Organic fertiliser for healthier, more productive crop

KUALA LUMPUR: The limited land at the Wangsa Sari People's Housing Project (PPR) here is not an excuse for residents there not to carry out gardening activities.

Some 30 of the residents got together and they managed to set up the Bandar Damai Sari Urban Farm, a project they started since March last year.

"We have activities every day at the farm, either watering, loosening the soil, making compost or sowing new seeds. Farming activities not only help save costs, but also make us healthier, said the farm manager, Mohd Fazil Md Noor, 51.

What is interesting about the farm, which is carried out in collaboration with the Federal Territories Ministry and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), is that it uses organic fertiliser made from food waste and dried leaves as organic fertiliser for a healthier and more productive plants.

Mohd Fazil said the use of organic fertiliser was safer for the plants, as well as soil, environment and humans, as well as cost-saving and able to generate side income for the farm.

"There is only one purpose, we want to go back to the old days when we only depended on nature and avoid using any chemicals," he told Bernama.

He said the residents would give their food waste to be recycled into organic fertiliser for the farm.

"The food waste, from onion to fruit skin, seafood shells and fish bones, is mixed with dried leaves and processed into fertiliser," he added.

He said the crop at the Bandar Damai Sari Urban Farm is divided into five sectors, including aquaponics, hydroponics, potted plants and herbs, and the types of plants grown included mustard, french beans, cabbage, chilli, long beans, kesom, pegaga, eggplant, okra and spinach.

"We make the best use of land space available, such as applying aquaponics system, an agricultural technology that combines crop and aquaculture systems, where the water tanks that are used to breed talapia, catfish and lobster, for watering the plants.

"We also use unused containers as pots to plant some of the vegetables," he added.

Mohd Fazil said their farming or gardening activities not only beautified the landscape in the housing area, but also created a community of modern farmers, with the presence of an urban farm in the city.

"Because of the dedication and commitment by the residents, the farm was chosen for the Solid Waste Management and Public Cleansing Corporation (SWCorp) adoption project," he said.

Housewife Mariam Yaacob, 44, who has been resident there for 12 years, said the farming activities helped her to fill her free time, especially during the implementation of the Movement Control Order (MCO).

"This is my first experience at gardening or farming. It keeps me healthy. I also get to eat tastier and fresh vegetables that are chemical-free," she said.

-- BERNAMA