Posts Tagged: IPM
IPM and pesticide safety a desperate need in Myanmar
Myanmar (formerly Burma) is located in Southeast Asia, bordered by Bangladesh, India, China, Laos and Thailand. I was asked by the United States Agency for International Development (U.S. AID) to travel to Myanmar to use my training and experience as an academic advisor affiliated with the UC Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program and UC Cooperative Extension in Riverside County to share information about basic IPM and pesticide safety.
With the use of small tractors and other mechanized farm equipment, agricultural development is slightly more advanced in Myanmar than Bangladesh, which I visited in September 2015. Chemical pesticide use in Myanmar is intensive with little regulation or guidance. Chemical contamination of agricultural crops is widespread and mass poisoning does occur.
U.S. AID works to end global poverty and help societies become more independent. One way they do that is by helping countries like Myanmar improve their agricultural development. U.S. AID and Winrock International's Value Chain Project sent me to Myanmar as part of an ongoing effort in Asia to instruct growers in basic IPM and the safe and effective use of pesticides.
The growers lack of information on using pesticides safely and effectively seemed to be a recurring theme in Southeast Asia. The growers were not given access to pesticide labels or safety data sheets. In fact, the growers are given virtually no information at all on how to use the chemicals they were applying on their farms. The chemical manufacturers are responsible for this.
Farmers would often apply materials multiple times a week (sometimes more frequently), not knowing about the recommended application rate, re-entry or harvest interval. There's a real need for education in Southeast Asia. Ultimately, the growers and the consumers of contaminated agricultural products are the ones suffering.
Over two weeks, I held four all-day workshops, mostly for growers, with a final workshop with representatives of local media agencies to teach them basic pest management principles and pesticide safety. When I asked workshop participants if any of them knew someone who had gotten sick or had died from pesticide exposure, virtually everyone raised their hands.
Some growers acknowledged that their practices were making them sick, but that they felt they had few options available to them. As a result, the US-based NGO Internews created a public service announcement (PSA) illustrating the use of personal protective equipment when applying pesticides in Myanmar. The PSA is currently being broadcast on Myanmar television and can be seen below.
This opportunity to educate the public on safe pesticide use is not enough. I recommend monthly pesticide tours be set up across the country to emphasize the need for safe and effective use of pesticides. The use of extension outreach is invaluable in situations like this.
The facilitation of the University of California's Global Food Initiative by U.S. AID and Winrock International is extremely useful. The world as we know it is shrinking with globalization of people and products. We need to reach out to others and give them the benefit of our experience. UC IPM is doing that.
Women play key role in Nigerian agriculture
UC Agriculture and Natural Resources program assistant Maria Alfaro, part of the Statewide Integrated Pest Management Program, got to see first-hand the role of women in Nigerian agriculture. As part of a three-week volunteer project with Winrock International, Alfaro traveled throughout Nigeria visiting farms, co-ops, and local and state farming and agricultural agencies.
“The role of women varied by region, crop and local customs," Alfaro said. "In some of the northern regions, women were involved in all aspects of farming, including applying pesticides. Yet in other regions of the South, women were only involved in small, subsistence farming, and did not apply pesticides."
As Alfaro conducted interviews with various individuals from local and state agencies, she was consistently told that for the family's needs to be met, the profits from farming should go to the women.
Alfaro was told in other interviews that the best way to disseminate pesticide safety information to families was “through the moms!”
At Alfaro's final stop in Ebonyi State, women expressed their appreciation for her coming and sharing important information on how to protect themselves from the pesticides they use on their farms.
“It was a great way to end the conversations on the ground,” said Alfaro.
Alfaro's next task is to report her findings and recommendations, which include more training in a train-the-trainer format. In this type of training, students who are trained in an approved pesticide safety course become qualified to train pesticide handlers and field workers.
“Many farmers are eager to learn about what they can do to continue using pesticides in a safe and effective manner in combination with learning integrated pest management methods of control,” said Alfaro.
Winrock International is funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Farmer-to-Farmer Program.
Experts converge in March to discuss human-wildlife conflict resolution
The Vertebrate Pest Conference is held every two years, usually in California, in cooperation with the Pesticide Applicators Professional Association (PAPA). The leading authorities with vertebrate management expertise from around the world congregate to present the latest research and extension information.
The conference is intended for animal control officials, wildlife managers, agricultural producers, pest control advisers, consultants, educators, researchers and natural resource managers. California Department of Pesticide Regulation and California Department of Public Health continuing education units are available for participants. Special symposia at the conference include bird, wild pig, and urban coyote management.
At the Vertebrate Pest Conference, experts will share the latest information about coyote attacks, human-coyote conflicts, and present several talks on coyote management, including hazing.
Niamh Quinn, a UC Cooperative Extension vertebrate pest advisor based at the UC South Coast Research and Extension Center in Orange County, is one speaker on the growing problem of urban coyotes. With over 3 million people in Orange County, 8 state parks and beaches, countless city parks and 19 county parks and wilderness areas, conflicts with urban coyotes are bound to happen. Managing coyotes includes managing people's behavior too.
“We can't manage what we can't measure. This conference provides a unique opportunity to discuss ongoing conflicts, especially those related to urban coyote management," Quinn said. "Research is needed to understand urban coyote behavior and if these behaviors are changing as a result of the way we are currently living. Outreach is needed to instruct urbanites on appropriate behavior where coyote conflicts are occurring, and managing coyotes is everyone's concern. We need better and improved strategies for measuring and managing these conflicts.”
One talk at the Vertebrate Pest Conference will be a North American overview of bird damage in fruit crops. Other presentations cover field rodent repellents, food safety, and trapping.
UC IPM has information on vertebrate pest management for urban and communities, as well as commercial agriculture.
UC IPM providing helpful information on chlorpyrifos situation
Chlorpyrifos is widely applied to many crops for pest control; the highest percentage on almonds, citrus, alfalfa and cotton. However, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has proposed cancellation of its use in agriculture.
"Chlorpyrifos is a tool and over reliance on that tool to help us solve pest problems is going to have environmental impacts and potentially could impact human populations as well," said UC ANR Cooperative Extension advisor David Doll in the Valley Public Radio story.
Romero also spoke to Selma almond grower Bill Chandler at the meeting.
"Don't give up the ship, there's help," Chandler said. "That's why they (UC IPM) had this meeting to say, listen gentlemen, there's these problems. Let's learn how to work with them and see what we can use differently."
More UC IPM meetings on the issue will be held in the coming weeks at the following locations:
Jan. 12 – Citrus in San Joaquin Valley
8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
UC ANR Cooperative Extension office, 4437 S. Laspina St., Tulare
Jan. 21 – Alfalfa in Imperial Valley
8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
Farm Credit Services Southwest, 485 Business Parkway, Imperial
Jan. 26 – Almonds in Southern San Joaquin Valley
8 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
Kern County Agricultural Pavilion
3300 E. Belle Terrace, Bakersfield
Feb. 5 – Almonds in Northern California
8 a.m. to 12:00 p.m
Chico Masonic Lodge, 1110 W. East Ave., Chico
For more information contact Lori Berger, UC IPM chlorpyrifos project coordinator, at lberger@ucanr.edu or (559) 646-6523.
UCCE advisor takes IPM and pesticide safety to Bangladesh
Vonny Barlow, a UC Agriculture and Natural Resources (UC ANR) entomology expert and affiliated advisor with UC ANR's Statewide Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Program, traveled to Bangladesh in September to instruct pesticide dealers, pesticide retailers, rice farmers and other growers in Bangladesh on basic IPM practices and the safe and effective use of pesticides.
The trip was funded by United States Agency for International Development (USAID) and implemented by the Winrock International Farmer-to-Farmer Project.
"Without the communication arm, the outreach arm, UC researchers can produce all the information they want, but if it doesn't bridge the gap to the user, its usefulness is lost," Barlow said.
IPM focuses on the long-term prevention of pests by integrating several methods to manage a problem. Pesticides are used only when needed and in combination with other effective methods.
Barlow found that Bangladeshi farmers had virtually no pest management information available to them. They also didn't have access to pesticide labels or safety data sheets (SDSs) and were using pesticides in an unsafe manner. Barlow noted that farmers would sometimes apply pesticides twice a day because they knew nothing about the appropriate application rate, the time to wait before entering a treated field, or the time that must be allowed between spraying and harvesting. Retailers did not have enough information about the pesticides they were selling and could not pass on any safety information to the farmers.
“There's a real need for education here. The farmers are the ones suffering,” Barlow said. "The outreach of UC IPM is invaluable in situations like this.”
“I had limited time and resources, but my goal was to demonstrate that there are better alternatives to their current practices," Barlow said. His hope was that “farmers would start using pesticides in a more safe and effective manner.”
Part of Barlow's goal was to try to help growers make a connection between health and applying pesticides safely. When he asked workshop participants if any of them knew someone who had gotten sick from pesticides, virtually everyone raised their hands. However, Barlow noted that they had no real sense that their farming practices were causing health problems. A large part of each of each workshop was devoted to showing examples of personal protective equipment (PPE) that applicators could wear to help reduce pesticide exposure.
Barlow hopes to return to Bangladesh one day and plans to stay in touch with U.S. AID representatives to see what impact he made during his short visit.
“It was a rewarding experience, and I left with a real sense of satisfaction," Barlow said. "I was glad I did it.”
The University of California Global Food Initiative aims to put the world on a path to sustainably and nutritiously feed itself. By building on existing efforts and creating new collaborations among UC's 10 campuses, affiliated national laboratories and the Division of Agriculture and Natural Resources, the initiative will develop and export solutions for food security, health and sustainability throughout California, the United States and the world.
Author: Cheryl Reynolds