

9. Promotion for sustainable agriculture under collaboration

27

between NGO and university
Conclusion

28

References

293

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

1. Soil supporting our life
Soil looks like the weathered materials of rocks covering the earth’s
surface. However, focusing on the soil inside, the complicated mechanism forsupporting life on earth can be understood. The soil has been supporting
human and living things in several ways:
a. Soil is the habitat of humans, animals, plants and microorganisms.
b. Soil is functioning as a medium of substance circulation. When living
things die, their bodies turn into soil as inorganic substances through thedecomposition mechanism of soil microbes or animals. This soil function
provides the essential substance circulation for food production.
c. Soil is a material for construction and pottery. Therefore, there is no lifethat can survive on earth without any relation to the soil. To understand thepotential for feeding the world on a sustainable basis, we need to know how
the soil forms, how it degrades, and what we can do to conserve and rebuild
good soil for agriculture.
Agriculture also receives benefits from the soil and is performing foodproduction in substance circulation of inorganic and organic matter. Fastereven than we think, the soil is changing continuously. Big changes occur inthe soil of farmland by farming systems, especially by fertilization.

4

2. Soil conserving environment
The soil consists of 3 phases as solid, water and air. Water and air are
filling soil pore. Aggregation contributes to increase soil pores as shown in
Fig. 2-1. The variety of soil structures affects the type and properties of thesoil. Also, these factors influence its capacity for conserving environment.
The function of environmental conservation is explained as shown in Fig.
2-2.

二次団粒
Aggregate

Soil particle
単粒Smaller aggregate
一次団粒

Soil
pore
土壌間隙

Fig. 2-1 Structure of soil

2.1 Purification functions
2.1.1 Filtration:
Soil pore structures having various shapes, large and small, areeffective in filtrating suspended materials in percolating water.
2.1.2 Adsorption:
Moreover, as shown in Fig. 2-3, clay particles have the function ofions exchange, so the particles can adsorb and replace many kinds of ionssuch as nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, calcium, magnesium, etc, which areessential and necessary nutrients for plant growth.
5Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

2.1.3 Decomposition:
Soil microbes decompose the dead bodies of living things, and form
soil organic substances. Then the organic substances are converted into
inorganic substances and can be absorbed by plants.
Environmental conservation function

Purification

Storage and flow

Filtration

HoldingHeat absorption

Controlling surface
discharge

Adsorption

Decomposition

Fig. 2-2 Environmental conservation function

Calcium

Phosphate

Clay
Ammonia

Potassium

Fig. 2-3 Ion exchange function of clay particle

62.2 Water storage and percolation function
Water flows through larger pores in the soil, and the excessive soil
water can be drained into groundwater. In finer soil pores, water is stored fora long time, and absorbed by plants. This water storage function of the soil
has the roles of supplying water for plants and decreasing the peak dischargeof flooded rivers or streams.
2.3 Heat absorption function
The soil also adjusts temperature and humidity as a storehouse ofthermal energy.

7Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

3. Environment problems of soil in farmland
As the demand for food production is increasing due to the rapid
growth in population in recent years, reclamation and farming activities are
apt to exceed the environmental capacity. Consequently, various environment
problems are occurring in the soil as shown in Fig. 3-1.
3.1 Drought
Drought occurs by fault pasturage or deforestation. In the drought area,
the lack of irrigation water and low nutrient reduces the crop production.
3.2 Soil erosion
Soil erosion by water or wind occurs extensively in bare land. It causes
not only soil and nutrient losses from farmland but also transportation andsedimentation of chemical substances further down stream. Then, thechemical substances including poisonous components cause toxic problems
and water quality degradation (Fig. 3-2).
3.3 Salinization
High evaporation rate of soil water in drought area transports salt
components from salty rock or saline groundwater to the soil surface. Highsalt concentration interferes with plant growth, as plants suffer water
absorption deficiency.
3.4 Soil pollution
Application of high chemical concentration, such as chemical fertilizer,
pesticide, herbicide and fungicide, damages the beneficial soil microbes.
Then plant pathogens can spread easily. In addition, excess chemicals can beabsorbed by the soil and so affect water storage capacity of the soil andobstruct root growth. Furthermore, the toxicants in the soil can be absorbed
8

by plants and transmitted to human body through the food chain.

Deforestation
Drought
Fault pasturage

Soil degradation in farmland

Soil movement by rainfall
or snow melting
Erosion
Soil movement by the windLong period irrigation ofsaline water
Salinization
Higher evaporation by
deforestation in area lying
on salty rock layer

Agricultural chemicals
Soil pollution
Heavy metal accumulation

Fig. 3-1 Causes of soil degradation in farmland9Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

Fig. 3-2 Soil erosion and water quality degradation by eutrophication

10

4. Importance of sustainable agriculture
It is predicted that the world population will increase up to 9.2 billion
by 2050 from 6.5 billion in 2006. An important question is whether foodproduction will meet the world population demand. For 30 years from 1960,
though the population increased 1.6 times, grain production was doubled, so
the supply and demand was improved. This was the result of themodernization of agricultural sector, such as large scale farming with monocropping, intensive chemical fertilization and modern agricultural machinery.
However, soil degradation processes such as drought, soil erosion or soil
pollution are spreading as a result, and land productivity is tending to decline.
Therefore, attention is being focused on sustainable agriculture in order tosustain agricultural production and conserve the environment for future
generations.

 Low chemicals input in farmland
Direction

 Appropriate management includingorganic fertilizer

 Crop rotation for controlling insects
and pests
Measures Organic fertilizer and green manure application
 Conservative and ecological farming system

Fig. 4-1 Strategy for sustainable agriculture in the USA

11

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

4.1 Sustainable agriculture in USA
In the USA, large areas have been facing severe soil erosion andpollution due to overuse of chemical fertilizer and other agriculturalchemicals. The large-scale farms enhance soil erosion, and use of chemicalfertilizers leads to groundwater pollution. At present, many scientists areconcentrating on the study of effective ways of sustaining agriculture.
4.2 Sustainable agriculture in Southeast Asia
Slash-and-burn farming has been based on natural substancecirculation. As the speed of decomposition in the humid tropical region ofSoutheast Asia is high, soil degradation tends to occur easily. So at least a
25-year interval is indispensable for the slash-and-burn farming system. In
order to supply enough foods for the increasing population, this interval has
been shortened. Consequently, severe soil erosion is presently damaging
farmland. Additionally, soil fertility is diminishing as organic components
supplied to farmland are decreasing.
Recently, conservation agriculture, such as organic fertilization,agro-forestry or diversified farming, has begun to spread in Southeast Asia
countries in order to sustain agricultural production of safe foods.

125. Organic fertilizer maintaining soil quality
Recently, soil degradation has become wide spread everywhere on theearth. Therefore, agriculture depending on chemical fertilizer should be
improved from the viewpoint of substance circulation. Organic fertilizer is
indispensable to sustainable agriculture, and it has many advantages
compared to chemical fertilizer that consists of inorganic components (Fig.
5-1).
5.1 Diversification of soil biota
More than 10,000 kinds of soil microbes and animals are in the soil,
and these microbes and animals are using organic matter as staple food. Since
organic matter contains various microbes, applying organic fertilizer into
farmland activates microbial growth. The improvement of the decomposing
properties, the variety of soil biota and the plant disease prevention in the soil
can be expected from organic fertilizer application. Soil microbes andanimals mostly produce these effects, while chemical fertilizer damages theactivity of beneficial soil microbes.
5.2 Improvement of soil physical properties
Soil to which organic fertilizer is applied forms aggregate structure bysoil microbes and animals. A soil structure that forms such aggregates
contributes to improve soil permeability and fertility in addition to water
holding capacity, and this condition then support root growth in the soil.
5.3 Improvement of soil chemical properties
Soil to which organic fertilizer is applied contains many kinds ofnutrients, such as nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. The variety ofchemical components, especially micronutrients produce good taste of foods
13

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

comparing to vegetables or fruits grown only by chemical fertilizer.
Additionally, organic components in the soil play a buffering action
and increase ion exchange capacity in the same way as clay minerals.

Organic fertilizer application in farmland

Bio-diversification

Physical property

Chemical property- Decomposing oforganic matter- Plant disease
prevention- Enhancement ofsoil biota- Improvement of
permeability,
fertility and water
holding capacity- Enhancement ofroot growth- Increase insoil fertility- Improvement of
buffer action- Improvement offood taste

Fig. 5-1 Soil improvement by organic fertilizer

14

6. Application of non-composted organic fertilizer
Organic fertilizer is produced from natural organic matter such as plantor animal residues, excreta, etc. The crop productivity of chemical fertilizer
seems to be higher than that of organic fertilizer in the initial stage. However,the farmers have to increase the amount of chemical use in order to sustain
the productivity. But organic fertilizer increases crop yield in the long run. It
can be explained that organic fertilizer slowly releases nutrients for plant
growth, while nutrients in chemical fertilizer are immediately ready to beabsorbed by plants. However, some of the nutrients in chemical fertilizer are
not absorbed by plants; they are lost by surface runoff or percolation into
groundwater. Therefore, chemical fertilizer causes more environmental
problems than organic fertilizer. In addition, plants in farms applying organic
fertilizer can maintain better resistance against pest and disease compared tofarms applying chemical fertilizer.
The amount of organic fertilizer application should be around 10 times
more than that of chemical fertilizer. Chemical fertilizer is composed of puresynthetic nutrients, for example 16-20-0 chemical fertilizer consists of 16 kg
nitrogen, 20 kg phosphorus and zero potassium in 100 kg net weight.
However, organic fertilizer contains not only macronutrients of nitrogen (N),phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) but also micronutrients such as Mg, Ca,
Co, Si, B, Fe, Mo, Zn, Mn, S, C, H, Cl and O for plant growth includingorganic matter and microorganisms.
Farmers conducting organic farming face lower productivity in the first
3-5 years. However, after the soil becomes healthy, the productivity recovers
and often being beyond the productivity obtained by applying only chemical
15

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

fertilizer. In addition, their net incomes may be higher than those of farmers
depending on only agricultural chemicals, because the running costs oforganic farming are much lower than those of chemical farming.
6.1 Mulch plow
Residue of crops after harvesting is good for conserving soil moisturein the dry season, controlling weed growth in farmland and providing organic
nutrients for plant growth. Burning of crop residues destroys many
substances such as ground cover, soil organism, organic matter and nutrient
components. Therefore, burning degrades the soil. In addition, heat resistantweeds can easily spread. For example, spreading of bashful plant (Mimosa
pigra L.) in Northern Thailand has been found in recent years.
However, farmers in Southeast Asia still depend on burning practice.
So the farmers who want to leave the residue cover on the soil in farmland
can conduct the following methods for preventing wild fire, especially nearroad or village.
- Mulch plow after harvesting- Mulch plow and sowing seeds of nitrogen fixation plants at a ratio of 30
kg/ha or covering the soil to make organic matters- Making fire protection line around the field by plow or residue clearing.
The width of fire protection line should be more than 2 m- In saturated soil, farmers can construct drainage canal around the field. Thisdrainage canal is also available for freshwater fish cultivation or aquaticvegetable cultivation- Making a strip of edible plants or nitrogen fixation plant such as acacia(Acacia insuavis Lace), lemon grass (Cymbopogon citrates), leucaena(Leucaena glauca), tamarind (Tamarindus indica L.), fiber crops
16

(Hibiscus cannabinus L.), etc- Construction of ridge for cultivation around the field. This ridge should be
wider than 2 m. It is available for fruit tree, kitchen garden and evergreen
tree.
However, the amounts of nutrients in plant residues differ according to
the type of plant as shown in Table 6-1. Rice straw contains 5.5 Nitrogeng/kg of dry weight, 0.9 Phosphorus g/kg of dry weight, and 23.9 Potassiumg/kg of dry weight. Assuming that rice crops are transplanted in 20 cm
interval, there are 250,000 stalks in 1 ha. As the dry weight of each stalk isaround 250 g, total weight of rice straw is 62,500 kg/ha. Therefore, residuesof rice stalks in 1 ha contain 344 kg of nitrogen, 56 kg of phosphorus, and
1,494 kg of potassium.

Table 6-1 Amount of nutrients in plant residues (g/kg of dry weight)
Residue

NitrogenPhosphorus

Potassium

Rice straw

5.5

0.9

23.9

Sugar cane leaves

4.9

2.1

5.6

Corn trunk

5.3

1.5

22.1

Soy bean tree

35.4

10.4

35.4

Grass

4.9

5.8

7.4

Saw dust

3.0

1.2

23.3

Paddy husk

3.6

0.1

10.6

Pineapple leaves

11.2

4.8

26.4

Ash

0.6

19.5

134.8

Source: Land development department, Thailand

17

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

Furthermore, let us assume that a 50 kg pack of chemical fertilizer of
15:15:15 is 12 USD. Each pack consists of about 22.5 kg of nutrients;
therefore the price of 1 kg of nutrients is 0.53 USD. So multiplying 0.53
USD/kg of nutrients by the net weight of nutrients in rice straw of
344+56+1,494 kg, the price of nutrients in rice straws per ha becomes 1,004
USD. Therefore, burning rice straw residues of 1 ha means burning 1,004
USD annually. Farmers may then realize how much nutrients they burned
away from their farmland.
6.2 Cultivating nitrogen fixation plants in farmland
Nitrogen fixation plants are mostly members of leguminosae such asbeans, sesbania (Sesbania javanica Miq.), leucaena (Leucaena glauca),
bashful plant (Mimosa invisa Mart.), Indian hemp (Crotalaria juncea), etc.
These are called “Green manure”. The ratio of seeding is recommended at 30kg/ha. Farmers can sow in non-tilled or tilled soil. These nitrogen fixation
plants may be mulch plowed after flower blooming; normally it takes 40 to
60 days after seeding.
6.3 Cultivation with no tillage or minimum tillage
No tillage or minimum tillage is named as conservation tillage as it
mitigates soil and nutrient losses from farmland and saves the energy taken
by tillage. It is widely accepted in the USA or other developed countries, but
not fully accepted by farmers in Southeast Asia countries.
Some short-term research has found that crop yield of non-tilled area islower than that of tilled area applying chemical fertilizer. However, farmingwith conservation tillage may not affect the income of farmers especially forlong-term application, as farmers can reduce the cost of tillage and chemicalfertilizer.
186.4 Application of farmyard manure
Farmyard manure is excreta of livestock. It contains more nutrients
than plant residues (Table 6-2), and is easier to be decomposed. Therefore,
crop yield in farms which applied farmyard manure is higher than thosewhich applied compost made from plant residues under the same weight
application. However, it is recommended that farmyard manure should beapplied at 10,000 to 13,000 kg/ha.

Table 6-2 Amount of nutrients from farmyard manures(g/kg of dry weight)
ManureNitrogenPhosphorus

Potassium

Cow

19.1

5.6

14.0

Chicken

37.7

18.9

17.6

Buffalo

12.3

5.5

6.9

Duck

21.5

11.3

11.5

Pig

28.0

13.6

11.8

Bat

10.5

148.2

18.4

Source: Earth Net Foundation, Thailand

19

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

7. Application of composted organic fertilizer
If fresh or spoiled organic material such as foods, fruits or kitchen
garbage is put directly into the soil, crops tend to get diseases and face rootrot. In addition, mixing sludge or excreta with soil is hard and dirty work.
7.1 Composted organic fertilizer
Composting is the method used to solve these problems. Fermentation
is important for composting. The temperature increases up to 60 to 70 oC
during the first and second fermentation processes. Then the insects and weed
seeds are killed. Grass, rice straw, rice bran, fallen leaves, vegetable waste,
powdered bones, livestock excreta and food garbage are available as organic
matter for composting (Figs. 7-1, 7-2).
The main principle of composting is fermentation. Therefore,
microorganism is important for making compost. Additionally, aerobic
microorganism is much preferred than anaerobic microorganism, as it
produces no undesirable smell.

Fig. 7-1 Plant residues before

Fig. 7-2 Compost after

composting

decomposed

20

The second is size of composting pile, which should be large enough tokeep heat inside. The third is moisture inside the composting pile, as thisaffect microorganism activity. The moisture inside the pile should not be toohigh or too low but should be kept moist.
7.2 Formula for making compost
There are several ways to make compost. The formulas can change
according to the local materials and preference of farmers. Here, simple
composting methods are set out.
7.2.1 Formula 1:
Materials:
Any kind of plant residue such as rice straw, sugar cane leaves, bean
residues, bean trees, saw dust, corn trees, corn residues, grasses or leaves canbe materials for making compost. It is better if the materials contain fresh aswell as dry matter.
Procedure:
1) Dig a pit 1 to 2 m wide, 15 to 30 cm deep, and as long as preferred
2) Put the residues into the pit, then compress. The height of the pile shouldbe 1 to 1.5 m
3) Pour water until the materials become moist4) Cover the pile with plastic or thatch to protect from rain5) Mix the materials in the pit every week
7.2.2 Formula 2:
Materials:
Any kind of plant residue and healthy soils being dark, fine and moist
can be materials.

21

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

Composting in the pit of soil
Fig. 7-3 Procedure for making compost (Formula 1)

Procedure:
1) Arrange the residues in compost box having the dimension of less than 3m wide, 1 m high, and long as preferred2) Pour water until the materials become moist3) Cover with healthy soils up to 1 to 3 cm high4) Repeat from step 1 to 3 until the pile becomes 1 to 1.5 m high5) Mix materials in the box every week
7.2.3 Formula 3:
Materials:
Around 1,000 kg of plant residues and 100 to 200 kg of farmyard
manure can be materials.
Procedure:
1) Arrange the residues in compost box having the dimension of less than 3m wide, 1 m high, and long as preferred2) Pour water until the materials become moist3) Cover with farmyard manure up to 1 to 3 cm high4) Repeat from step 1 to 3 until the pile becomes 1 to 1.5 m high5) Mix materials in the box every week22

a. Arrange plant residues, soil and/or farmyard manure into compost box

b. Supply water to the materials until moist and compact, and then cover thecompost box to avoid evaporationc. If there is no air pipe, mix materials well every week

Fig. 7-4 Procedure for making compost (Formula 2 or 3)

23

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

7.2.4 Notification:1) Undesirable smell occurs in the composting processes, if farmers do not
mix the materials in the pile. The mixing process makes materials
completely fermented.
2) For better aeration, farmers may put a porous tube made from plastic or
bamboo into the pile. The aeration tube should be placed in bothhorizontal and vertical directions.
3) The composting takes 2 to 3 months to complete fermentation. During thefermentation, the pile may be hot and 2 or 3 months later the materials
become dark, cool and moist.
4) In the dry season, farmers are advised to pour some water when the pile
becomes dry.
5) The pile can set up in hollow, open field or compost box depended on
preference or farmers custom.
6) Nutrients in compost vary due to the kinds of materials used. The amountof farmland application is recommended at 18,000 kg/ha, because nutrient
releasing rate of compost is slower than chemical fertilizer. Therefore, it
can sustain soil fertility in farmland.
7) Farmers can put E.M. or another instant microorganism for enhancing
fermentation or composting. The composting process with thesemicroorganisms added may make complete fermentation faster than thebasic formula.

24

8. Application of granular compost
It is important to make clear the purpose of applying organic fertilizer,
such as for supplying nutrients, improving soil physical properties orenhancing bio-diversification. Additionally, the condition of farmland should
be taken into account before selecting the compost, especially slope degree,
soil properties, irrigation and drainage systems. On higher slopes, organic
fertilizer applied in farmland might be washed away easily by surface runoff.
8.1 Alternative organic fertilizer: granular compost
Granular compost developed by the Institute of Environment
Rehabilitation and Conservation and Tokyo University of Agriculture is anorganic fertilizer having highly resistant against surface runoff. The granular
compost can be made from the mixture of conventional compost, clayey soil
and molasses at the ratio of 10:1:0.01. There are some ways to form granularshape from the mixture; compressing the mixture by hand after putting it intoa small plastic frame or extruding the mixture using a mincing machine asshown in Figs. 8-1, 8-2.
As the density of conventional compost of 1.2 to 2.2 g/cm3 is smaller
than soil particles of 2.5-2.7 g/cm3, rainfall or surface runoff may wash away
compost more easily than soil particles. However, granular compost has highresistance, as molasses works as cementation in granular compost. It meansthat nutrient losses from farmland to which granular compost is applied canbe mitigated comparing to those of conventional compost. Additionally,
granular compost makes it easier for farmers to transport and broadcast
fertilizer in farmland than conventional compost, as its shape is granular.

25

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

Fig. 8-1 Granular compost (17 mm in diameter and 21 mm in length)
produced by handFig. 8-2 Granular compost (5 mm in diameter and 5 to 15 mm in length)
produced by mincing machine

Materials :Processes :Ratio- Compost10- Soil1- Molasses

0.01

CompostSoil

Molasses

1. Mixing
the materials
and put into
the machine

2. Dryingfor 1-2 days

3. Granular
compost is readyto useFig. 8-3 Materials and processes of making granular compost26

9. Promotion for sustainable agriculture undercollaboration between NGO and university
Recently, in Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam and other developing
countries in Southeast Asia, subsistence agriculture is being converted toexport-oriented mono-culture, and the amounts of agricultural chemicals
applied to the farmland are increasing every year. The applied chemicals in
farmland cause serious environment problems in down stream, such as
eutrophication, unusual growth of aquatic plants, decrease in dissolved
oxygen and accumulating bottom mud in the water resources. Also, there
seem to be many cases in which people apply agricultural chemicals without
understanding the impact on health and food safety.
It is necessary to promote and enhance understanding of sustainableagriculture among farmers and school children. One of the ways to supportand enhance understanding of sustainable agriculture quickly, regardless ofpolicy across a country, is facilitation by an international non-governmentorganization. However, the knowledge or capacity of single NGO is limited.
A recommended strategy for facilitating programs effectively is tocollaborate between NGO and university. The knowledge and intelligenceaccumulated at university are expected to make the programs facilitated byNGOs more meaningful. Further cases of international cooperative programs
under collaboration between NGO and university should therefore bepromoted.

27

Sustainable Agriculture with Organic Fertilizer

Conclusion
Agricultural systems are tending to change from multi-cropping
systems to mono-cropping system. In Southeast Asia, many problems ofhealth and environment occur due to various agricultural chemicals applied infarmland. Sustainable agriculture is a farming system producing foods andfiber materials based on the harmony between agricultural production and thenatural environment. Recently, organic fertilizer has become the focus, as away of contributing to reduce the expenses of chemical fertilizer.
For rural development, it is important to evaluate the environmental
capacity of each area, and to limit development according to the capacity. In
order to sustain agriculture, organic fertilizer is meaningful to maintain not
only soil fertility but also soil physical, chemical and biological properties. It
also helps to mitigate water pollution and to increase health and food safety.
Granular compost developed to prevent nutrient outflow from farmland is
one alternative for farmers to establish sustainable agriculture.
We hope this guidebook helps to popularize sustainable agriculture
with organic fertilizer. This is one of the outcomes from the collaboration
program on food, agriculture and environment education system among
Tokyo University of Agriculture (Japan), Institute of Environment
Rehabilitation and Conservation (Japan), Kasetsart University (Thailand),Royal University of Agriculture (Cambodia) and Asian Environmental and
Rural Development (Thailand). We would like to express our special
gratitude to the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science andTechnology of the Japanese government for financial support to run thecollaboration program and publication of this guidebook.
28

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