Assessing farmer field school as a sustainable agricultural methodology for farmers in Trinidad and Tobago

Pest management is one of the most limiting factors to crop production in Trinidad and Tobago. Surveys conducted in 1995 revealed that pest control is the single largest expense, accounting for 30 - 40 % of total crop production costs (Lopez et al. 1995). One of the problems identified was the transfer of both existing and new technologies to farmers to ensure development of their knowledge base, leading to sustainable agricultural production. A pilot Farmer Field School (FFS) project in 2003, introduced the use of Farmer Participatory Approaches (FPA) for Ecological Crop Management (ECM) in Trinidad and Tobago. During the period 2004/2008, thirty eight FFS have been conducted with over 400 farmers participating. In order to assess the FFS as a sustainable agricultural methodology, a survey of 106 farmers, who had participated in FFS over the period 2003-2008, was conducted in May 2009. The factors studied were demographic, institutional, environmental, social and economic. The farmers were interviewed in groups in the field and their responses captured using the meta card system of voting. Basic frequency analyses were carried out which indicated that more than 90% of the farmers were very satisfied with the institutional arrangements, became more knowledgeable of the factors related to the environment and agreed that the knowledge gained from the FFS empowered them to make more sustainable agricultural crop management decisions. More than 79% of the farmers had adopted the integrated pest management (IPM) technology transferred using the FFS methodology and are currently using these IPM practices. This paper outlines and underscores the need for continued assessments of Farmer Field Schools and related Farmer Participatory Approaches to determine whether they could be used as sustainable agricultural methodologies for farmers in Trinidad and Tobago

Dental Health Knowledge and Attitudes of Primary School Teachers toward Developing Dental Health Education

Objective: To assess the dental health knowledge of primary school teachers, their attitudes toward the prevention of dental diseases and to identify any barriers to the implementation of oral health promotion programmes in schools. Method: Teachers’ knowledge of the causes and prevention of dental decay and gum disease, their attitudes toward oral health and barriers to the implementation of dental health education programmes were assessed using a self-administered questionnaire. Results: School teachers were generally very well informed about the causes and prevention of dental decay and gum disease. Knowledge of the appropriate management of serious dental trauma was very poor among this group although they seemed to have greater awareness of the appropriate management for less serious dental injuries. The majority of teachers demonstrated positive attitudes toward dental health and its incorporation into the school curriculum. Teachers’ attitudes to their own involvement in school-based dental health education were also positive. Lack of training and resources and time within the curriculum were identified as major barriers to the implementation of a dental health education programme in primary schools. Conclusion: Developing teacher training programmes that include oral health knowledge and an evidence-based approach to dental health education within a school setting could enable primary school teachers to play a significant part in oral health promotion for young children in Trinidad. Keywords: Dental health, oral health promotion, schoolchildren, teachers. "Conocimiento de la Salud Dental y Actitudes de los Maestros de la Escuela Primaria hacia el Desarrollo de la Educación de la Salud Dental" RESUMEN Objetivo: Evaluar el conocimiento de los maestros de escuela primaria sobre salud dental, y sus actitudes hacia la prevención de enfermedades dentales, e identificar cualquier barrera a la implemen-tación de programas de promoción de la salud oral en las escuelas. Método: Haciendo uso de un cuestionario auto-administrado, se evaluó el conocimiento de los maestros sobre las causas y prevención de las caries dentales, y las enfermedades de la encía, así como las actitudes de aquellos hacia la salud oral y las barreras a la aplicación de programas de educación de salud dental. Resultados: Los maestros escolares estaban generalmente muy bien informados acerca de las causas y prevención de las caries dentales y las enfermedades de la encía. El conocimiento sobre el tratamiento apropiado del trauma dental serio era muy pobre entre este grupo, aunque parecían tener mayor conciencia del tratamiento apropiado para las lesiones dentales menos serias. La mayoría de los maestros demostró poseer actitudes positivas hacia la salud dental y su incorporación en el plan de estudios. Las actitudes de los maestros hacia su propia participación en la educación para la salud dental con base en la escuela, fueron también positivas. La falta de entrenamiento, así como de recursos y tiempo dentro del plan de estudios, fueron identificados como las barreras principales a la implementación de un programa de educación de salud dental en las escuelas primarias. Conclusión: El desarrollo de programas de entrenamientos para los maestros, que incluyan conocimientos de salud oral y un enfoque de la educación para la salud dental, basado en evidencias, dentro del contexto de la escuela, podría permitirles a los maestros escolares primarios desempeñar un papel significativo en la promoción de la salud oral entre los niños jóvenes en Trinidad. Palabras claves: Salud dental, promoción de la salud oral, escolares, maestro

Food safety in farmer participatory learning: The Trinidad and Tobago experience

The growth of the agricultural sector in Trinidad and Tobago can be considered to be slow relative to other sectors. There is, however, great potential in the agriculture sector to generate more public attention and investment. While the relative contribution of this sector to the gross domestic product (GDP) is merely 2.5 to 3%, it employs approximately 10% of the country's labour force. Thus, agriculture continues to play an important role a s a result of its economic and social impact (GORTT/PPAB 2000). Crop production alone accounts for 64% of the agricultural GDP, with livestock, forestry and fisheries contributing approximately 22%, 5%, and 10% respectively (GORTT/PPAB 2000). Crop production continues to take a prominent position in highlighting agricultural issues and play a major role in the food security of the nation. Recent developments in the Information and Communication Technology have helped raise consumer awareness and demand for safer produce as well as good cosmetic appeal and presentation. Global and regional free trade agreements together with stringent international standards have started to put pressure on farmers to produce high quality commodities for export in a very competitive environment. Farmers, however, are unprepared to meet this challenge. They have not gained the technological skills necessary to grapple with the difficult task of producing crops in an environment fraught with problems ranging from high input costs to unfavourable weather conditions and marketing of produce. Pest management continues to be one of the most limiting factors to vegetable production in Trinidad & Tobago. Surveys conducted in 1995/96 revealed that pest control is also the single largest expense, accounting for 30 to 40% of total crop production costs (Lopez et al., 1995/1996). Surveys on management practices revealed a tendency among farmers to apply cocktails in vegetables or use pesticides according to a planned calendar without the understanding of the agro-ecological requirements of the crop (Ramroop et al., 2000). Pest management continues to rely heavily on chemical control methods alone, with negative implications to the consumer, the environment and the farmer's health (Lopez et al., 2004). The situation is now slowly changing due to the introduction of farmer participatory learning. There is evidently the need for safer approaches to crop production. The recent successes in the management of the Hibiscus Mealybug (Maconellicoccus hirsutus) and The Citrus Blackfly (Aleurocanthus woglumi) using biological control have proven that alternatives to pesticide use exist and need to be explored and exploited. The problem now lies in the transfer of both existing and new technologies to farmers to ensure development of their knowledge base, leading to sustainable agricultural production. Extension Services of the Ministry of Agriculture, Land and Marine Resource (MILER) have a range of objectives, including satisfying the needs of the market, reducing pesticide uses, increasing the knowledge for alternatives in pest management and increasing farmers' income. Both private and governmental extension entities in Trinidad & Tobago have traditionally used top-down approaches towards their clients, where the needs of the farmers are not really considered and the technology is transferred without the farmers understanding or being part of the decision-making process. Current extension methods include result demonstrations, farmer visits, workshops, seminars, printed information, media and telephone assistance. Thus, the dissemination of research-generated information using top-down methods combined with a low extension officer to farmer ratio has rendered extension services relatively ineffective in changing farmers' attitude and approaches. There is clearly a need for a more effective mode of extension, which would allow the farmer to embrace the technology to be transferred. This is especially apparent with the agricultural community recognizing the need to implement safer alternatives for chemical control and sustainable pest management approaches. There is a strong cadre of research that highlights the disadvantages of the top-down approach for transfer of technology to farmers (Teer Weel, 1999). The dissemination of Integrated Pest Management technologies proves to be more effective by the process of discovery learning in which farmers and other stakeholders are involved collaboratively. In addition, blanket recommendations developed for single pest scenarios in research stations often do not apply to farmers' plots, which involve pest complexes and a range of ecological factors. Social, economic and cultural factors are also often ignored, as traditional methods are less likely to allow for extended interaction or techniques in gathering information. Farmer Participatory (FP) approaches are intended to empower farmers to make informed decisions that would be more specific to the agro-ecological environment in their own fields. It generally takes more time than traditional methods and involves a team of interested, dedicated and committed stakeholders working with farmers. During the training, farmers learn to collect, analyse and interpret data, which is then used to make decisions, based on their findings and group discussions. In other words it encourages the process of 'learning by doing'. As farmers are more involved from the beginning to the end of the extension and research process, they feel a sense of ownership and are more encouraged to embrace new technologies, and better understand systems surrounding the crops. At the same time, extensionists and researchers are more informed of the farmers needs and intellectual level, hence research is more farmer driven. FP approaches focus on facilitation as a main mode of action where the information flow is both ways: extension staff learns from farmers and vice-versa. Facilitators provide the forum for farmers to absorb information via group discussions, field data collection, analyses, experimentation and forms of non-formal education. FP tools vary and are important for effective training and learning. They encourage facilitators to: speak the farmers language, use open-ended question, use visualization, design practicals that are related to present issues and to ask the right questions to encourage farmers to deduce the answers to their own questions. The Farmer Field School (FFS) is a major farmer participatory strategy used to implement discovery-learning based IPM extension programmes. The training is done in the field and often lasts for the life of a crop. Extension officers conduct the sessions and 2 to 3 facilitators train about 20 to 30 farmers. The four major principles of FFS training are, grow a healthy crop, observe fields weekly, conserve natural enemies and farmers become experts in their own field. Following FFSs, farmers can chose to have FP Research, which is geared to and instigated by the farmer. Traditionally, farmers are limited to on-farm trials where they have little in put into the planning. FP, Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is also not restricted to certain crops or production systems. As a result, it is having a significant impact on plant protection practices in Trinidad and the MALMR is establishing national IPM programmes based on participatory IPM. This is seen as the way forward to consolidate the gains of intensified production and to make production more sustainable and environmentally sound and cost effective. Presently, in Trinidad FPA programmes have been tried and proven successful, especially with IPM. As a result of this programme, pesticide use by trained farmers was reduced to zero or near zero. While most farmers were trained in IPM on vegetables that began practising IPM in the other crops, for example, watermelon, ginger, beans etc. With the EC-CARIFORUM, Caribbean Agriculture and Fisheries Programme an IPM Project was developed in 2002, focussing on the Farmer Field School model and using two crops: cabbage and tomato. Trinidad & Tobago participated in the project, funded by the European Union and technical backstopping by CAB International. On vegetables, the programme started with the training of a cadre of local staff to become "Master Trainers" (MT). Further staff was trained in the Training of Trainers (ToT) segment, where these trainers would conduct FP activities with farmers. Participants grew crops from seed to seed. Ultimately there are now reports of a significant reduction in the use of synthetic pesticides and an increase in the knowledge and decision-making capacity of the farmers. Farmers also experiment with low cost materials such as botanicals as alternatives to traditional insecticides. The preliminary impact assessments studies reveal substantial reductions in pesticide use, equal or higher yields and significant increases in farmer's profits. The trials during the ToT formed the working background in training the participants in participatory methods and decision-making processes based on ecological observations (Agro ecosystem analysis or AESA). Analyses for data lead participants to recommend IPM practices for crop management. The emphasis was on reducing pesticide use, discovering alternatives, e.g., biological agents, and employing cultural practices thereby generally producing safer foods. Additionally, the programme was aimed at developing the human resources needed to help farmers learn about IPM and implement it in their production fields. Different types of evaluations were done in participatory fashion and all geared to assess the participant's level of understanding and their satisfaction towards various aspects of the training. The evaluations took various forms: written/spoken, public/private, open-ended/closed, group/individual. The daily activities in the ToT were guided by a planned weekly schedule, which followed standard times such that all field activities were undertaken in the morning, e.g., crop observation, data collection and monitoring or AESA and fieldwork. The fieldwork requirements were dictated by the result of the AESA

THE FARMER FIELD SCHOOL APPROACH FOR INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT: THE ST. LUCIA EXPERIENCE

The use of excessive amounts of chemical pesticides and other inputs in the production of short-term, high-value crops in the Caribbean is well-documented. This excess has serious negative implications on human and environmental health, cost of production and trade in agricultural commodities. Over the past decade, a number of regional initiatives have successfully used the Farmer Field School (FFS) approach towards rationalizing the use of chemical inputs in agricultural production. One such initiative was implemented during 2009-10 by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in partnership with the Ministry of Agriculture, Land, Forestry and Fisheries (MALFF), St. Lucia, under the Project European Community (EC)-Funded Assistance to Agricultural Diversification in the Windward Islands (GCP/RLA/167/EC - SFA2006). Using the FFS methodology, the intervention facilitated an Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme in vegetables. Under Phase 1 (May-August 2009), eighteen Extension Officers, drawn from the eight agricultural regions of St. Lucia, successfully graduated as FFS Facilitators in a Training of Trainers (TOT) programme. The TOT comprised intensive classroom and field training sessions and incorporated a pilot FFS, from which thirteen farmers graduated. Phase II was implemented (February-June 2010) in five agricultural regions, with ninety-eight farmers graduating. It is noteworthy that the cost-benefit ratio using IPM was higher compared to traditional farmer practices in all five regions. Indeed, plans were already in train for Phase III as a collaborative effort between farmers and the MALFF. This joint ownership by the two main stakeholders—farmers and the MALFF—augurs well for the sustainability of the FFS movement in St Lucia. This paper underscores the benefits of the TOT/FFS model, which leads to improved technical capacity of the Extension and Plant Protection services and in turn to the delivery of enhanced services to farmers, resulting in safer and more effective pest and crop management

Knowledge of Australian primary education providers towards dental avulsion injuries: a cross-sectional study

Background/aim The aim of this study was to evaluate the knowledge of school professionals regarding the emergency management of dental avulsion. Methods This cross‐sectional study utilised a self‐administered, pilot‐tested questionnaire for school staff from primary schools. Descriptive statistics were used for the analysis – the prevalence and univariate associations between a categorical outcome and the variables under consideration, were evaluated using Pearson’s Chi‐squared test. Results This survey yielded a response rate of 43.5% (n = 313). Approximately 60% of participants held valid first‐aid certificates and 23% had received avulsion advice previously. Over 80% of participants expressed an unwillingness to replant an avulsed tooth, and over 90% believed that there should be greater awareness in this area. This unwillingness to replant was influenced by respondents’ age (x2 = 8.13 df = 3, P = 0.043) and receiving advice previously (x2 = 13.15, df = 1, P < 0.001). Under‐preparedness was related to years of experience (x2 = 15.03, df = 5, P = 0.010), first‐aid training (x2 = 6.41, df = 1, P = 0.011) and receiving advice previously (x2 = 43.47, df = 1, P < 0.001). It was also evident that first‐aid training positively influenced appropriate dental referral in the management pathway (x2 = 10.49, df = 1, P = 0.001). Conclusion This study suggests that there is an inadequate level of knowledge on the appropriate management of dental avulsion injuries amongst primary school professionals in Australia

Targeting RET Kinase in Neuroendocrine Prostate Cancer.

The increased treatment of metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) with second-generation antiandrogen therapies (ADT) has coincided with a greater incidence of lethal, aggressive variant prostate cancer (AVPC) tumors that have lost dependence on androgen receptor (AR) signaling. These AR-independent tumors may also transdifferentiate to express neuroendocrine lineage markers and are termed neuroendocrine prostate cancer (NEPC). Recent evidence suggests kinase signaling may be an important driver of NEPC. To identify targetable kinases in NEPC, we performed global phosphoproteomics comparing several AR-independent to AR-dependent prostate cancer cell lines and identified multiple altered signaling pathways, including enrichment of RET kinase activity in the AR-independent cell lines. Clinical NEPC patient samples and NEPC patient-derived xenografts displayed upregulated RET transcript and RET pathway activity. Genetic knockdown or pharmacologic inhibition of RET kinase in multiple mouse and human models of NEPC dramatically reduced tumor growth and decreased cell viability. Our results suggest that targeting RET in NEPC tumors with high RET expression could be an effective treatment option. Currently, there are limited treatment options for patients with aggressive neuroendocrine prostate cancer and none are curative. IMPLICATIONS: Identification of aberrantly expressed RET kinase as a driver of tumor growth in multiple models of NEPC provides a significant rationale for testing the clinical application of RET inhibitors in patients with AVPC