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Farmers go back at school Ever greater numbers of farmers across Asia are working together in specially organised Farmer Field Schools (FFS) to learn about the ecology of their fields, enabling them to make and implement decisions that are safe, productive and sustainable. This knowledge allows farmers to free themselves from a dependency on agrochemicals. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) This approach to plant protection learnt at the FFS is known as Integrated Pest Management (IPM), and involves minimising the use of pesticides and using a wide range of ecologically responsible solutions aimed at growing a healthy crop. The IPM training system involves weekly meetings by a group of farmers who are encouraged to observe, record and discuss what is happening in their own fields from planting to harvesting. This process generates a good understanding of how to practically apply ecology sensible solutions. The IPM Farmer Field School The process of any FFS should be the same, but the content changes when the FFS is conducted with different crops. The four principles of the IPM FFS should always be observed:
An important goal in the work of IPM experts has been to present a standard for the purpose of variation. Know-how of a benchmark design allows farmers to adapt the FFS approach to other crops. There have been variations in the standard rice IPM FFS design related to the number of FFS meetings and number of participants. In some countries the number of meetings of the FFS has been extended to 16 meetings and the number of participants has been increased to 30. When FFS is conducted in a crop other than rice, changes are based on the various actors in the agroecosystem of that crop (e.g. plant physiology, insects, etc.) Indonesia – a typical rice IPM field school A typical Indonesian IPM Field School is a field based learning exercise for 25 farmers. The Field School lasts for a full cropping season, meeting at least 12 times for four to five hours. Each meeting consists of a set pattern of activities:
The primary learning material at a Field School is the rice field, which is where most Field School activities take place. The size of the fields of an IPM Field School varies up to a total area of 1,000 m2. Field School plots receive two treatments. A set of plots will be designated to receive an IPM treatment and another set will be designated as non-IPM or local treatment. The primary difference between the two is that the non-IPM fields receive a basal treatment of carbofuran and only nitrogen fertiliser (this tends to be standard farmer practice in Indonesia). The IPM fields will receive a balanced fertiliser treatment (NPK) and may be planted at lower densities with wider spacing than is typical of the local farmer treatment if that is appropriate. Other differences in treatments will reflect the decisions of FFS participants. These decisions usually reflect the principle of growing a healthy crop. Because of the importance of the field study plots to the learning process, the Field School meeting place is usually close to the field study plots. Participants IPM Farmer Field Schools are designed for 25 participants. This is not an arbitrary number. During field observations, agroecosystem analysis and other activities, farmers divide into five ‘small groups’ of five participants each. This is an ideal size for small group discussions. This number allows for sufficient diversity of opinion without being so large as to discourage less vocal participants from taking an active role. After the Field School is completed twenty-five farmers constitutes a neighbourhood support group for IPM of a reasonable size within the context of a village. Selection of participants takes place at a meeting led by the IPM Field School facilitator with the members of the Farmers Group from which participants will be drawn. At this meeting the Field School process is explained. The facilitator also explains to prospective participants that they will be expected to attend every week for the duration of the season. The basic format of an IPM Field School for farmers consists of three activities:
Agroecosystem observation Agroecosystem analysis sharpens farmers’ observation and decision-making skills and helps develop their powers of critical thinking. The process begins with small group observations of the IPM and non-IPM plots. During the observation process participants collect field data (i.e. the number of tillers per hill and varieties of insects and their populations) and samples of insects and plants. Data are collected from ten rice hills, and the facilitator is present throughout the observation to help participants in their observations. Analysis Following the field observation, the farmers return to the meeting place and, using crayons, draw what they have observed in the field on a large piece of newsprint or poster paper. The drawings include:
Presentation of results One member of each small group then presents these findings and decisions to the larger group. After this brief presentation of results the floor is opened for questions and discussion. Effective group discussions often involve the posing of alternative scenarios, e.g. questions such as “What would you do if....” This cycle of presentation, question and answer and discussion is repeated until all five small groups have presented their results. Agroecosystem drawings from previous weeks are kept on hand as a reference and as material for discussion later in the season. Special Topics Special topics support the agroecosystem analysis by delving into specific issues relating to rice agroecosystem and IPM principles. Popular special topics include rat population dynamics and rat control, plant physiology, functions of insects and their interactions, issues surrounding pesticide use, and general field ecology. These are not lecture sessions. In general their success depends upon the trainer’s ability to pose questions that help participants critically analyse what they have observed during the activity. After the trainer introduces the topic and explains the steps to be used in the process, the participants, in small groups, take on the active management of the experiment. As with agroecosystem analysis, observation skills, data collection and analysis are emphasised. Results Since 1990 more than two million farmers have graduated from FFS. In recent years, IPM farmers have started organising themselves in order to carry out field experiments, train other farmers, and interact more effectively with government agencies. These developments have given rise to a new term, Community IPM. Source: Community Integrated Pest management << country/story review |
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