Integrated Pest Management in Indonesia

Case Study

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Teacher's Notes

Student Activities

Project Goal:

• to develop an organised group of farmer experts that can help other farmers and the village as a whole

Project Scope

This international project covers;

• The impact of pests and chemical pesticides on rice fields
• sustainable farming
• understanding the ecology of rice fields.

Background

For many years rice farmers in Indonesia have used chemical pesticides to control the pests that damage rice crops. Many of these chemicals are now recognised as dangerous to the people that use them and the environment in which they are used.

The impacts include:

• the loss of other species as well as the pests
• pest resistance - the insects can become used to them
• contamination of food and water supplies
• threat to farmers' health

During the 1980s the government took two major steps to reduce the use of chemical pesticides.

• they banned many chemical pesticides from use and
• set up Farmers Field Schools to teach rice growers new ways to manage pests.

At the field schools farmers learn to combine several ways to control pests. This combined method is called Integrated Pest Management (IPM). To date more than a million farmers throughout Indonesia have attended these schools.

Integrated Pest Management

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is based on understanding the ecology of the rice field. The farmers go into the rice fields where they are encouraged to:

• learn how plants, pests, predators and pesticides interact with each other;
• observe and monitor their own fields during the rice growing season;
• use their past knowledge and experience to decide on actions.

In the field school approach the field is the "book" and the farmers learn the language of the field to help them understand the text. The rice field becomes their own science "laboratory" where they observe what is happening and test different ideas. Working in an open and sharing environment, the farmers meet for four or five hours every week for the twelve weeks of the growing season where they:

• examine the farm environment;
• record water conditions, plant growth stage and insect; population as large drawings/diagrams;
• discuss these results with the rest of the group;
• decide on a crop management decision for the following week.

No matter how small, every change in the field is recorded and by the end of the season each farmer has a living record of the crop - from the time the seeds are planted to the crop's harvest.

The skills the farmers learn also enable them to take action to improve their lives. The new knowledge, skills and experience they gain at the school often gives them confidence to speak out about pesticides in public. Now, after sixteen years of Farmers Field Schools (FFS), the following benefits for people, the economy and the environment can be seen:

• farmers now use 80 - 100% less chemicals;
• savings on costs of imported chemicals;
• reduced health risks to farmers and their families;
• improved community knowledge about pesticide;
• crops are stable and in some cases yield more rice;
• less pollution of soil, food and water;
• increase in the diversity of plants and animals.

Notes from the Field - Seema's Journal

Seema Sanghi is a technical writer for IPM - Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) in Jakarta. She was recently in Indonesia where she visited some Farmers Field Schools. The following notes from her journal describe how they work.

"Most of my travels have been to farming communities in Java where the people were very friendly and welcoming. I travelled to a place called "Sukabumi" with five people from Nepal who had come to learn about the IPM and the FFS programs.

Gathering insects to study

On our first day in Sukabumi we took part in a FFS. This was the fourth week of the rice growing season and we joined farmers in their field observations. Here, all the basic learning materials and subject matter were supplied by the field itself. Farmers observed the condition of the field, gathered live specimens from the IPM plot and also made notes. We then discussed the differences between two fields and made a display. The farmers joined in the discussions about how the fields should be managed. The five women farmers contributed equally to this discussion.

After this activity we discussed the life cycle of different insects. By learning what the insects like to eat at certain stages of their development the farmers can work out when the insect may become a pest. The farmers broke into small groups and chose one insect to study. They made diagrams of the different stages in the life cycle and then each group presented their information to the others. I liked the way we could see the real insects in front of us in their own environment. It was much more interesting and relevant.

Then it was time for some fun. We were tied up to partners and had to somehow untangle ourselves. There was much laughter and others joined in. This led to talk about communication and problem solving, leadership and team building. People had a lot to say about how others do not listen, how they knew what to do or how they were following what those beside them were doing etc. This brought the group closer together and prepared them for a planning and review session.

Our lunch that day consisted of home-grown vegetables, rice and fish. Very simple but delicious.

The next day we attended a FFS follow up session. This involved farmers who had already completed the program and were now planning for their second growing season. They prioritised their problems and strategies were suggested. The field leader encouraged the farmers to think of ways to improve their situation. Then they drew pictures of what they saw as their ideal situation and planning followed. They were asked to identify how to reach goals, who could help, what resources were needed and most importantly, who would carry out the different tasks needed to reach their goal.

Observing local insects

It was good that farmers and government officials could meet and share in such a friendly and relaxed atmosphere. The head of the village came and welcomed the overseas guests. The local farmers asked the Nepalese many questions about rice growing in their country and in turn the Nepalese asked the local farmers questions to give them a better understanding of how the program had affected them. The next day we visited a different village. We had to walk through a wet and muddy rice field to get to the meeting house that the farmers had built especially for IPM. Built right in the middle of the rice fields it is easy to see what is being talked about and provides their own "laboratory" where they can carry out research on the spot.

The idea of a "field for learning" surprises many people - farmers doing their own research and experiments in their own fields for their own information and decision making. This group of about 25 farmers were interested in "botanical" (plant based) pesticides instead of chemicals. They were testing different methods in their rice paddies; some used mint to deter the pests, others were trying ginger or garlic. An insect zoo had also been set up to see the effects of different plants on different species and to better understand the interaction between insects and plants . These plant based methods which they were testing may well have been the traditional ways to rid pests but had been forgotten since the arrival of chemical pesticides.

I was disappointed that there were no women in this group and when I asked I was told that they were cooking, cleaning or looking after children. Although there are many women's programs and success stories which involve the work of women it is not common to see equal numbers of women attending these types of meetings. There are reasons for this, for example, religion can prevent women and men sitting together or women can feel shy in the presence of men.

A colourful wooden puppet

After the meeting one of the farmers invited us to his home for tea. He showed us some colourfully painted wooden hand puppets which he uses to teach people about IPM. One of the puppets looked quite evil. This was the brown plant hopper - one of the rice farmers most dreaded pests. The other puppet was very colourful with a big red smile - an IPM farmer. Using his puppets the farmer gives a simple IPM message to a broader audience. His friends help him to make the puppets and he takes any opportunity - big meetings , weddings, and other ceremonies - to educate people about IPM.

After this meeting I began to see that IPM is not just about pests or rice but about a whole new way of thinking. A way of making the connections between people, plants and animals and how we do things. The farmers in this group have certainly taken IPM as a way of life. They use their knowledge about farming practices to improve their skills in other parts of their lives. After all here was a puppeteer who feels strongly enough to tell the story of IPM at a wedding rather than a story of the handsome prince and his beautiful princess!

Later, when visiting Bali, I saw that farmers had woven IPM into their water sharing systems. These groups had made a strong connection to IPM because it contains the three foundations of happiness. In Bali people believe that happiness comes from the harmony between a person's relationships with god, with other people and with the natural world. The farmers believe that through IPM they can make and maintain a healthy farm ecosystem and in turn this means that their other relationships are also in order."