Date: Thursday, 27 June 2024
Time: 13:45 - 14:45 CEST
Session code 1DV.5
Resource efficient agriculture and forestry
Ethiopia Tests Integrated Crop Residue and Soil Fertility Management Employing Biochar-Based Fertilizer (BBF)
Short Introductive summary
Soil fertility is a determinant of biomass growth. Agroforestry partly relaxes resource limitations but harvest means export of nutrients from soils. Allocation of biogenic wastes and residues must be reinforced to reclaim soil fertility. The ETH-Soil project supports Ethiopian efforts to maximize benefits from biomass use by coupling production of energy and biochar-based fertilizer (BBF). BBF forms a lasting basis for soil rehabilitation. In a two-pronged approach, BBF is either produced on farms using cookstoves and farm residues for biochar and compost. Or in case of insufficient resources, BBF can be supplied by urban facilities maintaining a coupled bioenergy-biofertilizer system including (1) biogenic wastes providing biogas substrates, (2) biogas and heat production, and (3) biochar and digestate blended into BBF. Soil quality monitoring helps to adjust resource flows into energy, compost, and BBF. Baseline results from farms confirm low soil pH and organic carbon content but are highly variable. Larger effects are expected from biomass yield. BBF makes farm economy more resilient and sustainable as larger biomass production expands the local nutrient cycle.
Presenter
Betelhem Mekonnen MULUNEH
DBFZ Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum gemeinnützige
Biographies and Short introductive summaries are supplied directly by presenters and are published here unedited
Co-authors:
T. Abera, IQQO - Batu Soil Research Centre (SRC), Batu-Ziway, ETHIOPIA
K. Siegfried, Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum DBFZ, Leipzig, GERMANY
A. Nigussie, Jimma University - College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM), Jimma, ETHIOPIA
B. Mekonnen.Muluneh, Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum DBFZ, Leipzig, GERMANY
A. Regassa, Jimma University - College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM), Jimma, ETHIOPIA
R. Worku, IQQO - Batu Soil Research Centre (SRC), Batu-Ziway, ETHIOPIA
M. Ahmed, Jimma University - College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM), Jimma, ETHIOPIA
A. Nebiyu, Jimma University - College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM), Jimma, ETHIOPIA
T. Firomsa, IQQO - Batu Soil Research Centre (SRC), Batu-Ziway, ETHIOPIA
A. Husien, IQQO - Batu Soil Research Centre (SRC), Batu-Ziway, ETHIOPIA
G. Worku, Jimma University - College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM), Jimma, ETHIOPIA
A. Lema, IQQO - Batu Soil Research Centre (SRC), Batu-Ziway, ETHIOPIA
A. Tilahun, Jimma University - College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM), Jimma, ETHIOPIA
M. Getachew, Jimma University - College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM), Jimma, ETHIOPIA
K. Assefa, IQQO - Batu Soil Research Centre (SRC), Batu-Ziway, ETHIOPIA
B. Dume, Jimma University - College of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine (JUCAVM), Jimma, ETHIOPIA
G. Eschete, Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum DBFZ, Leipzig, GERMANY
K. Wilde, Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum DBFZ, Leipzig, GERMANY
A. Pollex, Deutsches Biomasseforschungszentrum DBFZ, Leipzig, GERMANY
Session reference: 1DV.5.2