Perception Change in Rice Pest Management: A Case Study of Farmers\u27 Evaluation of Conflict Information

A simple rule-of-thumb, or heuristic, in pest management which was in conflict with farmers\u27 prevailing perceptions was communicated to farmers to examine whether their cognitive dissonance would challenge them to evaluate it and change their misperceptions

Communication and Behavior Change in Rice Farmers’ Pest Management: The Case of Using Mass Media In Vietnam

Rice farmers’ unnecessary insecticide use for leaf folder control is due to misperceptions. A mass media campaign was organized to motivate farmers to test a conflict information expressed as a heuristic. After the campaign, insecticide use dropped from 3.35 sprays per farmer to 1.56. Proportions of farmers spraying at the early and late tillering and booting stages decreased from 59%, 84% and 85% to 0.2%, 19% and 30%, respectively. Leaf folder control perceptions, expressed as the belief index, changed from 11.25 to 7.62. Proportions of farmers believing that leaf folders could cause damages, yield loss and needed sprays, dropped from 66%, 70% and 77% to 24%, 25% and 23%, respectively. The study showed that mass media could effectively transfer some elements of knowledge-intensive pest management, especially simple non-site specific information designed to motivate

BI~DIVERSITY AND SUSTAINABILITY OF WETLAND RICE PRODUCTION: I ROLE AND POTENTIAL OF MICROORGANISMS AND INVERTEBRATES I

Summary This review considers some of the ecological foundations of sustainable wetland rice production related to microorganisms and invertebrates and their biodiversity. It summarizes (1) the aspects of sustainability of rice-producing environments involving microbial and invertebrate populations --maintenance of soil fertility, effects and control of rice pests and vector-borne diseases-", (2) how factors of crop intensification affect these populations and their biodiversity, (3) the agricultural practices that use microbial and invertebrate populations and their biodiversity, and (4) the current status of germplasm collections and the potential of biotechnology to use them to improve the sustainability of rice-producing environments. production have been identified and, sometimes, quantified. However, less is known about the possible long-term effects of crop intensification on these populations and their biodiversity. control pests and diseases have been tested. But the success of these methods is limited and their adoption almost negligible. This situation will probably remain unchanged as long as the methods designed are based on a very restricted knowledge on biodiversity, community structure, and trophic relationships at the ecosystem level, as it is currently. pest populations. Increases in pest and vector densities depend more on predator diversity, species resilience to perturbations, and biological attributes. Thus, increasing or preserving diversity per se does not necessarily contribute to pest stability, but developing effective trophic linkage

Brazil and the development of international scientific biosafety testing guidelines for transgenic crops.

Under the umbrella of the International Organisation of Biological Control (IOBC), an international working group of public sector scientists entitled on Transgenic Organisms in Integrated Pest Management and Biological Control has been organized. The group will develop scientific principles and detailed scientific guidelines for biosafety testing of transgenic crops. The key elements of this project are: (1) An international initiative including expert scientists from leading research institutions in developed and developing countries; (2) coordination of the development and implementation of the guidelines as a dynamic process, which will include scientific and technical capacity building and communication among scientists and between scientists and policy makers; (3) rapid serial publication of sections of the guidelines as they are completed; and (4) rapid and timely revision of previously published sections. The guidelines will be constructed on a case-by-case basis and will have no regulatory legitimacy themselves

Towards a collaborative research: A case study on linking science to farmers' perceptions and knowledge on Arabica coffee pests and diseases and its management

The scientific community has recognized the importance of integrating farmer's perceptions and knowledge (FPK) for the development of sustainable pest and disease management strategies. However, the knowledge gap between indigenous and scientific knowledge still contributes to misidentification of plant health constraints and poor adoption of management solutions. This is particularly the case in the context of smallholder farming in developing countries. In this paper, we present a case study on coffee production in Uganda, a sector depending mostly on smallholder farming facing a simultaneous and increasing number of socio-ecological pressures. The objectives of this study were (i) to examine and relate FPK on Arabica Coffee Pests and Diseases (CPaD) to altitude and the vegetation structure of the production systems; (ii) to contrast results with perceptions from experts and (iii) to compare results with field observations, in order to identify constraints for improving the information flow between scientists and farmers. Data were acquired by means of interviews and workshops. One hundred and fifty farmer households managing coffee either at sun exposure, under shade trees or inter-cropped with bananas and spread across an altitudinal gradient were selected. Field sampling of the two most important CPaD was conducted on a subset of 34 plots. The study revealed the following findings: (i) Perceptions on CPaD with respect to their distribution across altitudes and perceived impact are partially concordant among farmers, experts and field observations (ii) There are discrepancies among farmers and experts regarding management practices and the development of CPaD issues of the previous years. (iii) Field observations comparing CPaD in different altitudes and production systems indicate ambiguity of the role of shade trees. According to the locality-specific variability in CPaD pressure as well as in FPK, the importance of developing spatially variable and relevant CPaD control practices is proposed. (Résumé d'auteur

Ten Biodiversity and Sustainability of Wetland Rice Production: Role and Potential of Microorganisms and Invertebrates

ABSTRACT: Some of the ecological foundations of sustainable wetland rice production related to microorganisms and invertebrates and their biodiversity are considered including: (i) aspects of sustainability of rice-producing environments involving microbial and invertebrate populations, the maintenance of soil fertility, effects and control of rice pests and vector-borne diseases; (ii) how crop intensification affects these populations and their biodiversity; (iii) agricultural practices that use microbial and invertebrate populations and their biodiversity; and (iv) the status of germplasm collections and the potential of biotechnology to use them to improve the sustainability of rice-producing environments. The beneficial and detrimental roles of microorganisms and invertebrates in sustainable rice production have been identified and, sometimes, quantified. However, less is known about the possible long-term effects of crop intensification on these populations and their biodiversity. Numerous methods using microorganisms and invertebrates to increase soil fertility and control pests and diseases have been tested. But the success of these methods is limited and their adoption almost negligible. This will probably continue while the methods are still based on a very restricted knowledge of biodiversity, community structure, and trophic relationships at the ecosystem level. Recent data on arthropods confirm that high biodiversity does not imply stability and low pest populations. Increases in pest and vector densities depend more on predator diversity, species resilience to perturbations, and biological attributes. Thus, increasing or preserving diversity per se does not necessarily contribute to pest stability, but developing effective trophic linkages might. This approach might also be valid for maintaining soil fertility through microbial management, the Present address