Asia Pacific workshop on Empowering Farmers through Integrated Pest Management kicked off in Kathmandu
KATHMANDU - The Asia-Pacific Plant Protection Commission (APPPC) in collaboration with the Government of Nepalorganized a 4-day Asia Pacific workshop on Empowering Farmers through Integrated Pest Management Farmers Field School (IPM FFS) in Support of Sustainable Intensification of Crop Production in the context of Climate Change in Kathmandu from 27 February to 2 March 2017.
Inaugurating the workshop, Ms. Radhika Tamang, Minister of State for Agricultural Development of the Government of Nepal, said that Integrated Pest Management (IPM) through Farmers Field School(FFS) has been significant contributor in improving public and environmental health.
Reaffirming the commitment of the Government of Nepal in international conventions like FAO Code of Conduct on the distribution and use of pesticides, Rotterdam Convention, Stockholm Convention and Basel Convention, Minister of State Ms. Tamang expressed confidence that natural and biological control will gain momentum towards achieving a sustainable and feasible approach to replace chemical pesticides.
Dr Somsak Pipoppinyo, FAO Representative in Nepal and Bhutan, said that FAO support to the IPM program significantly contributed in the areas of human resource development, mainstreaming and institutionalization of IPM FFS in the country.
Dr Piao Yongfan, Senior Plant Protection Officer of FAO Regional Office for Asia Pacific and Executive Secretary of APPPC, said that FFS has been a successful approach to enhance the knowledge, skill and overall capacity of farmers.
Speaking from the chair, Dr. Suroj Pokhrel, Secretary of the Ministry of Agricultural development, hoped that the workshop will find a way-forward to address the emerging challenges like impacts of climate change and conservation of pollinators. He further highlighted that the IPM FFS approach has been successfully adopted and mainstreamed in the government extension system as an effective extension tool to empower the farming community.
Mr. Dila Ram Bhandari, Director-General of the Department of Agriculture and Dr. Dilli Ram Sharma, the Director of Plant Protection Directorate welcomed the participants and extended their best wishes for successfulcompletion of the workshop.
29 experts from Bangladesh, Cambodia, China, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand and Viet Nam participated in the workshop. The participating experts made presentations on experiences gained in the implementation of IPM-FFS and the process of farmers’ empowerment to support sustainable intensification of crop production in the context of climate change in their respective countries. The participants also observed pesticide residue testing facility at Kalimati vegetable market and visited few of the on-going FFS activities in Kavre district.