Growing maize with the help of toilet compost and urine on poor sandy soils Morgan, P. (2005)
Maize is the single most important crop in Southern and Eastern Africa – being the staple diet for hundreds of millions of people in the sub- region. And large numbers of these people live on poor sandy soils, which cannot support a good crop of maize without fertiliser, or adequate quantities of cow manure. For those living in the urban areas and peri-urban fringes, cow manure may be scarce and commercial fertiliser too expensive to buy. Yet millions of people eek out a living in these settlements by growing their own crops of maize and vegetables every year in back yard plots and gardens close to the home. It is a means of self survival in conditions which are often harsh and where malnutrition abounds. The simple question is then asked - can the use of toilet compost and urine, in combination, significantly increase the production of these backyard gardens, and thus make the effort worthwhile.
Bibliographic information
Morgan, P. (2005). Growing maize with the help of toilet compost and urine on poor sandy soils Ecological Sanitation Research (EcoSanRes), Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI)
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South AfricaZimbabwe
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Growing maize with the help of toilet compost and urine on poor sandy soils
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