Farmers in Nepal Use Urine to Boost Crop Yields
By Smriti Mallapaty and Environmental Health News
Scientific America
December 17, 2012
In Sotang, Nepal farmer Budhiman Tamang is living large with his very big cabbages. Ever since two years ago Tamang has grown huge vegetables at a faster rate then what he use to. But what exactly is his secret? Believe it or not it's urine. With the help of The Dzi Foundation (a non-profit organization) and a local government he began a project to put over 1,000 toilets for about 6,500 residents and giving them an option to: 1. To simple be able to use the restroom or 2. To have their urine donated to local farms as fertilizer. Tamang took the idea and did it with his family and sure enough his crops began to grow and grow at large amounts. Now the question many ask is what is so beneficial to do this and is this really safe? Well, for one, like feces urine contains nutrients that plants easily absorb and of course there's water. Another benefit is that with running this project it saves money from processing the urine through the sewage system. And lastly by using urine as fertilizer it replaces the need of phosphorous which is found in fertilizers, and since countries like Nepal lack mineral fertilizers urine is a great substitute. Hearing all these benefits does overlook two minor set- backs,one being that, according to the World Health Organization, the use of urine can cause accidental contamination to plants by spreading diseases, but this unlikely problem can easily be solved by taking more caution when spraying the soil and not the leaves of plants. And for the final set back; if using urine as fertilizer does become a bigger thing the transportation will be a problem. Imagine how many trucks will have to transport those liters of urine to the farms, although this may be saving money on the sewage process will it outweigh the gas cost and not only that but the extra pollution that will be caused from the transportation. Although this idea does sound like a good one the transportation problem should be considered.
Searching for an article I came across this one and the name immediately caught my eye; Farmer's In Nepal Use Urine to Boost Crop Yields. I've heard of using feces as fertilizer, but never urine. When I began reading the first paragraph I asked myself is this even sanitary, but then it clicked that if anything it's problem more sanitary than using feces as a fertilizer so I continued reading with a clearer mind set. I remember a trip to Nicaragua finding out for the first time that farmers use feces to fertilize their crops and thinking how disgusting that was, but I was about seven so what did I know? Now though, it makes a lot more sense. Now as for the article I found it very fascinating, it amazed me how the waste we put out can actually be put to good and get back great results from it. I like the fact that it's a way to save money instead of processing it through the sewage, but my big question is does this really save us more money or does the cost of transportation outweigh the money we've saved. Honestly I believe we'll be losing money then making more of it and not only is the money a problem but the pollution created from transporting the liters of urine to the farms. If this project is to help farmers and the environment, I don't know if this is the way to go.
What I find significant about this article is it shows that we can find a use for the wastes we create. A great example is recycling. When we recycle we recreate the items we've thrown away instead of having them thrown in the ocean. I like the idea of using urine as fertilizer, it's a great way to put our waste to use and get more out of a crop. Also I think it's a more natural way to make our crops “healthy” if that's even a correct word to use for this situation. Overall I think it's a good idea but again the transportation aspect should be investigated in more depth and the end results should be decided on what's best for the environment.