Takeo city creating fertilizer from wild boars to aid local farmers

Takeo City, in southern Japan of Saga prefecture, has started a project to reuse the remains of wild boars as fertilizer in a rare innovation that aims to benefit farmers whose crops are often damaged by the animals.

As in many farming communities in Japan’s central and southern regions, wild boars often cause damage and crop loss in Takeo City. In 2011, the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries estimated that it cost the nation 6.2 billion yen in crop damage alone.

Of the 2,000-3,000 wild boars that are hunted in Takeo City each year to curb this damage, less than 10% are suitable to be used as meat. The city was paying a company to dispose of the remainder, but when it became difficult to continue to do that, it decided to dry the remains to reduce their volume. Usually, the resulting material is then buried to dispose of it, but Takeo City wants to explore its use as fertilizer instead. The Ministry describes the approach as “unusual.”

“We want to give back to farmers”

Takeo City’s local animal processing center calculates that is will be able to make about 10-15 tons of fertilizer a year, which it hopes local farmers will use. “Even if just a little, we want to give back to the farmers who have suffered from wildlife damage,” says a representative of the center.

In March this year, the center began using a drying furnace that turns and dries the remains for five hours, turning them into powder. Although a proper analysis of the resulting material will be carried out this year, the city’s agricultural department expects it to be a high-nutrient fertilizer that contains nitrogen, phosphoric acid and potash.

The drying furnace cost about 30 million yen. It uses 10 liters of kerosene an hour to process a batch of up to about 400 kilograms. Operating at between 70 and 80 degrees Celsius, it takes just five hours to reduce remains to a powder.

Utilizing everything

One difficulty the processing center is facing in creating the powder is the oil contained in the remains. To solve the problem it is experimenting with adding lime to suppress the viscosity and with reusing the oil as fuel for the furnace. It is also considering using it in moisturizing cream to sell at the center.

Although wild boars aren’t the most endearing of animals, it’s still sad to kill creatures. For taking a life, we owe it to the animal to make the most of that life, so it’s heartening to see Takeo City endeavoring to do that.

Their example also shows that innovation is not just a question of technology. The aim to which technology is deployed may be the greatest determiner of innovation. In this case, Takeo City’s goal is to reduce waste and give back to farmers. It is exciting to imagine what other innovation awaits us in a world that also aims to cut waste and give back to society.