#Conservation of nature and environment#Education, science and research#Ecological farming#Measures for climate adaptation
Ongoing funding
About the foundation
The Bioland Stiftung is a non-profit, independent foundation under civil law and is committed to the development and establishment of an ecological and socially fair agriculture and food industry. With the support of its donors and a large number of cooperation partners, it promotes and initiates projects and initiatives and brings together innovative players with forward-looking circles from business and society.
When we try to impose our will on natural processes, we move away from the goal of protecting our soils. Instead, we must learn to look at nature with open eyes again, learn from it and find ways to work with it - in harmony, not in battle.
Why we fund
The initial idea behind the project is the possibility of making a big impact on a small scale in relation to our global challenges. Cost-efficient, flexible and scalable methods are to be demonstrated in order to bring about a paradigm shift in the mindset of the farming community.
Controlling natural processes with our imposed will does not lead us to the goal of protecting our soils. We need to refocus on observing nature, learning from it and finding ways to work with it.
The way we want to do this is through vermicomposting. Worm composting is the most natural process of decomposing organic material. Here, compost worms and microbiological communities work closely together to process and upgrade organic material. The best thing about worm composting is that the compost worms do most of the work and have more than 200 million years of professional experience.
PROJECT DETAILS
What we fund
Through vermicomposting, we aim to demonstrate a way to give farmers back control over their resources. The idea is to recycle farm-generated waste—such as crop residues, green waste, or other organic materials—through vermicomposting, thereby producing high-quality material for fertilization and plant strengthening without relying on external inputs.
The seeds are therefore treated (primed) with the compost extract from the farm’s own vermicomposting system.
The goal of the project is to investigate the influence of different initial microbiomes in barley seeds on germination and early plant development. To this end, three seed variants—commercially treated, untreated, and surface-sterilized seeds—are used as starting material and subjected to defined treatments.
As part of the project, germination experiments are conducted under controlled conditions, and germination and growth parameters—such as germination rate, root length, and shoot length—are recorded. The results are expected to shed light on how the seed’s initial microbiome influences early plant development and modifies the effects of the treatments applied. The project thus contributes to a better understanding of plant-microbiome interactions and can provide approaches for sustainable strategies in crop production.
The development of an applicable, practical method with scientific support in the project will enable farmers worldwide to use the process. This should make it possible for both small and large farmers to use the system. In doing so, we are breaking through industrial dependencies and promoting the self-responsibility of farms and actively working to improve the soils we use.
Thanks to the financial support of the Stiftung Zukunft jetzt! , it is possible to scientifically support worm composting and develop practical systems that will be used worldwide!
The best thing about worm composting is the compost worms. They do the bulk of the work and have more than 200 million years of professional experience, and we get to watch them do it!
