Articles
ASIAN SMALLHOLDER VEGETABLE FARMERS AS IPM EXPERTS: EXPERIENCES FROM THE FAO REGIONAL VEGETABLE IPM PROGRAMME
Article number
958_16
Pages
141 – 146
Language
English
Abstract
Pesticide use in vegetable production among smallholder farmers in Asia remains unnecessarily high.
Enduring concerns over farmer health and environmental pollution caused by indiscriminate use of pesticides, call for safer and more sustainable crop protection strategies.
New concerns over food safety in relation to pesticide residues on fresh and processed vegetables intended for domestic and export markets provide momentum for further development and application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as part of Good Agricultural Practices promotion efforts.
At the same time, climate change is facilitating the spread of new invasive pest species, often prompting farmers to use more pesticides.
FAO has been working with Asian governments, civil society organizations and the private sector to develop robust IPM strategies for a range of economically-important vegetable crops during the last decade.
Case studies of successfully employed vegetable IPM strategies, resulting into major crop production improvements and reductions in pesticide use, will be detailed in this paper.
Apart from assistance to governments to strengthen pesticide regulatory systems, FAO also continues to assist National IPM Programmes in the Asia region to implement farmer IPM training, using the innovative and successful Farmers Field School approach.
This paper will therefore also outline training achievements to date and results from this important training work, aimed at turning vegetable farmers into IPM experts.
Enduring concerns over farmer health and environmental pollution caused by indiscriminate use of pesticides, call for safer and more sustainable crop protection strategies.
New concerns over food safety in relation to pesticide residues on fresh and processed vegetables intended for domestic and export markets provide momentum for further development and application of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) as part of Good Agricultural Practices promotion efforts.
At the same time, climate change is facilitating the spread of new invasive pest species, often prompting farmers to use more pesticides.
FAO has been working with Asian governments, civil society organizations and the private sector to develop robust IPM strategies for a range of economically-important vegetable crops during the last decade.
Case studies of successfully employed vegetable IPM strategies, resulting into major crop production improvements and reductions in pesticide use, will be detailed in this paper.
Apart from assistance to governments to strengthen pesticide regulatory systems, FAO also continues to assist National IPM Programmes in the Asia region to implement farmer IPM training, using the innovative and successful Farmers Field School approach.
This paper will therefore also outline training achievements to date and results from this important training work, aimed at turning vegetable farmers into IPM experts.
Authors
J.W. Ketelaar, P. Kumar
Keywords
IPM, Asia, pesticide mis-use, FFS, vegetables, Good Agriculture Practices
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