IPM in cotton: lessons from rice IPM
2003
Ooi, P.A.C.
Successes in implementing integrated pest management (IPM) in rice suggested that a similar success could be achieved in cotton. There are many similarities, such as a similar starting point of insecticide-induced resurgence and an indigenous plant with native pests and natural enemies, small farm sizes, poor farmers with limited resources, and a tropical environment rich in biodiversity. In rice, the breakthrough in IPM implementation was the development of a farmer field school (FFS) approach. The focus moved from a transfer of technology to farmer education. This avoided the pitfall observed in a top-down approach - a lack of understanding what to do. The FFS approach allowed farmers to learn science, facilitated a scientific method of acquiring knowledge, and improved the ability to make decisions. That pesticides are not a production factor should be an entry point and encourage the study of the rich biodiversity of the tropical cotton ecosystem. A second point concerns providing an opportunity for farmers to learn and achieve greater control over the conditions they face at the field level. Based on lessons learned from rice IPM, the management team of the FAO-EU IPM Programme for Cotton in Asia embarked on a participatory farmer field school approach to implement cotton IPM. In 2001, studies of Bt cotton by farmers in the province of Hubei, China, suggested that IPM helped them better realize the potential that science and technology can offer.
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