Other than being widespread at the surface and easily accessible, basalt also has a significant advantage over other rock types: it is already being mined at a serious scale. This is because construction of roads and buildings – the main use-case for basalt aggregate – is rapidly surging, especially in the developing world (1). The finest material produced as a byproduct of this industry is considered to be waste, and is usually sold as cheap construction filler. Such material – “waste fines” – is ideal for ERW, and will support the bulk of Mati’s feedstock needs during our initial scale-up across the Global South.
Most of the farmers in the Global South – unlike more developed countries – are classified as smallholder farmers with holdings under 10 acres. Such farmers are faced with financial challenges because their land generates little produce compared to industrialized, large-scale agriculture. Some are victims of water stress – others have resorted to unsustainable farming practices (e.g., overuse of chemical fertilizer) to keep yields afloat in the short term, which leads to long term soil degradation (2) . In many cases, smallholders lack the technology and resources of more financially successful farmers who have been optimizing their farming practice for decades. As such, the benefits of basalt supplement – which Mati provides at no cost – are most visible, measurable, and impactful for smallholder farmers. Mati’s rice deployments in India, have shown an approximately 20% yield increase for farmers – a significant boost in income for a vulnerable population. Our trials in other agro-ecological regions across India and Africa have continued to follow this trend – and in some desperate cases, yield has even doubled. This is an early indicator of the potential for Mati to have a transformative impact on smallholder farmers across the Global South.
At Mati, we are firmly set on bringing the benefits of basalt amendments to 100 million smallholder farmers. This is because in addition to being massive and accessible, basalt deposits are within 200 kilometers of 423 million hectares of cropland globally – testament to its potential as a feedstock for ERW. Furthermore, of the 223 million farms which cultivate these croplands, a staggering 213 million of them (96%) are smallholder operations in the Global South.
