A unique soil extract for healthier crops, animals

Andrew Geddes, director of AlgJem Global Trading, explained to Glenneis Kriel how L'équilibre de la Nature's unique range of products, made from soil extracts, can restore the natural balance in soil and livestock.

- 

How did L'équilibre de la Nature originate?

L'équilibre de la Nature products are manufactured for AlgJem Global Trading in Atlantis in the Western Cape. Manufacturing started in 2002, but South Africa was not quite ready for these products back then, as awareness of environmentally responsible production, nutrient-dense foods, and the prevention of antimicrobial resistance was not as great as today.

After struggling to enter the local market, the company focused on exports. Today, 95% of its production is exported to 48 countries under various brand names.

What was the catalyst to develop the product?

The product developer, whilst involved in a hydro-energy project in Congo-Brazzaville back in 1996, was seeking a method to decompose tree stumps in the flood basin of the Congo River. His research led him to Bologna University in Italy.

Thirty years before, the university had appointed a team of scientists to establish how the switch to chemical fertilisers would affect agricultural production in the long run, and to look at ways to buffer this impact.

They predicted that chemical fertiliser would destroy the biological balance and structure of the soil, and that farmers would have to use more and more fertiliser to get the same results as in the past.

They then researched various ways to counter this effect, with one study looking at the development of a combination of bacteria to produce humus. Humusorm organisms help to accelerate the decomposing process, which particularly interested the developer. He was so impressed that he bought the intellectual property rights to this solution and underwent extensive training on its production and preservation.

What are the unique properties of the product?