Spirulina Micro Farming

To make micro farming profitable, you need a cheap source of feed for your animals. Due to globalisation, the local price of animal feed is determined on the world market. To be able to compete with industrialized farms, micro farmers need feed at a price that is lower than the world market price for animal feed.

Price

The price of local animal feed includes the costs for:

• harvesting
• processing (to protect the crop against moulds etc)
• a profit for the farmer
• a profit for the go-betweens
• transportation (multiple)

Eliminated Costs

Using home-grown spirulina for animal feed, all the costs above are eliminated.

• The spirulina is not harvested, as it is consumed by the animals directly, without any intervention
• The spirulina is not processed, but rather consumed in its original, raw state
• Farming spirulina is profitable when reducing the costs of animal feed
• There are no transportation costs whatsoever, as the spirulina is consumed on the spot. In addition, micro farmers sell their produce locally, at the farm gate, which also eliminates all transportation costs. Every village needs micro farmers.

Optimal Conditions

What are the optimal conditions for spirulina micro farming?

• Maximum daylight exposure, as in equatorial countries
• The (year around) temperature range for optimum Spirulina growth is 30 to 35°C.[1]
• Poor infrastructure, as the transportation costs for both locally bought animal feed and the end product (eg chicken wings) increase as the infrastructure is increasingly poor.
• Corruption, as imported and transported goods are subject to extra charges, which undermines your competition. Micro farmers sell their produce to local consumers, without intervention

Side Effects

Some side effects of Spirulina Micro Farming are:

• Increasing rural employment, inhibiting the exodus to urban areas
• Decreasing the need for industrially produced animal feed
• Decreasing the need for land with fertile soil (save the rain forests!), as spirulina may be cultivated on concrete, with a very high yield per surface ratio
• Spirulina consumes carbon dioxide (CO₂) and spirulina micro farming requires no transport, which is good for the environment
• Micro farming allows for animal friendly husbandry

Spirulina Over Grains/Soy

• Spirulina is a 'weed'; in optimal conditions it outcompetes all other organisms. Therefore, spirulina cultivation does not require any herbicides nor pesticides.
• Spirulina contains more protein than grains, soy and other algae
• Rain forests get deforestated to make way for soy cultivation. Spirulina may be cultivated on any infertile soil, as it just needs a (eg concrete) floor
• Soy needs a five times bigger surface per kg produce than spirulina
• Spirulina may be cultivated in sewage water
• Spirulina may replace fish meal, as it (fresh, raw spirulina) contains essential omega-3 fats (including DHA en EPA [2]), unlike grains and soy