La Trinidad gets soil testing equipment

LA TRINIDAD, Benguet -- The Japan International Cooperation Agency (Jica) recently turned over to the Municipal Government here a set of soil testing equipment to give farmers a chance to better methods.

Jica expert Hiroshi Kodama Kodama said the analyzer will enable farmers to know the fertility level of soil and give them an idea of what to plant in the future.

There are several types of soil in this valley: Bineg, sand clay; Buyagan, loam; Puguis, gravelly; Ambassador, silt; Halsema, Bakakeng and Tacdian, loam.

All types of soil have various fertility levels based in the total carbon within the soil. The equipment can determine the carbon content thus, giving the farmers the fertility level.

Kodama said Jica has released sets of equipment; one each to the province, La Trinidad, Buguias, Tublay and Kibungan. These places are part of the pilot areas Jica identified for the project which has been ongoing in the province since last year.

One of the projects, wood vinegar, is going to be used by local farmers here for healthier crops.

The Japanese use “Mokusaku” (Wood vinegar) smoke as a pesticide in crops. The vinegar is a non-toxic material and can be used to help farmers.

Wood vinegar can kill insects and fungus and also control microorganisms’ germination. The substance can also eliminate noxious odor in fecal discharges of animals.

Wood vinegar contains 200 chemical substances that include: organic acids (formic acid, acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid, etc); phenol group; carbonyl group (formaldehyde, acetaldehyde, etc.); alcohol (ethanol, methanol, etc); neutral materials (levogluco-san, acetol, maltol, etc); and base (acidic substances like ammonia, methylamine, dimethyl-amine).

The project aims to advocate safe vegetables in the province.

Kodama said the project is also set to equip farmers to go organic and use less or no chemicals at all. (Ma. Elena Catajan)