Big bucks for rat bat manure

If you have access to rat bat faeces, you might be sitting on a gold mine as the scarce and highly potent commodity is being sold for as much as $1,000 per pound.

Jason Callender, who has been selling rat bat manure for more than a year, told THE STAR that the product works wonders on plants, especially ganja.

"I used to always get my 'weed' from Westmoreland, and I noticed that their weed was the best, and I was always wondering how it got like that, with a reddish colour. Then I learnt that it is the rat bat manure that does it, and makes it stronger," Callender told THE STAR.

He said he then discovered rat bat manure in a cave on one of his colleague's property in Portland, and began experimenting with it. After seeing great results, he started to market it.

"The rat bat manure has the highest form of nitrogen, which is something that all plants need to grow," he said, noting that the only other time you have more concentrated nitrogen is when it rains and you hear thunder.

He said the best rat bat manure comes from the rural areas, where the creatures are exposed to plenty of fruits.

PERFECT AS IS

"When they (defecate), it just drops straight to the ground and after a time it builds up to layers and layers and it just turns to a dust where you just go and dig it up and bag it. You don't need to do anything else to it; it's perfect as is," he said.

One farmer who swears by the potency is Ruddy Bolan, who has been using it for three years.

"It works wonders, man! When you put it on the plants, it's like they double in size. I use it to plant pumpkin, tomato, and flowers. Me very pleased with the results," Bolan said.

Agronomist at the Rural Agricultural Development Authority, Webster McPherson, told THE STAR that rat bat manure is recommended as it improves texture and structure of the soil.

"It has mostly nitrogen so it promotes growth. It is not very widely used because not many farmers have access to it. I know a lot of the farmers that used to produce marijuana in the hills use it, but it is not widely used by commercial farmers as it's not very available," he said.