Building a food secured Africa
INDIGENOUS MICROORGANISMS (IMO) AND THEIR BENEFITS IN FARMING
Indigenous microorganisms, popularly known as “IMO”, are the microorganisms that have been adapting and surviving within the native soil environments throughout the years. The organisms that primarily make up IMO are beneficial fungi, bacteria, and yeasts. (https://insteading.com/blog/indigenous-microorganisms-imo)
It is almost impossible to talk about these organisms without making reference to Korean Natural Farming (KNF) founded by Cho Han Kyu many years ago. The KNF concept is to help farmers know how to produce IMO so as to reduce their production costs.
IMOs are beneficial to both crop and livestock farmers. The under listed benefits are:
– They are easy to propagate using rice and brown sugar.
– Help reduce the cost of production drastically.
– Contribute to soil amendments and the rejuvenation of soil structure.
– Attract nematodes and protozoa to the plants for sustenance. Hence, their excretion nourishes the soil, which enables plants to pick up essential nutrients for their growth.
– They annihilate toxic elements in the soil that encourage the establishment of pathogenic organisms, thereby reducing the chances of plant disease and enabling further fertilization.
– They help in the breakdown of organic matter in compost piles.
There are a lot more that these microorganisms do than the ones listed above. Kindly check out these sources to learn more:
– Indigenous Microorganisms (IMO) Author: ADAM MCWILLIAMS https://insteading.com/blog/indigenous-microorganisms-imo
You can also look out for the importance of Composting: preparing a good planting medium for your seedlings- https://kuch99.composts/composting-effective-way-to-provide-a-good-planting-medium-for-seedlings/