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CHINA
National IPM Programme
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Facts and figures
Operational since: 1989
Implementing agency: National Agro-technical Extension
and Service Centre (NATESC), Ministry of Agriculture
(MOA), Beijing
Partners: FAO. 12 Provincial Plant Protection Stations
Donors: Governments of Australia, the Netherlands,
Switzerland, Norway, Sweden, EU, Arab Gulf Fund for
the United Nations Development Organizations
FFS conducted: 4,838 (vegetables 580, fruits 11,
cotton 1,061, rice 3,186)
Farmers trained: 150,000 (56 % female)
Trainers active: 1,170 (52 % female)
Main crops: Rice, vegetables, fruits, cotton
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Achievements:
FAO has provided assistance to the Chinese Government to reduce use of pesticides in agriculture for
a period of about 20 years. After roclamation of Integrated Pest Management as a national long-term
guiding principle of plant protection in 1976 by the Ministry of Agriculture and a subsequent 10 year
period of top-down IPM related extension efforts, China piloted during the early 1990s with FAO
assistance a new, innovative and much more successful IPM farmer training approach, the Farmer
Field School. Farmer training focused initially on IPM for rice and cotton. The ongoing FAO Regional
Vegetable IPM Programme was launched in Yunnan Province, P. R. China in 2003, with an emphasis
on capacity building for IPM Farmers Field School training in vegetable growing prefectures in Yunnan
Province. The FAO/China IPM Programme efforts have introduced and helped sustain participatory,
farmer-led IPM in rice, cotton and vegetable crops nationwide.
Impact assessment done on the FAO/China Vegetable IPM Programme has shown that IPM-FFS
training interventions have had significant impact on farmer empowerment, gender equity, pesticide
risk reduction, farmers’ profits, food safety, environmental and human health improvement and agrobiodiversity
conservation and utilization. Awareness has been raised among farmers, government
extension workers and consumers with regards to the negative impact of pesticides on human health
and the environment. The education investment through FFS has also produced outcomes beyond the
immediate realm of IPM: the FFS approach is increasingly valued by local governments as a new and
innovative tool for rural development and working towards a more harmonized rural society.
Sustainability:
 Given the renewed attention and current prominent driving forces for pesticide risk reduction related to
food safety, international trade facilitation and enduring environmental and health concerns and the
need for application of IPM, the Chinese Ministry of Agriculture has adopted IPM and emphasized the
nature of IPM as “public service” and “green crop
protection”. In late 2007, the Chinese government issued
six new regulations to enhance pesticide management.
In particular, these new regulations are aimed at
regulating pesticide names, label requirements and
registration procedures. Early in 2008, the Chinese
government released a well-enforced announcement of
a ban on the production, distribution and use of five
highly-toxic organo-phosphorus pesticides
(Methamidophos, Parathion, Parathion-methyl,
Monocrotophos and Phosphamidon), which represented
nearly 60% of the total domestic pesticide market.
China has embraced the concept and practice of Farmer
Field Schools very well. IPM FFS are incorporated as a
major training model in crop protection and management extension. The spin-off of Beijing and
Yunnan FFS programmes has influenced local policy makers to apply FFS as main agriculture
extension approach towards achieving food safety. Farmer associations have been formed after
completion of FFS and IPM-FFS graduate farmers help other farmers learn about IPM and conduct
field studies in their own fields.
The plant protection associations are embedded into national plant protection service networks
providing services like forecasting, mechanical pest control, enforcement of self-control system on the
entry and use of pesticides.
The IPM FFS approach has also been taken up by other international and national programmes. For
instance, the World Bank-funded Anning Valley Project in Panzhihua and Liangshan, Sichuan
province, GTZ-funded “Environmental Strategies of Intensive Agriculture in the North of China”, the
CIDA-funded “Agriculture and Agri-food” Project in Western China, EU/FAO/China Agrobiodiversity
Conservation and Utilization Project, FAO/China Technical Cooperation Project Technical assistance
to farmers in konjac seed tuber production and storage in the counties of Qujing City in Yunnan
Province.
The most notably achievement of FAO and National IPM Program assistance has been the emerging
local government’s commitment to endorse and provide own funding for more participatory farmer
education using the FFS approach nationwide. Local governments are now actively supporting local
FFS programmes with their own government funds. IPM-FFS programmes are currently implemented
with local government funding support in 12 provinces (Beijing, Anhui, Shandong, Hubei, Henan,
Sichuan, Hunan, Zhejiang, Guangdong, Tianjin, Shanghai, Gansu), covering a wide-variety of crop
commodities including fruit trees, tea, rice, cotton, vegetables etc. In total, about 150,000 farmers have
been trained.
Innovations:
 Farmers in FFS field studies evaluate novel
options (resistant varieties, Bt cotton, sticky
traps, light traps, bio-control agents, plant
debris treatment etc.) for pest management.
Results of the field studies are being shared
among farmers present at local prefecturebased
farmer congresses which are
organized regularly. The studies have also
been documented by IPM alumni groups and
have been made available to the community.
The concept of FFSs has also been applied
to other areas like animal husbandry, forestry,
soil conservation, agro-biodiversity and
broader rural development.
The IPM FFS approach is employed as an
important training model in locally-funded
food safety programme in China. A good
example is the Safe Vegetable Programmes, now active in 16 prefectures in Yunnan Province.
Funding is made available by governments at various levels to develop safe food programmes, in
which farmer education and FFS play a major role. The National IPM programme also contributes to
protocol development for Good Agricultural Practices and access for IPM FFS graduate farmers to
accreditation and market access initiatives.
The Beijing FFS programme, supported by the local Beijing Municipality, has played an important role
in the supply of safe vegetable for the Beijing 2008 Olympics. The FFS in collaboration with farmer
cooperatives have helped farmers to reduce use of pesticides and grow safe vegetables. The
cooperatives developed their own IPM/Safe Vegetables marketing brand which is now recognized by
consumers and high-end supermarkets, such as Carrefour. This initiative is a good example of a successful market scheme for IPM produce.
For further information:
http:www.agri.gov.cn
http://natesc.agri.gov.cn
http://www.vegetableipmasia.org/Countries/China.htm |
