Designing and implementing a model for Food Security in Zayed - - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

Designing and implementing a model for Food Security in Zayed University

Carole Ayoub Moubareck

PhD, M.Sc., B.Sc. Pharm Dubai International Nutrition Conference

 Create a food system that

is sustainable, fair, healthy

 Recycle food waste  Produce healthy vegetables and

fruits

We have a dream…

 Human-centered

conceptual framework described as ME = WE

 S

tudents become Leaders,

and “Change Makers” in

the field of food security.

We have a dream…

UAE Food S ecurity

 Without relying on importations of the maj ority of food

supplies

 Despite the multiple limitations

arable land scant rainfall extreme temperatures in the summer

UAE Food S ecurity

 UAE population

Multicultural society with diverse eating preferences expected to reach 11.5 millions by 2025

 Increase in tourism ➢ Overall rise in demand for food

2.7 kilograms of waste including food waste are generated daily per capita in the UAE and this increases to 4.5 kilograms during Ramadan.

Food Wastage in UAE – A Key Food S ecurity Challenge

UAE government goal is to recycle 75 per cent of food waste by 2021

 KULNA means ALL OF US in Arabic.  Led by a transdisciplinary team including students,

faculty, staff, community volunteers as well as local and international field experts at Zayed University

 is a prototype model that addresses current

challenges related to food security, health, wellbeing and waste management in the UAE.

KULNA FOOD PRODUCTION S YS TEM

 Model based on the principles of Permaculture – building

a permanent agriculture system that mimics a natural ecosystem in resilience and diversity.

 Encourages people to be food producers rather than only

consumers.

KULNA FOOD PRODUCTION S YS TEM

Organic Food Production Creation of an enriched soil

KULNA FOOD PRODUCTION S YS TEM

Creation of an enriched soil

Organic FOOD WAS TE HEALTHY S

• il

The COMPOS TING JOURNEY

Benefits of Composting

1.

Reducing Organic Food waste

2.

Reducing Greenhouse gases

3.

Replacing chemical fertilizers with

• rganic compost

4.

Improving water holding capacity by retaining moisture in the soil

5.

Creating a sustainable food system

How did the students prepare Compost in 6 steps?

 In a shady area of the

COMPOS T ALLEY , they placed a wooden composting box and have put a layer of small twigs and tree branches to aerate the preparation.

we can use plastic containers and put waste inside it, after making holes in all the sides to allow the air to go inside it.

How to prepare Compost in 6 steps?

 Placed organic food waste inside the composting

bin.

 S

pread soil

• r

"already done" compost to incorporate decomposers (bacteria…) and st art the degradation. Addition

• f

decomposers was not compulsory.

 S

tudents adj usted the moisture in the compost pile. They added dry straw or sawdust to soggy materials

• r added water to compost piles that

were too dry.

 S

tudents allowed the mixture to

"bake”. It heated up quickly and

reached the desired temperature (32° to 60° C). The pile settled down from its original height after four to five days.

 The students added

• rganic waste and

brown materials once a week.

 They mixed the compost

to allow air to come inside it and speed up the process.

 After 3 months, the

compost looked like dark crumbly soil mixed with small pieces of organic material.

 It had a sweet and

earthy smell.

Composting parameters

 C:N ratio the brown and green materials have to be added in the ratio of 3:1 to obtain a compost of good quality. Carbon (brown materials) is an energy source for microorganisms. Nitrogen (green materials) component of nucleic acids, proteins, enzymes and coenzymes.

The green ingredients used in compost

 Bananas  Parsley  Potatoes  Carrots  Egg plants  Apples  Watermelon  Grass clipping  Flower  Etc…

The brown ingredients used in compost

 Brown leaves  Newspapers  Wood chips  S

traw

The ingredients that are not supposed to be in compost

 Garlic, onions or spicy peppers  Citrus fruits: lemons, oranges, or their peels  Diseased plants  Cooking oil  Meat or dairy products

Activators can be used to speed up the process

 Nitrogen rich ingredients Alfalfa meal  Soil microorganisms, blend of

microorganisms that contains bacteria and fungi etc… to speed up the process.

The decomposition is performed by micro-

• rganisms, mostly bacteria, but also yeasts and

fungi. In low temperature phases a number of macro-

• rganisms, such as springtails, ants, nematodes,

isopods and earthworms also contribute to the process, as well as soldier flies, fruit flies and lezards.

WHO are the decomposers?

 Twelve different compost samples were prepared over a

period of 3 months.

 The compost samples had the fresh smell of the

forest.



S tandard range is between 30 to 70%



All 12 samples organic matter between 38 to 50%

10 20 30 40 50 60 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 % Sample Number

ORGANIC MATTER %

Analysis of the physico-chemical properties



Typical mature compost moisture content should be between 40-50%



S ample 3 and 11 were within the range



S ample 5 and 12 were above the range



Remaining eight samples were below the range



Low moisture content may be due to the mixing of samples with sand

10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 % Sample Number

MOISTURE %

 pH is an indicator of the presence

• f organic acid intermediates that

smell bad.

 S

tandard range for the pH of the compost should be between 6 to 8

 pH of all the samples were within

the range except for the sample 1 which was 8.5

 This slight basic pH is acceptable

7.2 7.4 7.6 7.8 8.0 8.2 8.4 8.6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sample Number

pH

Electrical Conductivity (EC)



S

• luble S

alts (EC) are mineral ions that are naturally present in compost



standard range for EC in compost ranges from 1–10 mS / cm



All our samples were within the range and had values between 1 to 5.1 mS / cm

1 2 3 4 5 6 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 Sample Number

Macronutrients in the compost



S tandard range of the nitrogen in the finished compost ranges between 0.5 to 2.5% .



Available Nitrogen in the compost is LOW ranging from 0.02 to 0.15%



This indicates that our compost still needs maturation.

0.00 0.02 0.04 0.06 0.08 0.10 0.12 0.14 0.16 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 % Sample Number

NITROGEN %



Excess sodium can lead to sodicity, which is the ability of sodium to disperse soil particles so that soil structure is lost.



Compost containing more than 1% sodium is considered to be quite high in sodium.



All our samples were below 1% with percentages ranging between 0.11 to 0.45%

0.00 0.05 0.10 0.15 0.20 0.25 0.30 0.35 0.40 0.45 0.50 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 % Sample Number

SODIUM %

Potassium and Phosphorus

 Phosphorous and potassium are the essential nutrients for the plants.

The amount required for the different plants are not yet standardized but their availability in the compost is beneficial.

 Potassium found in amount between 0.32 to 0.95%

.

 Phosphorus found between 0.05 mg/ kg and 0.31 mg/ kg.

S tudy of the microbial diversity

Fluorescent in sit u hybridization technique

Oligonucleotide probes used in this study

Probe name Target organism

Rank

HGC69a Actinobacteria

Phylum

Bet42a Betaproteobacteria

Class

Gam42a Gammaproteobacteria

Class

ARC915 Archaea

Domain

NSO190 Beta-proteobacterial ammonia-

• xidizing bacteria

Class

NIT3 Nitrobacter species

Genus

NEU Most halophilic and halotolerant nitrosomonas species.

Genus

NSR1156 Nitrospira moscoviensis, freshwater Nitrospira species

Species, Genus

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Actinobacteria Bet aproteobacteria Gammaproteobacteria Archaea Bet aproteobacterial ammonia oxidizing bacteria Nitrobacter species Halophilic and halotolerant nitrosomonas species Nitrospira species Average %

MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

Actinobacteria

 Gram positive bacteria found

dominant

 Production of extracellular enzymes

and bioactive metabolites which play a crucial role in the degradation of complex substrates such as lignocellulose.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Average %

MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

27 %

Proteobacteria

 Gram negative bacteria  Role in the degradation of

glucose, propionate and butyrate.

 Role in the oxidation of

ammonia.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Average %

MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

17.8% 16.7% 21.8%

Archaea

 help in the nitrification

process and in the oxidation

• f ammonia.

Nitrospira species

 important for nitrite

• xidation.

Nitrobacter species

 help in the oxidation of

nitrite.

Nitrosomonas species

 Help in the household waste

composting process.

5 10 15 20 25 30 35 40 Average %

MICROBIAL DIVERSITY

8.5% 12.4% 9.5% 9.4%

S ummary of the compost analysis

 Compost of GOOD QUALITY

Organic matter, EC and pH parameters met the standards. S

• dium, Potassium, Phosphorus adequate concentrations

 Moisture and total nitrogen were detected at low levels.

The low availability of nitrogen is strongly related to the immaturity of the compost.

 Microbial identification revealed the presence of actinobacteria,

various proteobacteria, archaea and different nitrifying bacteria which facilitate the decomposition process.

Zayed University Compost was used:

• S

tarter for composting at home

• Growth of indoors plants
• To cultivate vegetables outdoors
• To enrich the soil of the Kulna Food

Production S ystem

Wit h t he Compost Proj ect , we encouraged t he KULNA Food Product ion S yst em. By mult iplying similar syst ems in t he UAE, we will go from a net import ing nat ion t o a sust ainable communit y of empowered individuals.

Acknowledgements

Questions / Comments

Carole Ayoub Moubareck Associate Professor, College of Natural and Health Sciences, Zayed University Tel: 04 402 1745 carole.ayoubmoubareck@zu.ac.ae

For more information, please check www.kulna.me