Starting in the 1990’s, the International Potato Center (CIP)’s integrated pest management team for potato late blight (IPM-LB) realized the importance of addressing the management of late blight, a complex potato disease, by combining crop protection and management sciences, with social and behavioral sciences.

Since the early 2000’s, the CIP team worked with research and development organizations (government and NGO) partners, working together for the first time, in Bangladesh, China, Ethiopia, Uganda, Bolivia, Ecuador, and Peru, to develop farmer discovery based learning methods – making principles of LB management more visible and understandable for farmers - and test LB management options, particularly new potato clones with resistance to the disease.

Therefore, CIP and partners’ adapted the farmer field schools (FFS) approach to facilitate farmers’ access to information, knowledge and technologies. Based on the experience, several FFS-IPM-LB manuals were developed, published and used to train and conduct participatory research with farmers.

Results indicated that farmers learned new knowledge, assessed new potato clones (some of which became formal varieties), and other management options in a participatory way. Adoption was reflected in 32% average increase in potato productivity and income in Peru, and similar changes occurred in the other countries. In addition, the participatory research and training approach had significant impact beyond potato IPM-LB as the approach continued to be used in diverse crops, topics and countries.  For example, in Peru about 1500 FFS were implemented between 2005 and 2012 on IPM for potato and other cops (coffee, cocoa, fruit trees and livestock), and in Uganda and Ethiopia the experienced expanded to potato seed management with the formation of seed cooperatives. 

The partners in the experience included: Peru (CARE, CIP, local Universities), Bolivia (PROINPA Foundation, the NGO ASAR), Ecuador (INIAP, CIP), Uganda (NARO, AFRICARE), Ethiopia (EIAR, SHDI),  Bangladesh (Tuber Crop Research Center, CARE),  China (CIP, Chongqing Plant Protection Institute).

In recognition of this experience, the team received the International IPM Awards of Excellence as part of the 2018 edition of the International IPM Symposium. The presentation given by CIP on its work can be accessed here. 

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