Agriculture, Livestock Breeding and Fishery Development Committee of Amyotha Hluttaw is currently conducting their field visits concerning the “analysis of reducing the side effects of chemical residue in agriculture.” Aiming to learn the situation at the community level for better solutions relating Food Safety, a group of the members of parliament (MP) under this Committee together with delegation from UNDP, CESVI and Department of Agriculture (DOA) visited to FAO project sites in Central Dry Zone on the 10^th of March, 2019.

Having interest in the Integrated Pest Management (IPM), the MP group led by the Chairman of the committee explored Nwar Kyoe Aing Village and Kan Pauk Village in Nyaung U – where FAO’s Farmer Field Schools (FFS) are located. Under the “Sustainable cropland and forest management in priority agro-ecosystems of Myanmar” Project implementing in collaboration with MoALI, the IPM related activities are introduced and being implemented in the FFSs as part of the Climate-Smart Agriculture (CSA) practices.

Facilitating the visit, FAO team briefed the introduction/explanation on the project activities in the area and gave presentation about conducting the Integrated Pest Management through CSA practices in FFS activities and how it is related to the purpose of the visit.

In the field, the MP group met FFS members and had Q&A sessions on the usage of chemicals, fertilizers, pesticides, fungicides, etc., irrigation systems, and farming loans from the Government. The FFS farmers explained the MPs about technologies received from the FAO project and practically demonstrated the making of natural pesticide with Tobacco-Chili-Ginger and Fish Amino Acid which they learnt from FFS trainings. Field staff from the Department of Agriculture also shared how these natural pesticides reduce the effects of chemical residues. Before concluding their visit, the MP group observed the practical demonstration of the FFS farmers as well as the application/benefits of Yellow Sticky Traps in the FFS demonstration plots.