Natural fertilizer from microbes boosts crop yields

Ten years after an Indonesian agriculturist discovered microbes capable of producing natural fertilisers, farmers attest that they have boosted agricultural production. Agricultural entrepreneur and researcher Ali Zum Mazhar found 18 species of microbes in the forests of the Indonesian territory of Kalimantan while doing his doctoral studies in 2000. He eventually developed a technology that converts the microbes into liquid form, which he calls Bio P 2000 Z. Successful experiments have proved their capability to increase crop yields by as much as threefold. Wardi (who goes by one name), head of Tani Sadatani Farmers' Association in Serang, West Java, said he harvested 3.5 tonnes of soybeans per hectare after using the Bio P 2000 Z in June 2009. "Before, we only produced less then one tonne per hectare," he was quoted as saying by a local media organisation called 'Rukun Tani Sejahtera' ('Farmer Prosperity Forum'), which is run by a network of farmers' cooperatives in West Java. Dian (who similarly goes by one name), head of Toba Samosir Farmers' Association in North Sumatra, said his regular harvest of four tonnes of corn per hectare increased to nine tonnes in the last harvest after using the Bio P 2000 Z.