BENGALURU: The Agriculture Department has come up with a solution to help Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) deal with its organic compost by selling it to farmers. Taking the help of Karnataka Compost Development Corporation (KCDC), the Agriculture department is going to process the wet waste generated in the city and also the compost generated in the waste processing units of BBMP and sell it to farmers at a reduced price.
Addressing a press conference on Wednesday, Minister for Agriculture Krishna Byre Gowda said farmers could place bulk order for the compost at the Raitha Samparka Kendras and the they would ensure that it was delivered directly to the field. “The compost will be sold at a cost of `800 per ton and this includes the cost of transportation. There is a lot of demand of organic fertilisers and farmers are procuring it now at a high cost. We are giving them at a low cost with a subsidy of 50 per cent and it is a win win situation for everybody,” he said. This project will be carried out on an experimental basis in districts in and around Bengaluru, like Kolar Tumkuru and Chikkaballapur.
“At present, BBMP has about 5,500 tonnes of compost. Testing of soil has indicated that organic carbon in the soil is depleting across the state and adding this compost will improve the condition of the soil. If this works, then it is a good solution for the farmers who pay as much as 3,000 to 4,000 per tonnes or organic compost,” Byre Gowda said.
He also said they were contemplating starting collection centres for compost generated by bulk generators like apartments who process the wet waste themselves. “The BBMP Commissioner has been asked by several apartment complexes to give them a place to deposit the compost,” he added.