Integrated pest management : farmer field schools generate sustainable practices : a case study in Central Java evaluating IPM training

An evaluation study of the National Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Programme in Indonesia was conducted in one Central-Javanese district looking into processes and effects occurring at the village level when sustainable practices in rice cultivation, which contrast in many respects with the prevailing high-external- input technology, are introduced through nonformal farmer training in conditions created by policy measures. The IPM training contents consisted of a set of principles, instead of preset recommendation, providing the farmers with a tool for decision making. Training processes were field-oriented and based on experiential learning. Main objective was that farmers become independent decision makers and managers of their farms. Trainers performed as facilitators of the learning process. As a result of training, farmers took better-informed pest management decisions, pesticide use and expenditures on pest control decreased, yields increased, and yield variability became smaller. Horizontal communication on IPM was hampered by the non-representativeness of trained farmers in the farming communities.The nonformal training approach appeared to be consistent with the ecological approach of IPM. The experience of the Indonesian IPM Programme showed interesting perspectives for extension supporting sustainable agriculture

On variational principles for coherent vortex structures

Different approaches are discussed of variational principles characterizing coherent vortex structures in two-dimensional flows. Turbulent flows seem to form ordered structures in the large scales of the motion and the self-organization principle predicts asymptotic states realizing an extremal value of the energy or a minimum of enstrophy. On the other hand the small scales take care of the increase of entropy, and asymptotic results can be obtained by applying the theory of equilibrium statistical mechanics

Citizen science breathes new life into participatory agricultural research : A review

Participatory research can improve the efficiency, effectiveness, and scope of research processes, and foster social inclusion, empowerment and sustainability. Yet despite four decades of agricultural research institutions exploring and developing methods for participatory research, it has never become mainstream in the agricultural technology development cycle. Citizen science promises an innovative approach to participation in research, using the unique facilities of new digital technologies, but its potential in agricultural research participation has not been systematically probed. To this end, we conducted a critical literature review. We found that citizen science opens up four opportunities for creatively reshaping research: i) new possibilities for interdisciplinary collaboration, ii) rethinking configurations of socio-computational systems, iii) research on democratization of science more broadly, and iv) new accountabilities. Citizen science also brings a fresh perspective on the barriers to institutionalizing participation in the agricultural sciences. Specifically, we show how citizen science can reconfigure cost-motivation-accountability combinations using digital tools, open up a larger conceptual space of experimentation, and stimulate new collaborations. With appropriate and persistent institutional support and investment, citizen science can therefore have a lasting impact on how agricultural science engages with farming communities and wider society, and more fully realize the promises of participation

Recognising a climate for sustainability: extension beyond transfer of technology

Sustainable agriculture emphasises the fundamental role of the human component in a production system, as opposed to conventional agriculture, which centres on technologies. Therefore, it is characterised by the abilities and behaviours that farmers display, including the knowledge and skills they possess, decision-making processes they apply, and individual and collective actions they take. This has strong implications for extension development and organisation, in that the methodologies applied should be oriented towards enhancing farmer capacities favourable to sustainable agriculture, rather than towards achieving adoption of standardised technologies. These capacities include sound ecological knowledge, observational, analytical and experimental skills, and inclination towards collectivity to allow farmers to make better, informed decisions for location-specific agro-ecosystem management. Extension approaches favouring this type of learning are participatory, experience-based and adaptable. Needs and opportunity assessment, participatory technology development, defining the implications for farmers of the implementation of an innovation, and development of a learning curriculum (first for farmers and then for facilitators) are among the sequential phases for solid extension development for sustainable agriculture. Applying underlying principles of participatory capacity development, rather than fixed, condition-specific models, provides a generic framework for extension development under diverse ecological and socio-cultural settings