A Brazilian researcher is working with Mexican farmers to test soils using biochar: a carbon-rich material showing promise in increasing water retention and fertility.
Biochar is a porous, solid material produced in an oxygen-poor environment from organic materials (like wood chips) that would otherwise have been burnt and release carbon into the atmosphere.
According to Sara de Jesús Duarte, Research and Development Leader for The Next 150 who has a PhD in Soil and Plant Nutrition, has been running an “On-field experiment” from March 2023 on two farms in Guanajuato, Mexico, to demonstrate the potential of biochar to increase water retention and soil fertility, while reducing agricultural production costs.
“This opportunity has the potential to generate significant impact by increasing awareness and understanding of biochar among the local farming community, which could lead to more sustainable farming practices,” she says, “This project is of great importance, as its direct impactextends to approximately 23,000 farmers in the state of Guanajuato, Mexico, and will serve as a model for the large-scale use of biochar enriched and non-enriched with microorganisms in Vertisols.”
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Duarte says there has been a growing consensus in the scientific community about the potential benefits of biochar on agriculture and carbon emissions, but that these benefits can vary significantly depending on the type of biochar, specific pyrolysis conditions, soil type and climate to which it is applied, which is where where the trials come in.
“Biochar has significant potential to reduce the need for agricultural irrigation, improve the chemical, physical and biological quality of the soil and serve as an effective tool in carbon sequestration, thus avoiding its release into the atmosphere,” she says, “Improved soil is fundamental to more robust and productive agricultural development.
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Brazilian researcher Sara Duarte at a field experiment in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico in July of 2023.
Brazilian researcher Sara Duarte at a field experiment in Salamanca, Guanajuato, Mexico in July of … [+]ENRIQUE GARCÍA
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Farming Origins
Duarte grew up in the rural city of Presidente Tancredo Neves, in Bahia, Brazil.