Municipality Delivers Its Own Organic Fertilizer

While the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development is aiming to supply industrially made Urea to small scale producers in different states of the country, in some municipalities the local government has taken upon itself the responsibility to manage a fertilizer program. One such municipality is Huejotzingo, Puebla. On April 6, Mayor Angélica Alvarado launched the Municipal Program for Organic Fertilizer, marked by the delivery of organic fertilizer worth a municipal investment of US$82,500. The fertilizer is destined for farmers in the communities of Santa Maria Atexcac and Santa Maria Nepopualco. What is remarkable about this program is that the fertilizers are organic, which comes at a higher price but is generally considered ecologically more sustainable.

Organic fertilizers have been in use for centuries in Mexico, particularly in the form of cattle manure and manure of other livestock. In 2019, a study conducted by students of Colegio de Postgraduados Campus Puebla, found that in the same municipality of Huejotzingo, enough cattle manure was generated by livestock in the backyard of residents to provide fertilizer for the small-scale farmers in the municipality. In addition, there was wide spread appreciation and interest in the use of organic fertilizer made from manure. Most residents in the community of Santa Maria Nepopualco were found to have a number of animals as property. This study raises the question whether municipal fertilizer programs need to purchase fertilizer through a third party at all if farmers themselves can organize and distribute the available manure.