Poster on Production of organic compost for crop fertilization: climate challenge, research question, practice description, technical aspects, implementation, results and contribution to climate-smart agriculture (CSA) pillars. Author: CCAFS Latin America. Please credit accordingly.

1. Flickr/EmmaCooper
Flickr/crabchick
GSmith/CIAT
JLUrrea/CCAFS
Production of organic compost
for crop fertilization
Dependence on external inputs (i.e., fertilizers) makes
farmers less resilient to climate-related shocks. On the
other hand, the industrial production and use of
chemical inputs contributes to the emission of
greenhouse gases.
Climate challenge
Practice description
Farm-level practice changes: Replacing chemical fertilizers with organic fertilizers originating from plant (e.g.,
coffee and sugarcane) and animal (e.g., dung) residues.
Tools: The greenhouse gas calculators, Cool Farm Tool, is being used to quantify the mitigation potential
associated with practice changes.
This study provides evidence that activities being implemented in the climate-smart village are also contributing
to the mitigation pillar of climate-smart agriculture.
Preliminary results
Contribution to CSA pillars
How does replacing chemical fertilizers with organic
fertilizers contribute to greenhouse gas emission
reductions?
Research question
Number of farms
0 2 4 6 8 10
Incorporated on field
( 0.078 MT CO2
-eq /MT residues
Left untreated in pits
( 1.78 MT CO2
-eq /MT residues
Non-forced aeration compost
( 0.27 MT CO2
-eq /MT residues
Forced aeration compost
( 0.17 MT CO2
-eq /MT residues
Before CSV
With CSV
N=12
GHGEmissions(MTCO2
-eqy-1
)
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Fertiliser production
Fertiliser induced field emissions
Crop residue management
Fertiliser production
Fertiliser induced field emissions
Crop residue management
"El Ensueño" Farm
Los Cerrillos village, Cauca
"El Ensueño" Farm
Los Cerrillos village, Cauca
Before CSV With CSV
0
2
4
6
8
10
12
Before CSV With CSV Scenario 1 Scenario 2
GHGEmissions(MTCO2
-eqy-1
)
3 Chemical fertilizations
Postharvest waste abandoned
2 Chemical fertilizations
Postharvest waste composted
1 fertilización orgánica (compost)
1 Chemical fertilization
Postharvest waste composted
2 Organic fertilizations (compost)
Postharvest waste composted
3 Organic fertilizations (compost)
Without
CSV
With
CSV
Scenario 1
Scenario 2
Each ton of harvested coffee
generates an average of
of post-harvest waste. This represents a good
biomass source for compost production.1 ton
70%
430kg
of surveyed farmers
had changed the way
they handle crop residues;
In all cases, residues managament changes
resulted in climate change mitigation.
Crop residues are fully exploited,
reducing up to 10 times
the emissions of CO2
-eq*
the practice of leaving residues in the field
without any treatment was eradicated
* Leaving the waste in the field without any treatment generates 10 times more CO2-eq emissions than other practices such as composting.
Swapping chemical fertilizers with
organic fertilizers in coffee production
reduces GHG emissions by 33%.
33%
CCAFS Latin America
International Center for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT)
Km. 17 Recta Cali-Palmira. Palmira, Valle del Cauca, Colombia