Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a community of cotton growers in Mali, according to a new FAO study published by the London-based Royal Society.

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

The study was conducted in two areas - the Bla region of southern Mali, where FAO established a field school program in 2003, and a second area, Bougouni, where the program was not yet active. 

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

While only 34 percent of all cotton-farmers in the area participated in the program, pesticide use on all of Bla's cotton farms - more than 4,300 households - dropped a staggering 92 percent. FAO's study further found that the move away from pesticide use had no negative impact on yields.

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

The Bougouni area, where training has not yet taken place, saw no change in pesticide use over the same eight-year period. This suggests that knowledge of alternative methods in pest control was further disseminated in the Bla area by program participants to other farmers in the area, underscoring the potential of farmer field schools to act as catalysts for widespread practice change.

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

Slashing their use of chemicals and shifting to alternative "biopesticides" like neem tree extract, growers in the Bla study group reduced their average individual production costs.

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

By refraining from applying more than 47,000 liters of toxic pesticides, the farmers saved nearly half a million dollars over the study period. 

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

Training farmers in alternative methods of pest control proved to be three times more cost-effective than purchasing and using synthetic pesticides, according to FAO's analysis. More than 20,000 cotton farmers have been through field schools in Mali.

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

"We must learn from farmers' experience. Pragmatic, field-based and farmer-centric education can and must play a key role in making agriculture stronger and more sustainable," said FAO Director-General José Graziano da Silva. "At the end of the day, sustainable intensification will be the result of the collective action of millions of small farmers, who through their daily decisions determine the trajectory of agricultural ecosystems across the world."

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

An important crop

Cotton is the principal engine of economic development in Mali, where an estimated 4 million farmers grow the high-value crop, accounting for 8-9 percent of Mali's GDP and providing as much as 75 percent of the country's export earnings.

 

Field schools that train farmers in alternative methods of pest control have succeeded in nearly eliminating the use of toxic pesticides by a #

Usage of pesticides in Malian cotton doubled between 1995 and 2001, but yields nonetheless fell due to increasing resistance among pests.