SOCIO-ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT ASSESSMENT OF COMERCIAL SOIL COMPOST PRODUCTION FROM CUT FLOWER WASTE AT ZIW A Y

Abstract

Ethiopia is largely an agrarian country. According to MoARD, Fertilizer use situation in Ethiopia demonstrates a continuously incremental trend from its introduction in the late 1960s and early 1970s to date reaching close to 600,000 tons during 2009/2010 cropping season, the Amhara, Oromia and SNNPRS regions consume more than 50% of the total supply ( MoARD, 2009). In addition to commercial fertilizer application, organic amendments in the form of farm/home yard manure and green manure in the form of compost have always been used by Ethiopian smallholder farmers to enhance fertility and soil physical properties. Nevertheless, the application has been limited and there has not been any commercial firm established to produce compost extensively. Recently, owing to the emerging different agribusiness industries in different comers of the country and mainly in the Central rift valley (CRY), there is a huge potential of agricultural wastes that can be converted in to compost. Moreover, to address the socio-environmental threats associated with agribusiness development in fragile areas such as Ziway in CRY, demand critical concern. Therefore, there is an urgent need to create commercial value trough ecological and ethical innovation. The proposed project by Soil & More International BV (SMI), aims to produce compost from floriculture waste at Ziway and increases the availability of compost for farmers in the surrounding area which otherwise would have become a critical threat for environmental health and sustainability. Soil & More International BY (SMI) is established in February, 2007and it is founded on the principle that economy and ecology are inextricably linked. ...