BALKH - Afghanistan's crop production is currently shifting to more sustainable, environment friendly ecological practices where a long-term sustainable approach to pest management is being introduced in the country through Integrated Pest Management (IPM) programme.

With support from the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Norwegian Government, more than 70 field level plant protection and extension officers from the Ministry of Agriculture, Irrigation and Livestock from 14 north, northeastern and eastern provinces have been participating in season-long Training of Trainers courses on IPM in rice, wheat, melon, potatoes and vegetables in Dehdadi research farm in Mazar-e Sharif, Balkh since June 2011

“IPM is an ecosystem approach to crop production and protection. We combine different managementt practices to grow healthy crops and minimize the use of pesticides and other agricultural chemicals and maximize the outcomes to increase farmers' incomes,” FAO training consultant, Wahyu Sutisna explained. Physical control, mechanical control and also the use of biopesticides are amongst the methods used in the management.

During the initial period of the project, it conducted systematic action research on melon fly control and management and found that bagging, covering the melon with paper/cloth bag, as the most cost effective and successful method of controlling melon fly. It also found that the use of plastic mulch is very effective in controlling weed and preserving soil moisture without requiring any supplemental irrigation. It promotes vigorous plant growth and increase fruit setting.

“Before, we used chemicals for pest control. Now we know that there are different techniques which have no negative impacts on the environment and also human health,” said Inayatullah, a participant from Laghman province. “We also learn how to self-produce biopesticides using fermented chili, banana and other natural ingredients which are safe for the environment,” he added.

Although it's challenging since most farmers have assumed that the use of agricultural chemicals means advanced agricultural practices, it is hoped that the farmers can be convinced of the effectiveness of the methods used in IPM through field practices and experiencing concrete results.

“After the training, the trainers will go back to their provinces and conduct training for farmers through Farmer Field School (FFS) where farmers grow crops together and monitor the growth of the crops on weekly basis, “ said Wahyu Sutisna. “Any changes found in the crops will give them a unique opportunity to understand the interactions among plants, soil, water, weeds and pest and their combined effect on the growth and management of the plant. Based on this, they make decisions on what management practices are most effective,” he further explained.

Since June 2011, FAO has conducted 3 season-long training sessions and the 4th session is currently under way for participants from eastern provinces. As of May 2012, 104 FFS are being conducted in 11 provinces in north and northeastern Afghanistan with 2600 farm households are regularly participating in the FSS on weekly basis. Although insecurity remains the big challenge in the country, more FFS will be conducted in 3 eastern provinces of Kunar, Laghman and Nangarhar.

UNAMA Mazar