Worms that live in the soil are the farmer's and gardener's friends. They consume dead organic matter and turn it into rich and fertile humus with added natural nutrients. One species of worm, the Californian Red Worm, is particularly productive at making humus, reproduces vigorously, is easy to breed and has good longevity. In Argentina farmers are increasing their incomes by learning how to set up wormeries to transform animal and crop wastes into humus.

The incorporation of as little as 1 or 2 per cent of good quality humus in a soil can transform an unproductive soil. A good humus contains adequate quantities of plant nutrients such as minerals incorporating nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium and calcium as well as bacteria that continue to transform dead organic plant matter in the soil. Humus from worms is also completely organic and environmentally benign, and usually a completely suitable alternative to chemical fertilisers.

Argentina is slowly recovering from a severe economic crisis of two to three years ago which affected the lives of much of the population including many farmers. Vermiculture is already having a significant impact on improving incomes and opportunities in the rural areas.

In Argentina, as in many countries, waste disposal from households and industries is becoming an increasing concern. The Californian Red Worm (Eisenia foetida) is being promoted for its ability to process a wide range of organic wastes that are of plant or animal origin, provided that the raw material is mixed and maintained in the right way for the worms to feed on.

The Californian Red Worm, also known as the Tiger Worm or Brandling, is a particularly versatile and hardy type of worm. It can be used for vermiculture in many parts of the world, except in cold or very hot climates, though here it might still be possible to breed them indoors or, in a hot climate, in a shaded area. It has become the most commonly used worm for vermiculture.

Vermiculture in Argentina

A company called Worms Argentina is at the forefront of the development of vermiculture and vermicompost in Argentina. The centre of the operation is located near the city of Rosario, which is in the north-eastern province of Santa Fe and situated inland about 300 km from Buenos Aires on the river Paraná. It is also about 200 km from the border with Uruguay and about 400 km from the Brazilian border. Worms Argentina has helped to establish about 400 wormeries throughout Argentina and this number is expected to rise to 600. The vermicompost produced by the farmers and other processors is marketed by Worms Argentina throughout the country and in Brazil under the trade name 'Wormilizer'.

Worms Argentina has established an active worm breeding programme in the country and is developing new applications for worm-based products, waste treatment of various organic wastes by worms and optimal use of the Wormilizer humus in agriculture and horticulture. Recently the organisation has assisted in setting up vermiculture projects elsewhere in South America, in the Caribbean, Asia, Europe and the Middle East. A growing market for vermicompost is for golf courses and other areas of turf for sports. The compost has been found to retain water well, so watering needs for turf are minimised. Another important development in many countries is a growing market for organic food.

Worms Argentina is not the only organisation in Argentina promoting vermiculture (a few other examples are included in the Further Information section). Argentina is emerging as a leading country in the development and promotion of this technology.

The Diverse Uses of Worms

Worms that live in soil are not just useful for making humus, or as fishing bait, which is another common use. Other uses include:

Drying and grinding of the flesh of the worm to produce a high protein powdered food additive used, for example, in hamburgers, sausages and other minced meat products, and as an additive to animal feed (for horses, rabbits and chickens, for example) to provide nutritional balance
As live food for rearing fish and frogs
Extracting collagen from the worms for pharmaceuticals
Making antibiotics from the ceolomic liquid (the fluid that transports nutrients and respiratory gases through a worm's body) extracted from the worms
Research into how the skin of worms repairs itself to discover if this can be used for repair of damaged skin for people and whether substances obtained from worms can strengthen a person's auto immune system

Waste Processing

Californian Red Worms can process a wide range of organic waste materials, even though they are primarily dung eaters. However, the material in the wormery has to contain a proportion of animal dung or droppings, which is richer in enzymes, as the worms do not thrive on plant matter alone. The wormery can contain a proportion of wastes such as straw and husks from cereal production, skin, peel and cores from fruit and vegetables, waste food from canteens and restaurants, paper and card.

The red worms can process a range of organic waste mixtures, even if these are not the optimal or normal material they feed on, but it can take them longer to process some materials and they might not breed as productively. As a bonus humus is the end product. With worms organic matter can be converted to compost more quickly than if it is just processed by watering and turning, and it will be more nutrient rich.

Breeding Worms and Making Humus

To make high quality compost that is also a good fertiliser as a saleable product and encourage productive breeding of worms, rather than just to process wastes, it is important that optimal conditions are created for the worms to thrive. Then more humus will be produced, it will be better quality, and more worms will be available to process other material or to sell. Worms Argentina found that the following procedures make good practice.

Aerating the compost to lower the temperature, photo - Worms Argentina

A mixture of half animal dung or droppings and half plant waste, such as straw or grass, is used for the compost. From the ground successive layers, 20 to 30 centimetres high, of dung and plant matter are spread to create a bed one to two metres high.
The bed is left to compost on its own for three to five weeks, turning - and in dry weather watering - frequently for aeration and moistness to promote aerobic digestion by bacteria. Note that if the worms are introduced before the end of this stage the compost will be too warm and they will die.
The worms are then put onto the compost. A typical application is about 15,000, or 5 kilos, of worms per cubic metre of compost.
The worms are fed and the beds watered for 90 days. The feed for the worms is compost that has already been rotted, as at stage 2. The same weight of compost as the weight of worms originally introduced is added daily. Watering is essential to ensure that the beds maintain a moisture content of 75 to 80 per cent. Excessive watering has to be avoided as this increases the acidity (lowers the pH) and the worms might die.
The beds are left without feeding the worms but continued aeration and watering for a further 90 days, and for the last 45 days of this covered in mulching plastic. In the meantime fresh beds have been prepared nearby and the worms migrate to these.
The humus is collected and sieved mechanically to remove large particles before bagging. The humus grains in the product are less than 0.5 millimetres across.

Introducing the worms into the compost, photo - Worms Argentina

Note that some vermiculturalists use containers or build a shelter to hold the worms and compost. In the mild climate of Northern Argentina this has been found to be unnecessary. A temperature in the beds of 20 to 25ºC is best for the Californian Red Worms to breed, though they can still be active in temperatures up to about 35ºC, provided this is not a frequent occurrence. The worms stop breeding at 7ºC, though they still continue to produce humus. The worms will die in a long deep frost. Unlike earthworms they cannot burrow deep underground to avoid freezing.

Some vermiculturalists take apart the humus to collect the worms and move the worms to another location. Worms Argentina found this not to be necessary, as the worms will migrate for themselves, when they are no longer being fed, to another bed of compost that has been prepared for them.

Vermicompost

Vermicompost, the end product, is extremely useful for enriching and fertilising the soil. It is odourless and safe to handle. It is rich in hormones, antibiotics and vitamins that produce healthy plant growth.

Although its nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium values are not as high as for chemical fertilisers, it is a multi-purpose compost that provides all the ingredients needed to improve most soils and is much better for the environment as well. By contrast, to improve poor soils chemical fertilisers are not enough by themselves and other materials need to be applied as well. Vermicompost is also seven times richer than compost that has been rotted without introduction of worms, so only one seventh of the quantity is needed to enrich the soil.

Tests in India have shown that vermicompost application can double wheat yields and quadruple yields of fodder. For best effect vermicompost needs to be applied before the growing season over a two or three year period.

Comparing Stevia Dulce plants grown with and without WORMILIZER addition. The plants are used to make a sweetener, see http://www.steviadulce.com/ for more information, photo - Worms Argentina

A lot of the humus that farmers produce for Worms Argentina is used in Misiones Province, North of Argentina, to cultivate the plant Stevia, which is very good as an alternative to sugar for people who have diabetes or high cholesterol, and people who are overweight. The application of good quality humus determines the level of sweetness in the plant.

Successful Vermiculture

Vermiculture is still a relatively new technology that has not yet been fully explored. There are also cases from a number of countries of producers rushing into vermiculture, then finding that the worms died, or the results of breeding and humus production were disappointing. A small vermiculture project does not take much time and can be run as a sideline to another occupation or as a hobby. However, wormeries need caring for and if neglected they will decline. There is still relatively little published material on vermiculture, but there are some informative websites, some of which are listed below.

When thinking about starting a wormery it is important not to rush into this but to take time to seek information and advice. The supplier of worms could be a useful source of information. Undertaking training at a wormery or by distance learning would be useful for getting the necessary knowledge.

Unlike industrial fertiliser production, which rewards large commercial companies, with vermiculture (worm rearing) the small to medium-scale farmers can increase incomes. By providing technical assistance to farmers and marketing the compost they produce, Worms Argentina is making a real difference to the lives of many farmers.

Acknowledgement

ITDG would like to thank Silvio Pajon for assistance in preparing this case study.

Further Information

Worms Argentina S.A.
Officina Central
Eva Peron 6576
(2000) Rosario, Santa Fe
Argentina

Tel./Fax: +54 - 341 - 4585383
E-mail: info@wormsargentina.com
http://wormsargentina.com/
Information in Spanish and English

Descriptions and links to web resources on vermiculture prepared for the American Peace Corps Volunteers
http://peacecorps.mtu.edu/main%20page.htm
Compilers:
Daniella Zanin and Eric Schuette
School of Forestry and Wood Products
Michigan Technological University
1400 Townsend Drive
Houghton, Michigan 49931
USA
ehschuet@mtu.edu
dkzanin@mtu.edu

Information resources on vermiculture by Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (mainly focused on the United States)
http://attra.ncat.org/attra-pub/vermicom.html
Appropriate Technology Transfer for Rural Areas (ATTRA)
PO Box 3657
Fayetteville, AR 72702
USA
Tel: 1-800-346-9140
Fax: (479) 442-9842
E-mail: aliceb@ncatark.uark.edu

The website http://www.vermiculturemanual.com/ contains information on vermiculture in Spanish and English as well as a discussion forum on the subject of vermiculture. No further contact details are given.

Note that there are a number of other websites with information on vermiculture

Some Books on Vermiculture

In Their Own Words: Interviews With Vermiculture Experts, by Peter Bogdanov, Petros Pub. Co., 2001, ISBN 0965703916
Commercial Vermiculture: How to Build a Thriving Business in Redworms, by Peter Bogdanov, Petros Pub. Co., 1998, ISBN 0965703908
Worms Eat My Garbage: How to Set Up and Maintain a Worm Composting System, by Mary Appelhof & Mary F. Fenton (illustrator), Eco-Logic Books / Worldly Goods, 2003, ISBN 0942256107
The Worm Book: The Complete Guide to Worms in Your Garden, by Loren Nancarrow & Janet Taylor, Ten Speed Press, 1998, ISBN 0898159946

Other Relevant Hands On Productions

Worm's Eye - Ireland, Series 2, Lifting the Lid

Crash and Grow - Argentina, Series 4, A Growing Trend

TVE/ Practical Action gratefully acknowledge support for the HANDS ON programmes from the UK's Department for International Development (DFID), the European Commission (EC), the UN Foundation and UNDP/The Equator Initiative in collaboration with the Government of Canada, IDRC, IUCN, BrasilConnects and the Nature Conservancy.