AGROÉCOLOGIE AGROECOLOGY METHODS FOR ASSESSING CONDITIONS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT AND ITS EFFECTS

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1 AGROÉCOLOGIE MÉTHODES POUR ÉVALUER SES CONDITIONS DE DÉVELOPPEMENT ET SES EFFETS Atelier d échange et construction méthodologique AGROECOLOGY METHODS FOR ASSESSING CONDITIONS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT AND ITS EFFECTS Workshop to share experiences and elaborate a common methodology /12 / 2017 Avec le soutien de Supported by

2 Session 8 Méthodes d évaluation des effets et impact agro-environnementaux Evaluation methods of the agro-environmental effects and impact COMPARATIVE STUDY OF IPM AND CONVENTIONAL COTTON FARMING IN ETHIOPIA

3 Atelier GTAE / GTAE Workshop - Session 8

5 Gamo Gofa zone

6 Background The study was part of PAN-Ethiopia s participatory action research project with smallholder farmers which was designed to assess the effectiveness of food spray in attracting and conserving natural enemies that suppress pest population in cotton fields and comparing results with conventional cotton growing treated with chemicals.

7 The Problem Cotton farmers in southern Ethiopia were dependant on pesticides for pest management. The baseline survey showed that 97.2% of the farmers in the study area were not aware of Integrated Pest Management. They thought that all insects were pests and were inclined to spray whenever they saw any insect in the farm. They were unaware that there are beneficial insects that can be used as biological pest control agents.

8 Baseline: pesticide use & health Farmers had poor understanding of trade names, active ingredients, application dose, expiry dates, and handling instructions. Commercial farms used Endosulfan x 8 times/season Small farms used Malathion x 1 or 2 times/season >90% wore normal clothes during application Farmers reported symptoms: headache (56.4%) skin irritation (48.7%) weakness (30.8%) eye irritation (23.7%), loss of appetite (17.9%) nausea (10.3%)

9 Baseline: pesticide storage & bees 56.4% stored pesticides in their houses 38.5% were using empty pesticide containers for food and water storage 57% replied that they observed ve impacts on wildlife, e.g. decline in bee colonies and honey production.

10 The Solution Reducing dependence on pesticides was seen to be essential from human health, environmental and economic perspectives. A project trialling food spray as a component of IPM was introduced to Ethiopia in 2013 by PAN- Ethiopia with the help of PAN-UK and experts from the Australian Cotton Research Institute.

11 Applying food spray

12 Food Spray? Locally made recipe to attract natural enemies to a cotton field. Unlike pesticides it doesn t kill insects but attracts beneficial insects into the sprayed field so that they feed on insect pests. Two different types of food spray products, namely Benin food product (BFP) (Mensah et al., 2012) and an Ethiopian food product (EFP) were used. The main ingredient of BFP is coarsely ground maize seeds while for the EFP it is a liquid form of brewers yeast. Sugar and soap were added to make it stick on the leaves of cotton plants. Powdered Neem seeds (Azadirachta indica), was also used. Unlike pesticides, food spray does not have adverse impacts on the environment, human beings and non-target organisms.

13 Farmer field school

14 Drawings of farmer s friends and farmer s enemies

15 Main indicators Use of agrochemicals vs food spray Types, methods of storage and application Health impacts of chemical use Incidence of beneficial insects and pests Crop yields Income and expenditure Gender roles

16 Sources of information Qualitative and quantitative data Project baseline survey Project reports Field log books Local agriculture departments Grassroots smallholder farmers

17 Methods Insect scouting on food spray treated, untreated and chemical treated cotton plots was done by beat sheet counting method to assess the number of pests and natural enemies. Economic impact of using pesticides and food spray were computed by collecting yield and production costs for each treatment. Seed cotton yield from the food spray plots were compared with conventional and control plots. Gross profit margin was compared with conventionally grown fields and control plots in the same area.

18 Insect scouting

19 Insect scouting by beat sheet

20 Beat sheet method Materials: 1m long stick, 1m by 0.5m wide white sheet, 20x hand lens and recording sheets. Rows of cotton plants were randomly selected for beating/sampling. The 1m long stick was used to beat the cotton plants and on the other side the white sheet is placed. Farmers and facilitators count insects that fall on the white sheet. Also a comprehensive visual inspection of pests and natural enemies was done in situ on one plant which was randomly selected from plants that fall within each 1m length range. A hand lens was used during visual inspection to count insects on the sheet which were not visible with naked eye. Insects that remain on the plant and those flying during the beating were also counted. This process was repeated once a week in the morning, from 8-10 a.m. At this time of the day, insects were easy to find on the cotton leaves as they stay less active in the morning (Belay and Amera, 2016).

21 Farmer s friends: predators

22 Farmer s enemies: pests

23 Results: economic (small farms) Farm Treatment Yield (Kg/ha) Genta Kanchama Total revenue (ETB) Total production cost (ETB) Net revenue (ETB) Food spray 4,385 65,775 9,649 56,125 Insecticide 1,497 22,459 4,832 17,627 Untreated 3,262 48,930 7,324 41,606 Kolla Mulato Food spray 2,380 35,695 5,688 30,007 Insecticide 1,497 22,459 4,567 17,893 Untreated 1,979 29,679 4,757 24,922

24 Results: social empowerment Previously, the farmers acted individually and used to sell their cotton to the middlemen at low prices The project saw the establishment of the first organic cotton producers cooperative IPM use rose from 110 farmers in 2013 to over 2000 in 2015

25 Conclusions This study has shown disadvantages to both biodiversity and ecosystem services from conventional pesticide use on commercial cotton farms, and advantages for ecosystem services of adopting a simple agroecological solution. Smallholder producers who replaced chemical sprays with homemade food sprays achieved higher yields, and net revenues increased by 67% - 200%, while at the same time achieving higher quality production, obtaining better price per kilo for their Grade A seed cotton.

26 Hand spinning: women s assoc.

27 Hand spun yarn

28 Merci de votre attention! Thank you for your attention!

AGROÉCOLOGIE AGROECOLOGY METHODS FOR ASSESSING CONDITIONS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT AND ITS EFFECTS

AGROÉCOLOGIE AGROECOLOGY METHODS FOR ASSESSING CONDITIONS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT AND ITS EFFECTS AGROÉCOLOGIE MÉTHODES POUR ÉVALUER SES CONDITIONS DE DÉVELOPPEMENT ET SES EFFETS Atelier d échange et construction méthodologique AGROECOLOGY METHODS FOR ASSESSING CONDITIONS FOR ITS DEVELOPMENT AND ITS