PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988-2001 19 Participatory pest analysis

Document begins: PLA Notes CD-ROM 1988­2001 19 Participatory pest analysis James Mangan · Introduction I have spoken with Indian farmers who sprayed pesticides to eliminate ladybird Making the principles of Integrated Pest beetles, and Chinese farmers who sprayed because they thought there were too many Management (IPM) a reality in farmers' fields spiders. They did not know that the more of requires a methodology that enables farmers to these insects the better. Therefore, often decide whether or not to apply pesticides. Farmers must be able to assess the condition outside skills and knowledge are necessary. of an ecosystem, in order to make this decision. This requires more than just `scouting', or assessing pest levels. BOX 1 Ecosystems are complex, and even very Good reasons to avoid using pesticides: experienced local people or pest experts do not · pesticides kill beneficial predator and know everything. parasite insects which hold pest levels down naturally, pesticides induce pest outbreaks and thereby reduce crop yields. Participation is required but so are skills and · pesticides cost the farmer money which knowledge which are not necessarily available can be saved. Applying pesticides is heavy, locally. This article describes how we are time-consuming work, which can ...