Community IPM in Asia
FAO The misuse of pesticides is harmful to human health and is damaging to the
environment. Millions of people are poisoned by pesticides every year, and pest problems
are often made worse when the balance between beneficial and harmful insects is disturbed
by applying toxic chemicals.
In
the last two decades Asian Governments, NGOs and
international agencies have been working together to organise
training which helps farmers to learn about the
ecology of their fields and, as a result, enables them to
make and implement decisions which are safe, productive and
sustainable.
This ecological approach to plant protection is
called Integrated Pest Management, or IPM. Not only does it
involve minimising the use of pesticides, it also involves a
wide range of other practices aimed at growing a healthy
crop.
The training approach which
has been used to help rural people learn about IPM is called
the Farmers Field School (FFS). This
entails weekly meetings
by a group of farmers. Instead of listening to lectures or watching demonstrations, these
farmers observe, record and discuss what is happening in their own fields from the time of
planting to the time of harvest. This discovery-learning process generates a deep
understanding of ecological concepts and their practical application. 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.
What you can
find at this site
This website is a source of information about Community IPM
in Asia. The site is divided into the following major sections:
 |
News:
Information about recent or forthcoming
events |
|
Concepts
and Cases:
Includes an account of how Community IPM developed in Asia, and a description of the Farmer Field School process. |
|
Member
Countries:
Details of IPM training activities in 12 countries in South and Southeast
Asia, and how to make contact with key IPM experts. |
|
Spider
Web Newsletter:
An on-line version of an IPM newsletter, with
information about government and NGO training programmes |
|
Documents
to Download:
A library of training materials, case studies and
scientific papers relating to IPM. |
|
Internet
Links:
Including sites on sustainable agriculture, pesticides and health, IPM
Training Partners and Programme Donors. |
|
Toxic
Trail:
A complete sub-web containing information relating to
the BBC documentary about pesticides and IPM in
South-East Asia. |
