A green gel-like layer on a village pond with big black moving blotches. Buffaloes bathing in smelly, muddy, and stagnant water. Doesn’t it conjure the cerebral image we have of the non-descript landscapes of Indian villages? This ubiquitous, synonymous with dirty, and unhealthy to some green layer carries a tangible benefit once we step out of our mental construct: Yes, it can have a massive impact on our villages by its use in the various pit stops of agriculture’s circular economy.
Azolla, a free-floating, rapidly growing aquatic fern on a water body or a wetland’s surface is an excellent source of protein. The fern grows in wastewater and produces large amounts of biomass. Under ideal conditions, it doubles its biomass every three days. It is, therefore, being hailed as a superfood. Don’t get squeamish as we aren’t talking about food for human beings, the benefits are actually roundabout.
Indian farmers are now being encouraged to see Azolla as an alternative to artificially produced concentrates/fodder/feed for their animals and poultry. A sustainable feed for livestock, Azolla is packed with all necessary nutrients and has little to no adverse effects.
Azolla is the genus of aquatic ferns characterised by a small free float sporophyte composed of closely packed stems, according to a research article in ScienceDirect.
Studies have shown that azolla feed leads to a 15-20% increase in milk production in dairy cows. It is also reported to have improved the weight and quality of broiler chicken.
Production of Azolla does not require huge investment and management or even special expertise. It can be seen as a boon to the small, marginal, landless and resource-poor tribal farmers who cannot afford expensive livestock and poultry feed.
Not just that, Azolla is being seen as a bioenergy crop: an important source of renewable and cheap biofuels. With its high Carbon/Nitrogen ratio, fermentation of Azolla biomass generates significantly higher levels of hydrogen compared with other bioenergy crops. Azolla’s high productivity, the ability to grow on wastewater and its unique chemical composition establish it as a competitive, sustainable and universal feedstock for the production of a wide spectrum of renewable biofuels. Azolla aligns perfectly with the need of the hour to develop low-cost, low-energy demanding, low-maintenance systems for generating energy.
This overachieving fern also acts as a natural filter in water bodies. A study on Azolla states: “The growth of Azolla filiculoides in synthetic wastewater led up to 25, 69, 24 and 40% reduction of NH4–N, NO3–N, PO4–P and selenium, respectively, after 5 days of treatment. This led to a 2.6-fold reduction in the toxicity of the treated wastewater…”
Different species of Azolla have been used for decades as nitrogen-fixing bio-fertilizers. While countries like China and Vietnam have long been reliant on Azolla for their rice cultivation, India is warming up to the idea in a big way now. As it can be grown efficiently outside of its natural habitat using wastewater as the main source of nutrients, Azolla can be an all-weather friend of the Indian farmer.
Azolla is also widely helping to achieve sustainable development goal 1 of ending poverty by supporting salinity- , and drought-resilient farming, according to a study titled ‘A state-of-the-art review on the environmental benefits and prospects of Azolla in biofuel, bioremediation and biofertilizer applications’ by S. Prabakaran, T. Mohanraj,, A. Arumugam, and S. Sudalai. Published under Industrial Crops and Products in the 1 September 2022 issue of ScienceDirect, the paper adds that Azolla’s unconditional growth and its resilient property on weed were found most attractive for paddy cultivation, in addition to nitrogen-fixing and oxygen supply to roots. The entire life cycle of this tiny fern shares ample benefits such as organic manure, bioremediation of hazardous pollutants and restoration of saline soil, feed supplement for animals, fish, and duck.
The Tamil Nadu government has also been promoting Azolla among local farmers. The National Bank for Agriculture and Rural Development (NABARD) introduced azolla in 2015 as a low-cost intervention for dairy cattle in the Tirunelveli district of Tamil Nadu and S. Senthilkumar, an agriculture scientist, conducted a study to determine its overall impact on beneficiaries.
The study, with 375 NABARD-supported farmers to understand the adoption of Azolla. During 2015-16, farmers across 15 villages were provided free Azolla pits and detailed training. “After 21 days, they grew an average of 750 grams/day of Azolla in a 6×4 pit. Feeding Azolla resulted in a substantial increase of 400 ml of milk production per cow per day,” he was quoted as saying by Mongabay.
“With the increased milk production, farmers could potentially earn an additional Rs 480/month at a procurement rate of Rs 40 per litre. Over a 10-month lactation period, this could amount to Rs. 4800 per cow,” Senthilkumar said while introducing the idea of Azolla as a cost-effective solution.
Now, next time you think of that slippery green moss in a village pond: don’t lazily think of dirt. Think that a large section of village dwellers have hit pay dirt.
