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One of the unintended shortcomings of the Green Revolution of the 1960s and 1970s is the sharp rise in pesticide use. Aside from being harmful to human health and the environment, the intensive use of pesticides has proven to be counter-productive by aggravating the pest problem as it interferes with the balance between beneficial and harmful insects.
The Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme has a prominent place in FAO’s work in Vietnam. The objective of the IPM programme is to enable small-scale farmers to understand the ecology of their fields and make better-informed decisions in the management of their crop production systems. The training approach that is adopted centres on the Farmer Field School (FFS). This comprises a group of 25-30 farmers meeting on a weekly basis to learn about safe and sustainable crop production methods. Facilitated by trainers, the participants discuss and compare alternative crop management practices with the purpose of identifying and agreeing on best practices. Indeed, the IPM FFS is considered as a staring point for the development of a sustainable agricultural system in a given locality.
The training is offered in all 64 provinces of Vietnam, covering 90% of the communes growing rice nationwide with the participation of many thousands of farmers. The FFS provides the opportunity to learn about pest-control methods that rely on natural predators rather than large quantities of pesticides. The benefits of this approach have been extensive resulting in higher yields, higher savings, less health hazards and more sustainable farming practices. Due to the success of IPM in relation to rice production, this is being replicated across vegetables, soybeans, maize, tea and cotton. In excess of 3,000 IPM clubs and farmer groups have been established as by-products of the initial FFS.
Furthermore, the FFS's participatory methods strengthen the farmers’ analytical skills and critical thinking. This methodology is applied to a range of agricultural extension activities far beyond the initial focus on plant protection. In addition, the IPM programme has helped accentuate the active role of women in agricultural production and training activities. Since the initiation of the programme women have been fully involved at all levels - as farmers, trainers and managers.
‘What is community IPM?’
Integrating women in IPM programme
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