A Pilot Comparison of Food Security and Agriculture Sustainability in Nepal: Adapters of Integrated Pest Management versus Non-Adapters
Amir Poudel Powerpoint Slides
Indiscriminate use of chemical pesticides and fertilizers in areas adjoining cities of Nepal calls for immediate actions. Farmers here use the highest amount of pesticides and fertilizer in the country due to high demand of daily agricultural commodities such as vegetables. To abate this overuse, the government of Nepal initiated the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) technology in 1966 as the national plant protection strategy. It is now implemented in 70 of 75 districts.
This study assessed the approach of IPM in Nepal to investigate how adapters and non-adapters of IPM technology varied in terms of: a) reduction in the use of chemicals; b) household food security and c) future sustainability of agriculture by using mainly ‘before and after’ and ‘with and without’ approaches. A total of 5 districts were selected and 346 household samples were taken. Both quantitative and qualitative techniques were used in the study.
After adoption, average reduction in pesticide use for all the major crops was 70 percent—93 percent for potato and about 90 percent for other vegetables. Non-adapters use very high amounts of pesticides compared to the adapters in these crops. Similarly, IPM reduces the quantity of use of chemical fertilizers by an average of 40 percent. The study used the food security concept postulated by OECD. Results indicated that IPM had more impacts on the food utilization aspect of food security compared to food availability and access. Households reported improved quality of food, both in terms of reduced chemical residues and changes in the awareness level of nutrition intake among family members.
Agricultural sustainability was assessed as a cross-cutting theme between environmental, economic and social attributes related to the technology adoption. Enhanced soil quality, increased sightings of birds and other insects, and improved family health were some of the environmental benefits observed by nearly 85 percent of the technology adapters. On the economic side, IPM implementers spent 3.2 times less on pesticides and 1.7 times less on fertilizer than non-adapters without compromising huge changes in the yield of the major crops. Cost of IPM is also low and requires a minimum level of dependence on others. IPM adapters were found to be investing more on health, education of household members compared to non-adapters. Social impacts of IPM were higher, especially for women, with nearly 70 percent reporting increased social networking and nearly 90 percent the households reporting increased decision-making capacities after adopting the technology.
The study shows positive impacts of IPM in decreasing the amount of pesticides and fertilizers. Food utilization aspects were enhanced upon adopting the technology. Similarly, it shows that future agricultural sustainability of farmers in Nepal is possible through the technology. The findings indicate a need for wider up-scaling and replication of the program to other places in the country and in the region as a step toward sustainable agricultural development.
Presenter’s Biography
Amir Poudel was born in Kathmandu in 1981. After completing his undergraduate degree in environmental science from Kathmandu University in 2003, he worked for NARMA CONSULTANCY and IUCN-Nepal for nearly three years. His major areas of experience have been biological pesticides, Integrated Pest Management, socio-economic studies, biodiversity and wildlife conservation. In 2006 he started his master’s degree in environmental science and policy at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and will graduate in May 2008.
