SuSan: Sustaining Agriculture through waste
By: Evan Aranas
It’s not that famous finalist from Britain’s Got Talent. It’s SuSan.
Sustainable Sanitation, or more commonly known as SuSan, involves the creation of a proper sanitation system that considers economically viable, socially acceptable and technically appropriate solutions to environmental problems, all the while sustaining the environment and natural resources. With poverty, malnutrition and food insecurity troubling the Philippines, a solution to solve all these is needed now more than ever. The country found this solution through SuSan, which is slowly gaining popularity in the Philippines. One practice to achieve SuSan is to apply human excreta to agriculture, as it plays a crucial role in maintaining soil fertility and providing essential plant nutrients for food production.
“We are trying to develop a thinking sa households, community na sanitation could be... It is not nga we have human excreta nga mahimo ra siya ug waste after. Kung muingon ta ug close the loop pasabot ana kay from waste, we are gonna develop it back to its resources. It will be used back to agriculture, para mubalik napud siya sa atong table,” explains Meiyoshi Masgon, Program officer of SuSan.
This practice provides a link between sanitation and agriculture through its close relationship. As it is natural to experience the loss of soil fertility due to the nutrients being taken up from the soil through the plants during harvest, it is common to return the nutrients through the use of animal or human exreta, and compost. However, with the rise of modern agriculture, synthetic fertilizers have become common practice among farmers. This provides to become a problem though since the prices of synthetic fertilizer are expected to increase due to declining availability of non-renewable resources and rising fuel prices. Aside from that, the production of the three most important and commonly used synthetic fertilizers---Nitrogen, Phophorus, and Potassium---takes non-renewable resources, thereby hurting the environment in the process of gaining crops.
The SuSan approach recognizes human excreta as viable fertilizer and a new tool in agriculture. According to Urine as Liquid Fertilizer in Agricultural Production in the Philippines: A Practical Field Guide, human excreta contain all important nutrients and organic matter necessary for crop production. Urine is a more viable fertilizer compared to feces, as it holds most of the essential plant nutrients--- roughly 80% of Nitrogen, 60% of Potassium, and 55% Phosphorus. “This will be very helpful in our environment. Not just here in CDO, but in the whole Philippines. All over the world. We should learn to process our waste, since it’s our waste. It’s like processing our garbages. We should not throw it, but process it. The main concept of it is from toilet to table,” opines Masgon.
With human excreta having problems finding proper waste disposal, possibly causing environmental pollution and health risks, SuSan focuses on its ability to be a successful tool in nature.
“Its very importance in the future is its reuse back to agriculture. Since, kung tanawon nato, fertilizers are very expensive karon. Ang atong fecal material kaning mga human excreta atong mga ihi ug tae are all thrown back didto sa wala ta kabalo,” says Masgon. “It is not safe to bury wastes, since it’s fecal material and it has a lot of pathogens. If that waste can go near a body of water, eventually it will come back to us.”
Since urine is a more viable fertilizer compared to feces, it should be collected separately from its counterpart. This is achieved by using Urine Diversion Dehydration Toilets (UDDT) or waterless urinals. These are toilets that have two compartments to segregate feces and urine matter.
To properly maintain its Nitrogen level, reduce odor problems and for hygienic reasons, the urine should then be stored in closed containers before its application to the farm. This is to ensure that the pathogens, which are biological agents that can bring disease to their hosts, will not spread. According to Urine as Liquid Fertilizer in Agricultural Production in the Philippines: A Practical Field Guide, it is highly recommended to store the urine for a month or more. However, application of non-stored urine to potted plants can be done because the risks experienced in day-to-day activities equate to the risks of using non-stored urine as fertilizer.
According to Masgon, the fecal material can still be applied to agriculture. However, it should be stored in a closed container for a period of 6 months and 1 year, due to its pathogens. Once the fecal material has lost its pathogens, it will then undergo vernicomposting, where the stored fecal matter will be mixed with organic matter, sawdust or dried leaves. This mixture will be fed to African nightcrawlers, whose role is to compose vermicasts, which is fertilizer or soil conditioner.
With UDDT being a water-independent waste disposal, Masgon found that not only can it aid agriculture but it can also help disaster-stricken areas, especially those hit by typhoons. “Nakit-an namo nga since, waterless siya, dili siya gagamit ug tubig. Kato siya [UDDT] ang immediate na puede gyud diay nato mabutang sa disaster-stricken communities nga kanang mga evacuation center..”
“Ang problem lang gyud is 1.) lisod kaayo ang management kay since waterless siya, and since ang uban kay anad man gyud ta mga Filipino na manghugas gyud sa atong sampot, nga kanang dili gyud ta comfortable anang tissue lang. Kana gyud ang una na problem. Kanang unsaon pag change sa atong attitude. 2.) kana pud ang pag clean noh. Since waterless siya, dili kaayo siya dali nga process ang pag-limpyo,” she continues.
With a SuSan center established at Southeast Asia Rural Social Leadership Institute (SEARSOLIN) on June 15, 2010, a new way to help the environment has become more accessible to CdeO. It conducts trainings, awareness campaigns, and advocacies to promote SuSan in the area. Hopefully, more people will understand that sanitation does not just end with the toilet but entails the proper treatment and reuse of our human excreta. After all, what harm is there in closing the water and nutrient loop by giving back to the environment?
