Restoring Degraded Land in Yucatan
Reforesting the Yucatan and Starting an Economic Engine in Mexico.
Houston, Texas (PRWEB) February 28, 2017
Biofuels are hot developing markets around the world; however, most projects use productive farmland that produces food or destroys native forests or jungle like palm oil plantations in Asia and Africa to produce biofuels.
However, Michael Chaplinsky, the president of Turf Feeding Systems, a Houston company, has a different and better plan using degraded non-productive land in the Northern region of the Yucatan in Mexico. Chaplinsky will reforest and vegetate open land that has been abandoned and is not productive since the hemp rope industry collapsed over fifty years ago.
Turf Feeding Systems is contracted with Zphere Works, a Mexico City company, to design, construct and manage a 33,000 hectare sustainable high yield Jatropha plantation in the Yucatan – The Monaca Project.
This is a first of its kind plantation that will restore degraded land & soil to create the most productive high yield Jatropha plantation in the world.
Chaplinsky states, “We have formed a team of scientists, engineers, agronomists and practitioners from around the world to implement the high efficiency of hydroponics into a 33,000 hectare plantation. Our goal is to create the most productive Jatropha plantation that uses the least water, fertilizer and chemicals. This will produce twice the best hybrid production, which equals twice the production at half the cost.”
Chaplinsky continues, “We also set a new standard of sustainability, so our team includes, Ron Dodson, a world leader in sustainable practices and operation methods, to help us access and manage the land and the habitat. Dodson will evaluate the entire property to establish the best ways to integrate wildlife sanctuary pockets into the 124 square mile plantation for native wildlife. We will not sacrifice nature for profits. We will be stewards of the environment, and work to recover endangered native species like the native Mayan honey bee.”
Ron Dodson states, “This is a very important project to raise the rural economy of the Yucatan through sustainable agriculture. This project will become a model for reducing rural poverty, which is the top goal of the UNFAO and it will provide schools, career training and a health clinic for workers and their families. It will create an economic engine in the Yucatan for over 600 workers and thousands of family members.”
Chaplinsky concludes, “This project will become a business model for Mexico and other Central American countries to demonstrate how well economics and sustainability work together. Sustainability is an economic driver first, with social and environmental values at the back end. We are pleased and excited that Zphere Works has the vision and passion to support our team’s mission.”
Bio:
Michael Chaplinsky is the President of Turf Feeding Systems a world leading company in fertigation, headquartered in Houston, Texas. Mr. Chaplinsky has developed new technologies integrating fertigation, new irrigation technologies and special soil treatments to reduce irrigation water up to 50%, reduce fertilizer and chemicals 60% while increasing crop production as much as 50%. Mr. Chaplinsky works and speaks at many agriculture conferences worldwide. He is a world expert in Soil Restoration, Water Efficiency and Sodium Issues in water and soil. He developed a new sustainable agriculture program that restores poor soil and produces higher crop production, while reducing water, fertilizer and chemicals. He states, “The world population has passed 7 billion and will pass 9 billion by 2050; however tillable productive farmland in the world is diminishing. My mission is to restore damaged farmland not bulldoze native forests to increase farmland
