I was surfing the internet looking for information on how to produce organic fertilizer using locally sourced materials and came across this piece of information, which I believe will be of great benefit to other farmers who may not have the financial capability to acquire fertilizer as we are approaching the next farming session. This is the summary of the write-up.

An experiment was conducted to ascertain the suitability of using rice husk and chicken droppings to produce organic fertilizer. This was achieved by composting rice husk and chicken droppings mixture in treatment ratios of 2:0, 2:1, 2:2 and 2:3 by volume, with an objective to establish the optimum combination ratio which can produce the highest total nitrogen content and a low carbon to nitrogen ratio acceptable in farming. The study utilized a Completely Randomized Design (CRD). The experiment involved four treatments with three replicates. The treatments were done by increasing the volume of mixture of chicken droppings added to rice husk waste. Water, comprising 40% by volume of rice husk and chicken droppings mixture was also added to all treatments. The total organic carbon and total nitrogen content of composting materials were analyzed after every 28 day and on the last day of composting. Finished compost quality in terms of total nitrogen content, were significantly increased by enriching rice husk waste with chicken droppings, while the carbon to nitrogen ratio were significantly reduced in most treatments. Analysis of the results showed that the best treatment combinations were mixing rice husk waste with chicken droppings at the ratio of 2:2 and 2:3. The treatment combination ratio of 2:2 had 2.26% of the total nitrogen content, which was higher than the treatment combination ratio of 2:3 which has 2.23% of the total nitrogen content while both treatments have C:N ratio of below 20 which is acceptable in organic fertilizer production for use in agriculture. It was therefore the conclusion of the experiment that composting rice husk and chicken droppings mixture in treatment ratio of 2:2 is the best for use on farms to improve nutrient of soils for plants utilization.

https://www.icidr.org/jeiadc-vol10-no2-august2018/Suitability%20of%20Rice%20Husk%20and%20Chicken%20Droppings%20as%20Organic%20Fertilizer%20for%20Sustainable%20Agriculture%20in%20Ghana.pdf