Peru Agriculture

On the rugged, rainy island of Chiloe in southern Chile, impoverished rural communities fight a never-ending battle against a fungus that can wither potato plants and turn harvests into heartbreaking failures. But since last year, many Chiloe farmers have a new weapon in their fight against blight. They have learned how to make an anti-fungal "tea" by draining liquid from compost and adding casein, a milk protein, to stimulate the growth of certain bacteria.