Astana, Kazakhstan, May 4
By Daniyar Mukhtarov - Trend:
Vermiculture can be a serious step not only for the transition to a green economy, but also will help to resolve issues on waste recycling, the chairperson of the Board of the Coalition "For the "green" economy and the development of G-Global" Saltanat Rahimbekova said.
She made remarks during the panel session "Green economy as a factor of social development and poverty eradication" held within the framework of the 47th Annual meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Development Bank held in Astana.
There is about 30 billion tonnes of waste in Kazakhstan today, according to statistics. Namely the waste recycling is one of the most topical issues.
"Today, a number of projects such as energy use or energy recovery from waste are proposed today. We discuss this experience. And one of them is the usage of vermiculture," Rahimbekova said.
She noted that vermiculture has gained popularity in the United States, where it is used by more than 20 percent of farmers. In this regard, the chairman of the coalition proposed to use this experience in Kazakhstan.
"Kazakhstan has already implemented a similar project on industrial scale. And today there are followers in the regional centers," she said.
"We have studied the issues of vermiculture in the coalition, and made justification for those who are interested in using it. We will offer experience. Also there is an opportunity to obtain financing for the development of these areas," Rahimbeova said.
Vermiculture is breeding earthworms on special farms.The first farm using vermiculture was created in the late 40s in the United States. Vermiculture is considered one of the promising areas for recycling of organic waste.
Earthworms accelerate the decomposition of organic matter several times and help process organic waste into humus fertilizer. The second part of the end product is biomass earthworms, which can be advantageously used as a protein supplement for animal feeds, as well as biological materials.
Breeding vermiculture is very common in Western Europe, as well as in Eastern Europe, especially Hungary and Poland, as well as in the U.S., Japan and Southeast Asia. A lot of small and medium-sized enterprises are working in these countries that produce worms for fishing to feed pets, as well as organic fertilizer.
A number of state-funded enterprises operate in Canada, the USA, France, Japan that by using earthworms utilize even sewage and other organic wastes.
Translated by S.I.
Edited by C.N.