Title of document: A quantitative and qualitative historical analysis of the scientific discipline of agroecology Authors: A. Wezel; V. Soldat Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Department of Agroecosystems, Environment and Production, ISARA, Lyon, France Year of publication: 2009 Main issues / topics addressed: agroecology, agroecosystem, agronomy, biodiversity, organic farming, rural development, sustainability In general, agroecology deals with different topics and questions related to agricultural production. In the last two decades, the term agroecology has been increasingly used with different meanings (Wezel et al., in press). On the one hand it is used for the scientific discipline of agroecology, that will be the topic of this paper; but, on the other hand the term agroecology is also used in the sense of a movement or as an agricultural practice (Wezel, 2007; Wezel, et al., in press). Environmental movements in the 1960s often emerged in opposition to industrialized agriculture, when public policies did not consider the environmental impact of agriculture, in particular pesticides, or the social aspects of rural development. Initially, the term agroecology was not used explicitly to describe a movement. It was only in the 1990s when the word started to be used in this sense, especially in the USA and in Latin America, to express a new way of considering agriculture and its relationship to society, and its place within it.   Read More

Title of document: Profiles of People’s Organizations In Rural Asia Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: ASIADHRRA; AGRITERRA Year of publication: 2002 Geographic focus: Asia This study entitled Profiles of People’s Organizations in Asia under the auspices of AsiaDHRRA and Agriterra covered seven countries: Indonesia, Japan, South Korea, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam and Philippines. It attempted to do the following: 1. generate a reliable and updated individual profile of selected farmers’ organizations (FOs); 2. identify the issues, problems and needs of these FOs; and 3. consolidate the results of the individual profile and draw a regional sketch of farmers’ organizations and their development needs. Through the study, AsiaDHRRA hopes to provide a guide to rural development stakeholders in their direction setting, program planning, and provision of services to their constituents.   Read More

Title of document: Farmers’ Sustainable Agriculture Perception in the Vietnam Uplands: the Case of Banana Farmers in Quang Tri Province Authors: Nguyen Van Thanh; Patana Sukprasert; Chinawat Yapwattanaphun Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Department of Horticulture; Department of Extension, Faculty of Agriculture, Kasetsart University, Bangkok, Thailand. Year of publication: 2015 Geographic focus: Vietnam Main issues / topics addressed: Perception, sustainable agriculture, upland farmers Upland farmers in Vietnam are associated with the lowest income and face serious issues of natural resources degradation and environmental pollution because of poor agricultural practices. To persuade the upland farmers to adopt sustainable practices, it is vital first to assess their perception of sustainable agriculture. This study aimed to measure banana farmers’ perception towards sustainable agriculture and its determinants in the Vietnam uplands based on a case study in Quang Tri province. Stratified sample technique was used to randomly select 300 respondents from 2 upland districts of Quang Tri. The primary data were gathered by using a structured questionnaire with Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of 0.84. The results showed that the majority (84.7%) of the farmers had low to mode rate perceptions of sustainable agriculture. Farmers had positive perceptions towards sustainable agriculture in issues related to protection of agricultural resources, negative effects of agrochemicals on human health and the environment, input application, crop rotation, product consumption and roles of farmer groups; whereas, they had moderate perceptions about issues related to production profits, plant residue use and modern technology application. In addition, the study revealed that agricultural programs on TV, education, ethnic group, economic status and credit use were the factors that affected farmers’ sustainable agriculture perceptions.   Read More

Title of document: Asia at the Crossroads Prioritising Conventional Farming or Sustainable Agriculture? Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: ACTION AID; 1. Muong ethnic minotiry sisters Ban Thi Cuc, 19, left, and Ban Thi Yen, 20, work on their family rice field in Duong hamlet, Vay Nua commune, Da Bac district, Hoa Binh province, Vietnam. © Chau Doan / OnAsia / ActionAid. 2. Emergency response to floods in Cambodia © ActionAid. 3. Multi-Purpose Farm in Cambodia © CEDAC / ActionAid. 4. Limited access to water in Myanmar. © Celso Marcatto / ActionAid. 5. Pesticide use in Sanya, Hainan Island, Hainan Province, China © Li Xiaoguo / Xinhua Press / Corbis. 6. Tractor spraying fertilizer in a conventional agricultural system © Imageplus / Corbis Year of publication: 2012 Geographic focus: Asia In June of 2012, representatives of over 140 nations are expected to take part in the “Rio+20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development”. The conference – scheduled 20 years after the first Rio conference saw an agreement that the United Nations must do something to address environmental degradation and global warming – is expected to focus heavily on the concept of the “green economy”. The “green economy” includes the idea that livelihoods, growth and environmental sustainability must go hand-in-hand in developing countries. While the concept itself may be laudable, it will be an unattainable ideal unless governments show a willingness to adopt a new development model – one based on human rights as opposed to profit for elites. A key example of the need for change – both in terms of the right to livelihood, environmental sustainability and the right to sufficient and nutritious food – is the agriculture sector. This paper seeks to address fundamental questions about the agriculture sector in Southeast Asia and China and to begin to sketch what a way forward – a way towards the “green economy” – may look like.   Read More

Title of document: Agroecology and Advocacy: Innovations in Asia Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy; the Asian Farmers’ Association for Sustainable Rural Development Year of publication: 2011 Geographic focus: Asia Main issues / topics addressed: The Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy works locally and globally at the intersection of policy and practice to ensure fair and sustainable food, farm and trade systems. Rising food prices, increasing climate instability and food riots have sparked profound political changes around the world and put agriculture high on the international agenda. What kind of agriculture is best suited to respond to those challenges, however, is the subject of profound disagreement. Too much of the current policy debate on food security, climate change and agriculture assumes that industrial agriculture and related biotechnology are the only options for feeding a growing global population. Agribusiness and agrochemical companies have created and supported this image through aggressive advertising, lobbying and support for research institutions.   Read More

Title of document: IPM Farmer Field Schools: A synthesis of 25 impact evaluations Author: Henk van den Berg Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: Wageningen University; Global IPM Facility Year of publication: 2004 Geographic focus: South East Asia Main issues / topics addressed: A synthesis of 25 impact evaluations School of agroecology: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) / Integrated Cropping Management (ICM) The Farmer Field School is a form of adult education, which evolved from the concept that farmers learn optimally from field observation and experimentation. It was developed to help farmers tailor their Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices to diverse and dynamic ecological conditions. In regular sessions from planting till harvest, groups of neighboring farmers observe and discuss dynamics of the crop’s ecosystem. Simple experimentation helps farmers further improve their understanding of functional relationships (e.g. pests-natural enemy population dynamics and crop damage-yield relationships). In this cyclical learning process, farmers develop the expertise that enables them to make their own crop management decisions. Special group activities encourage learning from peers, and strengthen communicative skills and group building. A detailed description of the Farmer Field School approach is given by Pontius et al. 1   Read More

Title of document: Country Strategy Paper Lao PDR - Pesticide Risk Reduction “IPM Component”/Towards a non-toxic environment in South East Asia – Phase I Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: FAO; FAO IPM; IPM Lao PDR Year of publication: 2013 Year / period of application: July 2010 - June 2013 Geographic focus: Lao PDR Main issues / topics addressed: Pesticide Risk Reduction “IPM Component” School of agroecology: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) / Integrated Cropping Management (ICM) As a result of the Lao PDR joining as member country of the FAO Regional Rice IPM Programme, the Lao National IPM programme was initiated in 1994. The farmer education programme was implemented by the Agricultural Extension Agency (AEA) under the Department of Agriculture (DOA). The first IPM Farmers Field Schools were piloted in lowland irrigated rice ecosystems in Vientiane from 1994 onwards, initially with financial support from the INGO CIDSE. When FAO funding became available in 1996, FFS training in irrigated lowland rice ecosystems was up-scaled to 8 provinces in the central and southern parts of the country. However, with the reorganization of the Lao Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry in 2000, the national programme underwent several subsequent leadership changes and was institutionally moved to the newlyestablished National Agriculture and Forestry Extension Service (NAFES) in 2001. Subsequently, the programme was transferred back to DOA in July 2005 and is now implemented by the Plant Protection Centre (PPC) based in Salakham. Since 2005, four National IPM Project Coordinators (NPCs) (including two Acting NPCs) were appointed successively. These changes in national, institutional and project leadership have been detrimental to programme development and have weakened national ownership and capacity to implement the IPM programme. Despite these set backs, FAO has continued its support for IPM training capacity building given the tremendous need for basic farmer education on sustainable crop production and protection in the Lao PDR. Over the last decade, various donors have supported the national IPM programme under several FAO Regional IPM Programmes and their associated projects. In recognition of the importance of IPM and farmer education for human resource development in the country, the Lao Government also started to provide co-funding for programme implementation as part of the Ministry of Agriculture and Forestry’s Five Year Development Plan (2006-2010). From 2006 onwards the annual government contribution towards strengthening of plant protection networks amounted to Kip 50 million (US$ 6,163). During the last decade, the National IPM Programme also worked with several NGOs such as with World Education and Global Alliance for People and the Environment (GAPE), with Cooperation International Development and Solidarity (CIDSE) for FFS and curriculum reform activities in Agriculture Colleges, with Oxfam-Belgium on capacity building for biological control and integration of Good Agricultural Practices in Vegetable FFSs in Vientiane Province and with INGO SEARICE/Oxfam-Belgium on FFS development for plant genetic resource management and sustainable utilization of agro-biodiversity.   Read More

Title of document: Country Strategy Paper Cambodia - Pesticide Risk Reduction “IPM Component”/Towards a non-toxic environment in South East Asia – Phase I Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: FAO; FAO IPM; IPM, Cambodia Year of publication: 2013 Year / period of application: July 2010 - June 2013 Geographic focus: Cambodia Main issues / topics addressed: Pesticide Risk Reduction “IPM Component” School of agroecology: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) / Integrated Cropping Management (ICM) The Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF) initiated the pilot phase of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Programme from 1993 to 1995 after “The Environment and IPM” workshop which was held at the Royal University of Agriculture, Phnom Penh. At that time Cambodia joined 12 other Asian countries as part of the FAO Inter-Country Programme in Rice IPM in South and Southeast Asia with technical assistance and financial support from FAO (under TCP arrangements), IDRC and IRRI. FAO supported Cambodia in the implementation of a Season-long Training of Trainers Course (TOT), a Farmer Trainer Orientation Course (FTOC) and several Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in 1996 before Cambodia joined the FAO Southeast Asia Regional Vegetable IPM Programme (GCP/RAS/168/AUL) in 1997.   Read More

Title of document: Country Strategy Paper, Vietnam - Pesticide Risk Reduction “IPM Component”/Towards a non-toxic environment in South East Asia – Phase I Ministry/Government Agency/Organisation: FAO; FAO IPM; IPM Vietnam Year of publication: 2013 Year / period of application: July 2010 - June 2013 Geographic focus: Vietnam Main issues / topics addressed: Pesticide Risk Reduction “IPM Component” School of agroecology: Integrated Pest Management (IPM) / Integrated Cropping Management (ICM) The National IPM Programme in Vietnam was established in 1990 with support from FAO to address concerns regarding heavy reliance on chemical inputs in crop production and protection, negatively affecting smallholder farmers, their livelihoods, consumer health and the environment. The implementation of the FAO Intercountry Programme for IPM on rice was carried out from 1992-2002. The Plant Protection Department (PPD) under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (MARD) became the responsible implementation agency of the programme in Vietnam. A network of farmer field school (FFS) facilitators was established nationwide that trained over half a million farmers in rice IPM. Following the success with the rice programme, other crops like maize, sweet potato and estate crops (such as tea) became targeted for IPM implementation on smaller scale in specific areas. The FAO Intercountry Programmes on rice, vegetables and cotton, and the DANIDA ASPS Programme on rice and vegetables provided support to the National IPM Programme/PPD for implementation of IPM farmers training during the last decade, bringing the total number of trained farmers to more than one million. Additional initiatives were supported by various NGOs [e.g. CIDSE on tea, maize and soybean IPM and the plant genetic resource conservation and development project (BUCAP) implemented by the INGO SEARICE and funded by the Norwegian Development Fund]. Initiatives have also been supported by national and international research institutes. For example, research and development for extension of IPM in citrus implemented by the National Institute for Plant Protection (NIPP) under an ACIAR-funded project and development of IPM for potato and sweetpotato with support from the International Potato Center (CIP).     Read More

Title of document: Training Manual for Strengthening Co‐Operatives in Cambodia Geographic focus: Cambodia Note to the trainer: It is important to remember to consider the following: 1. You are working with active participants instead of passive recipients, in many cases even do, you the trainer may know the answer, do ask: • Why? to the people you are helping • Ask them to show you how? • and add lots of examples...   Read More