Perception of sludge use among farmers in Northern Governorate, Gaza Strip

Abstract

The farmers tendency toward sludge use in agriculture as a fertilizer and/or soil conditioner in the Northern Governorate of the Gaza Strip has been investigated. A sample of 70 farmers was randomly selected. Data were collected through a questionnaire especially designed for this purpose. Despite the relatively high cost of chemical fertilizers, a substantial number of the interviewed farmers 67 (95.7%) applied them. Also, most farmers 62 (88.6%) were found to use animal manure particularly the fresh one. The use of untreated sludge seems to be very rare. Only two farmers (2.9%) from the population sampie reported that they use untreated sludge. Currently, treated sludge is not available in Gaza Strip, but it will be produced in large quantities from the suggested new wastewater treatment plants that will be established in the near future. After discussing the characters and advantages of the new treated sludge …