5 times cheaper, an innovative method to restore non-productive soil, using sapropel ameliorant

According to the United Nations, the world loses about 12 million hectares of fertile soil every year. The goal of the European Union mission „Caring for soil is caring for life “ is: to ensure that at least 75% of soils in every European Union country are in good condition and able to provide essential services by 2030.

The world scientific-technological environment has formed a concept: without the restoration of humus, the soil will not be restored, and humus will not be restored without organic matter.

According to statistical data, there is a critical deficit of organic materials in the market. To restore the 12,000,000 hectares of soil that are degraded each year the current global manure supply is only 4 % of demand; the suplly of vermicompost, respectively, only 0.03% of the demand.

The circular economy involves recycling and reusing organic food waste. According statistic data, recycling all the kitchen food waste from across the European Union can only produce about 5% of the organic matter needed to restore 12,000,000 hectares of soil.

Required alternative

It is SAPROPEL! – a complex of natural organic-mineral sediments from freshwater lakes, with global resources over 100 billion tons.

Sapropel extraction prevents lakes from turning into swamps. The use of Sapropel in agriculture is allowed by the European COMMISSION IMPLEMENTING REGULATION Number 354/2014. The use of ameliorant from sapropel to restore non-productive soil is known to science and the market. BY Scientific field research in Egypt, Bahrein, United Arab Emirates, the necessary effective insertion rate of sapropel ameliorant established in TRADITIONAL TECHNOLOGY at 60 tonns per hectar. At this insertion  rate, investment in to soil restoration is not commercially viable and does not actually take place.

Innovative solutions and research

It is an agricultural technology “Scarabaeus” developed by the Lithuanian company Geet yyott Magma Ltd., which enables to reduce the amount of inserted soil improver by 5 times and ensures that the soil in the restored area has the same fertility as if the full, unreduced amount is inserted. Instead of the 60 tonns per hectar rate in traditional technology, it is enough to insert 12 tonns per hectar.

For the first time, scientific field research was carried out in Lithuania in 2019 – 2021.  The fertile soil, up to a level suitable for crop production, was artificially created by using an ameliorant from a mixture of sapropel and peat with Scarabaeus technology in the sandy soil of the sand-gravel quarry.

The traditional technology, inserting 60 tons per hectar  of ameliorant, was compared with the innovative Scarabaeus technology, inserting 12 tons per hectar of ameliorant. Scientific research was carried out by  Agricultural University, Latvia, and  Vyautas Magnus University, Lithuania. The expert evaluation of the research was carried out by Dr. Michael Fullen, professor from Wolverhampton University, United Kingdom. Plant vegetation was studied for two years and results showed: that, by using Scarabaeus technology, after reducing sapropel insertion rate by 5 times, yields, comparable to the fertile soils of Lithuania, were obtained.

The second field research was carried out in 2023 in Spain, in the province of Almeria in the Tabernas desert. Using Scarabaeus technology, non-productive soil was modified to fertile, up to a level suitable for crop production. Granular manure, vermicompost, sapropel and peat were used as soil improvers. Scientific research was carried out by The Experimental Station of Arid Zones,  under the Technical Assistance Agreement. After reducing insertion rate of soil improvers by 5 times, there  were obtained yields, better than those obtained in the fertile soils of Spain. The Scarabaeus technology and the carried out research were presented at an international teleconference on 25th of Januray in 2024, which was attended by 29 prominent soil scientists and researchers from Europe, Africa and South America. Positive evaluations are received. The technical incidents of the Scarabaeus machine in the Tabernas desert became the basis for the modernization of the machine. The methodological mistakes made, became a significant experience. We already know the potential of the arid zone to become fertile 5 times cheaper!

The productivity of  “Scarabaeus”  agricultural machine soil improver insertion is 42 hectares per month. In this process,  “Scarabaeus” machine enables to insert 5 times less of soil improver, than the rate established in traditional technology. This also applies to traditional soil improvers such as granulated manure and vermicompost.

Granular manure and vermicompost are not widely used for the restoration of degraded or desertified soils using traditional technology, as such an investment in to soil restoration is not commercially viable. Innovative technology “Scarabaeus”, which is 5 times cheaper, has a real chance to create a breakthrough in the development of non-productive soil modification. The greatest added value Scarabaeus technology can create with a sapropel soil improver in arid areas where two – three harvests per year are obtained.

GJ Magma Ltd. manage sapropel and peat resources with exploitation permits. GJ Magma Ltd.  holding intellectual property rights to patented technologies and industrial prototypes, tested in the real operating environment. GJ Magma Ltd. has technology, for the production of high added value organic fertilizers, from sapropel and peat; This is the know-how of company. GJ Magma Ltd. has a competent team and a reliable partner for production of technological equipment.

Head of Science of GJ Magma Ltd. Ginutis Juozapavičius

Video – Innovative soil modification technology Scarabaeus:

Articile about technology on Journal of Biotechnology & Bioresearch here.