Title of document: The Role of Pesticides in SE Asian Rice IPN; A view from the Mekong Delta Authors: Roy Bateman, ForestFloorLodge, Cát Tiên National Park, Viê.t Nam Journal’s name if any:  Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation:. Cuu Long Delta Rice Research Institute, CropLife International, GIZ, Nong Lam University and the Plant Protection Department Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: ASIA Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Rice, Integrated Pest Management, responsible pesticide use, efficient spray application, action threshold, brown planthopper, blast disease, farmer and retail training …) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any):  Summary:  Pesticide application remains an important component of rice pest management in Việt Nam and responsible use should be integrated back into a strategy of good agricultural practices. Crucial skills that need to be fostered include: better product selection with safe and efficient application; the role of action thresholds must also be re-considered. With such an important crop, strategies for good management perhaps inevitably become rather political in nature, with perverse consequences at the technical level. In many rice growing countries (besides VN) it is possible to identify where improvements may be made to pest management practices. There are a number of common issues, that sometimes become conflated and adopting an ‘anti-pesticide’ stance is not helpful: much better, surely, to adopt a set of rules where pesticides are truly used judiciously and as a last resort, on the understanding that a preventative approach is the basis of IPM. Over the coming years we intend to put this into practice.   Read More

Title of document:  DEMAND FOR ORGANIC AGRICULTURE PRODUCTS IN CHIANG MAI Authors: Manawin Songkroh (Ph.D.) Journal’s name if any:  Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation:  Maejo University  Chiang Mai, Thailand Year of publication: 2015 Geographic focus: National level Main issues / topics addressed (for example: Organic agriculture product, market opportunity, organic product demand …) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any):  Summary: This study aims to confirm relationship of determinants of demand for organic agriculture products in Chiang Mai. Self-administerred questionnaires was sent out to respondents in Chiang Mai and Lampang. Data analysis was done by multiple regression analysis. The results prove demand theory of determinants but various degree of importance. For application of the results, producers should provide more information regarding consuming organic products to increase demand and to consumer with higher income as they tend to consumer more organic food than those of lower income consumers. Nowadays, demand for organic products has been increased as consumers realizes the benefits of having good health in the long run. The production of organic products experiences with higher production cost. Regular production utilizes the chemicals pesticide while organic producers choose to use other more expensive methods. Nevertheless, the growth of organic product recently has made the industry experienced with external economics of scale resulting in the lower cost of organic product industry.   The author strongly recommend that producers should increase demand by providing more information regarding benefits to consumers including benefits on protecting environment. This should stimulate demand as Taste has the highest degree of 0.28 (the second biggest). The 0.29 Income infers that marketing of organic products must be targeted at higher income level consumers to ensure the increase of demand. Determinants of price and price of complimentary products confirm demand theory; and there is no use of managerial perspective. In sum, to increase organic products demand, information about benefits of consuming it must be publicized as much as possible and to higher income consumers.   Read More

Title of document: Integrated Pest Management for Sustainable Intensification of Agriculture in Asia and Africa. Authors: Jules Pretty; and Zareen Pervez Bharucha. Journal’s name if any:  Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Department of Biological Sciences and Essex Sustainability Institute, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, Colchester, UK; Department of Sociology and Essex Sustainability Institute, University of Essex, Wivenhoe Park, UK Year of publication: 2015 Geographic focus: Global level Main issues / topics addressed (for example: farmer field schools; integrated pest management; social capital; sustainable intensification; resilience…) School of agroecology (if any): Web address to original document (if any):  Summary:  Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is a leading complement and alternative to synthetic pesticides and a form of sustainable intensification with particular importance for tropical smallholders. Global pesticide use has grown over the past 20 years to 3.5 billion kg/year, amounting to a global market worth $45 billion. The external costs of pesticides are $4–$19 (€3–15) per kg of active ingredient applied, suggesting that IPM approaches that result in lower pesticide use will benefit, not only farmers, but also wider environments and human health. Evidence for IPM’s impacts on pesticide use and yields remains patchy. We contribute an evaluation using data from 85 IPM projects from 24 countries of Asia and Africa implemented over the past twenty years. Analysing outcomes on productivity and reliance on pesticides, we find a mean yield increase across projects and crops of 40.9% (SD 72.3), combined with a decline in pesticide use to 30.7% (SD 34.9) compared with baseline. A total of 35 of 115 (30%) crop combinations resulted in a transition to zero pesticide use. We assess successes in four types of IPM projects, and find that at least 50% of pesticide use is not needed in most agroecosystems. Nonetheless, policy support for IPM is relatively rare, counter-interventions from pesticide industry common, and the IPM challenge never done as pests, diseases and weeds evolve and move.   Crop pests, diseases and weeds pose a substantial challenge to global food security, poverty alleviation and agricultural livelihoods. Approaches of IPM provide an array of methods by which damage can be reduced. We have demonstrated that for farmers across Asia and Africa, IPM projects have been able to deliver substantial reductions in pesticide use coupled with increased yields. Reduced reliance on synthetic pesticides delivers a range of on- and off-farm benefits, including savings, improved public health and improved natural capital on and around farms.   Read More

Title of document: Agroecological and agroforestry practices in tropical wet zones Authors: A collective work coordinated by Justine Scholle (GRET) Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: GRET Year of publication: 2017 Geographic focus: Mekong Region and Central Africa Summary: This guide is designed as a support tool for technicians and farmers involved in actions to promote and develop agroecology. It is a follow-up to a first technical guide published in 2014 in the Democratic Republic of Congo as part of the DEFIV project, a food security project implemented by GRET, funded by the European Union and Agence française de développement. This guide features two parts: The first part presents the current context and issues of agroecology in tropical wet regions. Having demonstrated the limits of conventional agricultural systems, analysed the effects of deforestation, the green revolution and climate change, the authors specify the objectives and the principles of agroecology, and remind readers of the conditions necessary to promote it. The second part is very operational and covers the various agroecological techniques, which were tested in a tropical wet context with satisfying results in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DEFIV project), Cambodia (APICI project) and Myanmar (Delta and NRS projects). Firstly, the various agroecological techniques are presented, and secondly the plants used to implement these techniques are described. Naturally, techniques such as plant inventories mentioned in this guide are not exhaustive.   Read More

Title of document: Composite farming systems in an era of change: Nagaland, Northeast India. Authors: Malcolm Cairns and Harold Brookfield Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Department of Anthropology, School of Culture, History and Language, ANU College of Asia and the Pacific, The Australian National University, Canberra A.C.T., Australia. Year of publication: 2011 Geographic focus: India Summary: Composite farming systems, first clearly identified by Rambo, are those in which radically different technologies are found together in a single farming complex. Data from diaries kept by groups of farming families in two Angami Naga villages in northeast India, Khonoma and smaller Tsiesema, detailing inputs into and outputs from wet-rice terraces and jhum (swidden) fields in the years 2000 and 2001, are presented and discussed to detail the workings of related but different composite systems. The 2000–2001 survey caught an important set of changes in midstream. Although returns to labour from the first-year jhums were much higher than those from the wet-rice terraces in 2000–2001, jhums were declining in significance as a growing non-farm economy joined the production of cool-climate vegetables and a spice crop for the Indian market as principal sources of livelihood. This story is told in the light of recent writing on the demise of swidden in the larger Southeast Asian region, and it is suggested that greater attention be paid to the composite systems, which are not uncommon in this region. This might help diversify what has perhaps been an oversimplified discussion.   Read More

Title of document: Assessing farm sustainability with the IDEA method - From the concept of agriculture sustainability to case studies on farms. Authors: Frédéric Zahm, Philippe Viaux, Lionel Vilain, Philippe Girardin, Christian Mouchet Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: The French Ministry of Agriculture Year of publication: 2008 Geographic focus: ASEAN Summary: The IDEA method (Indicateurs de Durabilité des Exploitations Agricoles or Farm Sustainability Indicators) is based on research work conducted since 1998 and is one way of giving practical expression to the concept of sustainable farms. Based on 41 sustainability indicators covering the three dimensions of sustainability, this method is designed as a self-assessment tool not only for farmers but also for policy makers to support sustainable agriculture. The scientific approach is based on identifying three different scales of sustainability. The application of the IDEA method is illustrated using French case studies. Linking the IDEA method with the Farm Accounting Data Network is noted as an interesting possibility to assess the sustainability level of different farming systems. The conclusion is that there is not just one farm sustainability model, and therefore the indicators must be adapted to local farming before using the IDEA method. The IDEA method seeks to give practical content to the notion of sustainability and has been tested for 7 years. The method is capable of observing differences in sustainability between production systems. Indeed, even though certain principles are common to all sustainable farming systems, there is not just one single farm sustainability model. The proposed system of indicators does not claim to be final or to establish a model of sustainability that must never be changed. An extension of the IDEA method to other Member States or types of agriculture could be possible as long as the following points are considered: - The need to adapt the method to local context and specific agriculture. It would be unrealistic to believe that a single method could cover all different types of production (from the Mediterranean to boreal climates). The indicators will have to be adapted to local contexts while continuing to comply with the key principles regarding their scientific construction; - The need to add specific points to take better account of the links between the particular issues of a landscape and its farms;   - The need to adapt the method to the specific aspects of the farms in certain new EU member States.     Read More

Title of document: Promotion of Climate Resilience for Food Security in ASEAN. Rice, Maize and Cassava. Authors: Dr. Men Sarom; Mr. Sothat Leng; Dr. Perdinan; Ms. Kiki Kartikasari; Ms. Marissa Malahayati; Dr. Outhai Soukkhy; Mr. Xayavong Chanthasone; Dr. Khin Lay Swe; Ms. Aye Kyawt Swe; Dr. Romeo V. Labios; Ms. Donna Bae N. Malayang; Dr. Suwit Chaikiattiyos; Dr. Margaret C. Yoovatana; Dr. Tran Cong Thang; Ms. Do Lieng Huong; Dr. Felino P. Lansigan; Ms. Imelda V. Bacudo Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Deutsche Gesellschaft für; Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ) GmbH Year of publication: 2015 Geographic focus: ASEAN Summary: Southeast Asia is one of the regions in the world that are most vulnerable to climate change. Climate hazards, such as temperature increase, erratic rainfall patterns, and extreme climatic events, disrupt ecosystems, livelihoods, and various aspects of human systems. Climate change threatens agricultural production, consequently endangering food security, ecological stability, and sustainable development. The research composed of national studies from the participating member states focused on climate change adaptation measures employed in crop production systems of rice, maize and cassava following the Value Chain Approach. The research composed of national studies from the participating member states focused on climate change adaptation measures employed in crop production systems of rice, maize and cassava following the Value Chain Approach. It has the following objectives: (1) To identify good practices in the ASEAN region, which address climate change related vulnerabilities that could lead to food insecurity of the three critical food crops in the region: Rice, Maize and Cassava using a value chain mapping approach. (2) To identify where vulnerabilities exist or are likely to exist, in the supply of the identified food crops, with a primary focus on production and related inputs and a secondary focus on post-production activities; specifically drawing out where regional collaboration could be most valuable. (3) To identify the good practices in terms of its technical requirements for practical applications, institutional issues and implementation challenges focused on scaling up regionally.   (4) To use the learning from existing good practices to stimulate and spread meaningful action across the region.   Read More

Title of document: Shifting Forests in Northeast India: Management of Alnus nepalensis as an Improved Fallow in Nagaland. ALDER CHAPTER 30 Authors: Malcolm Cairns, Supong Keitzar, and T. Amenba Yaden Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: the India-Canada Environment Facility (ICEF), the International Development Research Centre (IDRC), and the World Agroforestry Centre (ICRAF) Year of publication: Geographic focus: India Summary: This chapter describes an ancient but little-documented example of farmer manipulation of A. nepalensis in Nagaland, Northeastern India, which has enabled a significant intensification of the swidden cycle without concomitant ecological decline (see color plate 35). It offers a hypothesis that this intensification was partly prompted by security concerns in an atmosphere of intertribal warfare and headhunting, and gives a brief cultural profile of the main innovators, the Angami Nagas. Much of the historical detail is drawn from early reports by the British colonial government. These provide rich insights into the people of Nagaland and the historical environment that spawned the innovation of alder fallows. The chapter then focuses on a village in Kohima District of Nagaland as a case study, and provides a description of standard jhum cultivation as it is practiced in the region as well as a more detailed diagnosis of the alder fallow innovation. It draws on these findings to elucidate pertinent research issues and to examine the role this system could play in enabling intensification of shifting cultivation in a sustainable way across a broader landscape.   If Asia-Pacific’s forest remnants and their contained biodiversity are to be protected, and swidden communities are to be afforded a better standard of living, pathways toward stabilizing and enhancing the productivity of stressed swidden systems are urgently needed. One of the most promising approaches to identifying biophysically workable and socially acceptable innovations is to document and understand indigenous adaptations toward improved fallow management.   Read More

Title of document: Making Rice Production More Environmentally-Friendly Authors: Norman Uphoff and Frank B. Dazzo   Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: SRI International Network and Resources Center, International Programs, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; Department of Microbiology and Molecular Genetics, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI , USA. Year of publication: 2016 Geographic focus: Global level Summary: Irrigated rice production is one of the most essential agricultural activities for sustaining our global population, and at the same time, one of the agricultural sectors considered most eco-unfriendly. This is because it consumes a larger share of available freshwater resources, competing with varied ecosystems as well as other economic sectors; its paddy fields are responsible for significant emission of greenhouse gases; and the reliance on chemical fertilizers and various agrochemicals contributes to pollution of soils and water systems. These stresses on soils, hydrology and atmosphere are actually not necessary for rice production, which can be increased by modifying agronomic practices though more agroecologically-sound management practices. These, combined under the rubric of the System of Rice Intensification (SRI), can reduce requirements of irrigation water, chemical fertilizer   and agrochemicals while increasing paddy yields and farmer’s net incomes. Here we discuss how irrigated rice production can be made more eco-friendly for the benefit of farmers, consumers and the environment. This is achieved by introducing practices that improve the growth and functioning of rice plants’ root systems and enhance the abundance, diversity and activity of beneficial soil organisms that live around plant roots and within the plants themselves as symbiotic endophytes.   Read More

Title of document: FARMER RESEARCH NETWORKS AS A STRATEGY FOR MATCHING DIVERSE OPTIONS AND CONTEXTS IN SMALLHOLDER AGRICULTURE. Authors: REBECCA NELSON, RICHARD COE, and BETTINA I. G. HAUSSMANN Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: School of Integrative Plant Science, Cornell University, Ithaca, NY, USA; World Agroforestry Center, Nairobi, Kenya and Statistics for Sustainable Development, UK and Institute of Plant Breeding, Seed Science and Population, Genetics, University of Hohenheim, Germany Year of publication: 2015 Geographic focus: Global level Summary: The agricultural research and development institutions in most developing countries are poorly equipped to support the needs of millions of smallholder farmers that depend upon them. The research approaches taken by these systems explicitly or implicitly seek simple, one-size-fits-all solutions for problems and opportunities that are extremely diverse. Radical change is needed to facilitate the agroecological intensification of smallholder farming. We propose that large-scale participatory approaches, combined with innovations in information and communications technology (ICT), could enable the effective matching of diverse options to the wide spectrum of socio-ecological context that characterize smallholder agriculture. We consider the requirements, precedents and issues that might be involved in the development of farmer research networks (FRNs). Substantial institutional innovation will be needed to support FRNs, with shifts in roles and relationships amongst researchers, extension providers and farmers.Where farmers’ organizations have social capital and strong facilitation skills, such alignmentsmay be most feasible. Novel information management capabilities will be required to introduce options and principles, enable characterization of contexts, manage data related to option-by-context interactions and enable farmers to visualize their findings in useful and intelligible ways. FRNs could lead to vastly greater capacity for technical innovation, which could in turn enable greater productivity and resilience, and enhance the quality of rural life.   Read More