Malawi farmers test FAW management solutions, including botanicals, through FFS
“These botanical pesticides have been tested by our farmers, they are not poisonous to human beings, so I think it is better that we use them instead of synthetic pesticides,” said Malawi’s Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Agnes Nkusankhoma MP, during a visit to Kasungu district. She praised progress made by farmers on the effective and sustainable control of fall armyworm (FAW). At Lisasadzi residential training center, she also saw how capacity development of government extensionists through the farmer field school (FFS) master trainers’ course enables them to better support farmers to conduct their own studies and to better cope with challenges such as the FAW, using locally available materials.
As the battle against FAW continues in Malawi, indigenous farmer knowledge and practices are becoming more and more important for innovative and sustainable integrated pest management solutions. Through field studies, farmers in 10 districts – with support from the European Union-funded KULIMA programme – are working to validate local IPM practices that are accessible and affordable. Lessons learnt through such field studies are further cascaded to communities through field days, which provide an interactive and experiential platform for information sharing and exchange.
During one such field day, lead farmers, also FFS community-based facilitators (CBFs), observed results from a FAW management study that was conducted by trainees on the FFS master trainers’ course at the residential training centre.
This field study involved five plots, including two plots used for a comparison of the performance of two botanical pesticides: mndundu (Bobgunnia madagascariensis) and dema/mphanjovu (Neorautanenia mitis). A third plot was planted with maize and legume (pigeon pea), the latter being used to draw natural enemies to the FAW.
In the fourth plot, a push-pull cropping system was set up, where silver leaf desmodium was planted in the maize crop to repel the pest, and napier grass on the field perimeter to attract FAW away from the crop. The fifth was a control plot.
One of the takeaways for visiting farmers was the additional options from which to choose, seeing that all four plots showed a good performance, said Jane Kokota, Crop Protection Officer in the Ministry of Agriculture’s district office in Kasungu.
“Push-pull certainly showed the most promising result, so if farmers use any of these methods, they could yield good harvests in the event of a FAW outbreak,” Kokota said.
Kokota and an FFS community-based facilitator from Kapyola village, Jesey Levinson, pointed out that ‘one size does not fit all’ and that ultimately, the community-based facilitators invited to the field day should select and apply integrated pest management solutions that make sense in their own locations.
“For me, mndundu and dema are a good option as these can be easily found in my area,” said Levinson. “Push-pull with silver leaf and napier grass would be difficult, especially in the dry season when water is a challenge. I will definitely use mndundu and dema under irrigated farming.”
Aside from being affordable, botanical pesticides offer a safe alternative to chemicals that may pose a risk to human health and the environment unless dosed and handled correctly and applied using the right personal protection equipment.
Levinson said that she would spread her new knowledge about the effectiveness of botanical treatments to her community.
“I will be sharing these findings with my group members so that they, too, can gain benefits in their own fields,” she said.
FAO Malawi is supporting, through district agriculture offices, about 70 validation studies for sustainable integrated pest management options with farmer field school groups, said George Phiri, Assistant FAOR in Malawi.
“We are also collaborating with the Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources and the Department of Agriculture Research Services in specialized research to elucidate the bio-ecology of FAW in different ecological zones and to strengthen the national biological control capacity of farmers respectively,” said Phiri.
The KULIMA programme which is supporting these activities is being implemented in the 10 districts of Chitipa, Karonga, Nkhatabay, Mzimba, Nkhotakota, Salima, Kasungu, Chiradzulu, Thyolo and Mulanje.