Farm “Zharkynbek”

Shakpak-baba village, Kazakhstan

An Overview Of Our Solution

The project will be implemented in order to develop a new direction in the agricultural sector of Kazakhstan. The new direction is the production of organic agricultural products (natural, ecological) and determination of its niche in it. The organic product is grown with strict adherence to the rules of organic farming. It eliminates the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and so on. In the future the product will pass the certification of compliance with the established international standard. The complex of the newest innovative biotechnologies and resource saving (water saving) technologies will be applied for sustainable crop cultivation in the organic cycle. The area is 6.0 hectares with a further increase to 10-12 hectares. The strategic objective of this direction is the development and implementation of the full methods and techniques of

Who is this solution impacting?

Community Type

Suburban

Rural

Organization type

Nirlaba

Ecosystem (select all that apply)

Forests

Population impacted

At least 3500

Size of agricultural area

6 ha

Production quantity

120 000 kg

People employed

12, 10 of them are women

Describe your solution

The purpose of the project is to use the complex of modern biotechnologies and water saving technologies and to create an integral effective model of the continuous functioning of the natural process of self-restoration of soil productivity and its recovery as the basis for sustainable, highly profitable organic farming. Agricultural products will be certified according to international standards developed by IFOAM (International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements), with further implementation in the domestic and foreign markets. The proposed technology is based on the conceptual idea of observing the rules and principles of organic farming management (or other names: natural, biological) in which all biological processes occur without interference or with minimal human exposure in the soil and in surrounding local ecosystem. It excludes the use of chemical fertilizers, pesticides and other synthetic compounds. As the result, the presence of all necessary components (constant supplies of organic matter, the presence of sufficient moisture, moderate temperature levels) will restore natural activity of the soil. The biological subjects (microorganisms) and other larger inhabitants will be also restored in the soil. The soil takes its natural original form with well-established biochemical processes of synthesis, metabolism, and normal functioning of trophic relationships between all living organisms. As the result the fertility will be restored and multiplied

Describe your implementation

The main components and sequence of functioning of the technological chain in the project: 1) Obtaining the primary substrate of soil from humus and manure by EM technology; → 2) Placing the obtained substrate on the berry area, using also EM technologies, saprotroph technologies, water saving (zeolite, mycorrhiza); → 3) Planting of young seedlings of raspberries and blackberries on the area; The basis of the soil on the ridges will be the same substrate obtained in the first stage; Applied technologies - EM, saprotroph, water saving, after rooting of seedlings and strengthening of root system - technologies of mycorrhiza application → 4) The process of growing and harvesting berries in the regime of organic farming with the continuous use of the entire complex of biotechnology components and water conservation. The production of the primary substrate will be permanent. Colonization of soil by large saprotrophs (earthworms) will be carried out at the 2 nd and 3 rd stages. The main thing here is to create condition for their existence in the growing area of berries. The presence of mulch (processed organic material) will be constant in these areas (layer at least 3-5 cm). The other main thing is the application of 2-line wide (1.0 m) ridges. On the middle line will occur the most intensive process of organic decomposition and synthesis of humic substances. At the 1st stage, they (earthworms) will be contained in a separate compartment for reproduction, while coprolite will be mixed with the primary substrate. Earthworms will be also located in the ridges. Their main activity will occur on the middle line of these ridges under a thick layer of organic matter. From where already processed Baikal-EM1 + coprolite will be distributed by earthworms throughout the soil of the berry area. Thus, this part of the whole proposed technology differs significantly from the current popular methods of obtaining humus in separate rooms or compost

External connections

1) Ecological Public Association Zhabagly-Manas, Taraz (Kazakhstan) The role in the project – consultation, methodical assistance in solving the problems of ecology, biodiversity. 2) Institute for Soil Science and Agricultural Chemistry of Uspanova (KazAgroInnovatciya), Almaty. The role in the project - advice on water conservation, conducting the necessary analysis of soil parameters. 3) Research Institute of Fruit Growing and Viticulture, Almaty. The role in the project - consulting assistance in growing berries, determining soil parameters. 4) Fund of the Integration of Ecological Culture (FIEK), Almaty. The role in the project - coordination of organizational arrangements for entering the organic farming market; educational, methodological and consulting assistance. 5) Louis Bolk Institute – Agro Eco (Netherlands), BIOINSTITUT (Czech Republic). The role in the project is advisory assistance in the field of certified organic farming, promoting the formation of a sustainable product chain of organic products, both on the domestic and international markets. 6) National Agrarian University, Almaty. The role in the project - analysis of quality and certification of products of organic origin according to international standards 7) Kazakh Academy of Nutrition, LLP "NUTRITEST", Almaty. The role in the project - testing and analysis to determine the composition of organic compounds and vitamins in raspberries, determination of the absence or presence of harmful

What is the environmental or ecological challenge you are targeting with your solution?

Ecological problems of our times affect all spheres of human life. The destruction of ecosystems, the depletion of biodiversity affect all the natural resources of the planet adversely. In agriculture, these negative trends are felt particularly. The soil is depleted, the areas of degraded land are growing because of the violence of the so-called intensive technologies. A further intensive use of synthetic fertilizers, chemicals, pesticides and together with heavy agricultural equipment destroys all local ecosystems. In such situation we should find alternative ways of development of agriculture. The possibilities of solving urgent ecological and economic tasks in rural areas are provided by organic farming, which has not been disseminated in Kazakhstan yet. The concept and philosophy of organic farming presupposes the use of agro-technologies only within the framework of the re-established sustainable ecosystems. This concept most fully corresponds (to

Describe the context in which you are operating

The modern traditional agricultural technologies used in Kazakhstan have exhausted all their possibilities for increasing the yield of crops. In addition, the use of various fertilizers, chemicals, pesticides, poisons caused degradation of the soil (about 65-70% of the area), environmental pollution and destruction of local ecosystems. The yield of fields does not increase, and it falls steadily in some cases. The average yield is 1.8-2.2 times less than the average in the world. This phenomenon is observed everywhere, even in well-maintained personal household plots of the rural population. Another problem is the predominance of treated agricultural products in the market with suspicious quality which threatens human health due to the high composition of variety of synthetic additives, high level of nitrates, etc. The cost of goods produced in such way is increasing. The main reason for this situation is illiterate, incorrect and consumer treatment to the land. Agricultural lands become unusable, they are sick and in need of urgent treatment. “chemicalization” and "intensification" is no longer necessary. But the resources for restoring the life-giving power of the soil are laid in the Nature itself. And our task in this process is to create appropriate conditions for the restoration of natural biological and biochemical processes in the soil, without violating the laws of circulation and metabolism established by nature in this particular ecosystem (the soil surroun

How did you impact natural resource use and greenhouse gas emissions?

The results of improvement of biodiversity will appear in 2-3 years. However, we have already implemented this technology on own area. The results are following: 1) healthy, rich in humus soil; 2) diversity of flora and fauna; 3) high quality of organic agricultural products; 4) reduction of water consumption by 2.5 times.

Language(s)

Kazakh, Russian

Water

Shortage of irrigation water -65-70% of the required volume The water deficit was overcome by water conservation, improved structure of the soil and increase its moisture capacity, Water losses during evaporation and wind load - up to 70% Losses reduced to 25-30%

Food Security/Nutrition

500 characters max.

Economic/Sustainable Development

Unemployment 35% Reduced to 20 %

Climate

Climate, biodiversity performance improved

Sustainability

The payback period of the project is 1.5 years. For the development of project technologies,
grants or subsidies are preferable for beginners. For 2-3 years,
the market revenues can provide development of the project.

Return on investment

Profitability is 2-2.5 times higher than average indicators of farms that use traditional technologies. For the second year, the net profit covers the amount of investment. In certain favorable years, the forecasted profitability may exceed 100%.

How could we successfully replicate this solution elsewhere?

The proposed technologies have been successfully tested on the applicants' are in the period of 2013-2016 on an area of 0.2 hectares. The results are close to the calculated ones. Project technologies can be used almost everywhere, except of cold regions of the world with soil freezing up to 50 cm, as well as desert regions with a maximum of temperatures above +50 deg. C. The minimum required initial funding is from $ 2,000.

Overview