Combating potato pests safely in Bolivia |
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| IPM of potato pests in Hillside systems in Bolivia | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Potato farmers in Bolivia, and their children, are learning about biological controls and integrated pest management. The potato is the staple food in Andean countries as well as the main cash crop. But pests and diseases cause huge losses each year. So, farmers use more and more pesticides, threatening human health and damaging the environment. Books for farmers, teachers and children introduce the ideas of integrated pest management. Children help in the potato fields, so raising their interest at an early age could pay off later. Farmers are also testing traps baited with natural extracts. These could help safely control the Andean potato weevil. Locally made traps intercept weevils heading for the potatoes. Other farm communities are keen to test the traps so demand could grow significantly. Project Ref: CPP57:
Crop Protection Programme Relevant Research Projects: R8044, R8443 Institutional Partners:
Andean potato is the staple food and major cash crop in several Andean countries. In Bolivia it is grown by 400,000 poor rural families, typically in hillside production systems where yields are low due to a complex of weeds, nematodes, pests and diseases, as well as poor soils and erosion. Within this complex, insect pests have a substantial impact on farmers' livelihood. The most important are potato tuber moths (PTMs), Phthorimaea operculella and Symmetrischema tangolias and Andean potato weevils (APWs) Premnotrypes spp. and Rhigopsidius piercei, which each cause losses of up to 500 US$/ha/year. Farmers have used increasing amounts of pesticides, resulting in abuse and overuse in a vain attempt to improve productivity. The project aimed to develop, produce and promote a novel formulation of the P. opercullela granulosis virus (PoGV) as a microbial pesticide for farm-store use; to develop a new viral control agent for S. tangolias; to develop attractants for trapping and controlling APWs; and to promote and assess uptake of IPM technologies by farmer. Outputs were:
Potato (Solanum tuberosum ssp. andigena) is the target commodity.
Project outputs could be clustered with those of CPP projects R8485 and R8182 ("Strengthening technical innovation in potato based agriculture") which also operated in Bolivia. The APW traps and farmer training methods are new developments which could be tested through the systems of farmer evaluation of technical innovations which these projects helped to develop. How the outputs were validated: The liquid formulation of the P. operculella granulosis virus was developed by NRI in UK and evaluated in replicated, small-scale storage trials by PROINPA in Bolivia. Collections of larvae of S. tangolias were made by staff from CIP and PROINPA in Peru and Bolivia and evaluated by microscopic examination and ELISA tests at CIP. For APW attractants, collections of natural volatile compounds were made from weevils and host plants at PROINPA, NRI and CIP laboratories, then analysed and identified at NRI using standard gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS) and gas chromatography-electroantennography (GC-EAG) techniques. Putative attractant compounds identified were bio-assayed against adult APWs (both sexes of both species) using replicated tests with 2- or 3-choice pitfall chambers in PROINPA and CIP laboratories. Researcher-led field trapping tests were carried out in farmers' fields in Bolivia by PROINPA and NRI staff. These used standard randomised-block methodologies with traps set just inside field margins to trap immigrating weevils. The base-line survey of farmers' perceptions of pests and diseases was carried out in three communities in Bolivia - Cebada Jichana, Lope Mendoza Alto and Candelaria in 2003 by PROINPA staff. This was instrumental in identifying farmers' training needs. In each community 30 farmers were interviewed, of approximately equal numbers of both sexes. More than 60% of the population were 12 - 25 years old. The majority had received education to primary and intermediate levels. During 2004 eight training days were carried out in the three communities in the local Quechua language. Based on the baseline study, and following requests by farmers, these targeted different IPM components with emphasis on biological control of APW and PTM and on the rational use of pesticides. The activities were aimed at the younger age groups and were attended by 168 men, 64 women as well as children. Farmer training was supported by slides, videos and live samples and for future training several leaflets on the biology and integrated management of APW and PTM were prepared. To provide technical material to field technicians a potato pest handbook was published. Training activities within the rural schools were conducted in four communities (Huajllapujru, Cebada Jichana, Caña Kota and Boqueron k'asa), near PROINPA'S Toralapa Centre in 2005. Children are often involved in potato cultivation and the schools provide an untapped opportunity for introducing large numbers to the concepts of IPM at an early age and, indirectly, to parents. For this purpose a teachers' guide and a student notebook were prepared. Materials were prepared for students from fifth and sixth grade (ages 10 - 12). These were tested with 131 students and their teachers before a final version was developed. Where the Outputs were Validated: Small-scale field trials with the liquid formulation of the P. operculella granulosis virus were carried out in Bolivia during 2003-2004. Larvae of S. tangolias were collected in Peru and Bolivia during 2002-2004 and evaluated at CIP in Peru. APW attractants were collected in Bolivia and Peru and identified in the NRI laboratories in UK during 2001-2004. Laboratory bioassays were performed in the PROINPA laboratories in Bolivia during 2001-2004. Field trapping tests were conducted in potato fields, mostly at PROINPA's field station in the Cochabamba region of Bolivia and nearby in farmers' fields, but also in the Chuquisaca region, during 2002-2005. The base-line survey of farmers' perceptions of pests and diseases was carried out in three communities in Bolivia - Cebada Jichana, Lope Mendoza Alto and Candelaria in 2003 by PROINPA staff. During 2004 eight training days were carried out in the three communities in the local Quechua language. Training activities within the rural schools were conducted in four communities (Huajllapujru, Cebada Jichana, Caña Kota and Boqueron k'asa), near PROINPA'S Toralapa Centre in 2005, also by PROINPA staff. Who are the Users? Currently, there is no independent use of the APW traps by farmers, in part because their technical development could not be completed under the DFID-CPP project. However, in October 2005 PROINPA, with NRI collaboration, a two-year World Bank Development Marketplace funded project began. This aims to further develop the APW traps as an IPM component, and to achieve pilot-scale commercial production and farmer uptake in the Cochabamba region. During the first year aspects of trap design, lure dose or trap placement approach for successful mass-trapping were addressed in researcher-led on-farm trials in five communities. For the first time, evidence was gathered suggesting that tuber infestations could be reduced. Pilot-scale production of traps and lures was commenced by PROINPA and training of farmers in the use of traps was undertaken in a further seven communities. In the second year farmers will manage trapping activities in the 12 communities now trained. Costs of traps and lures will be met by the project. Assuming successful outcomes this year, commercial sales to farmers will be possible subsequently. Following
their validation in 2005, the use of finished training materials for schools
was continued in 2006. Separate textbooks with interactive exercises had been
developed for grades 5 and 6. In total, around 360 were distributed to six
schools in the Toralapa area along with 60 complementary teaching books
intended for teacher use. Informal feedback from the schools is very
positive, with teachers reporting that levels of student interest in the
books and activities have been without precedent. Where the outputs have been used: During 2006, mass trapping of APWs has been evaluated in five communities in the Toralapa region of Bolivia and farmers have been trained in seven other communities. Trapping will be managed by farmers in all 12 communities during 2007. IPM training material for schools was used in six schools in the Toralapa area of Bolivia during 2006. Scale of current use: Policy and Institutional Structures, and Key Components for Success: The enthusiastic uptake of the school training materials and the limited uptake, to date, of the APW traps is very largely due to PROINPA's previous good relations and network of contacts with farming communities, extension agents and other researchers, within Bolivia and in other Andean countries. PROINPA's established training methods and training fora are, and will in future continue to be, important determinants of the ultimate success of uptake. The dissemination workshop held in June 2005, at CIP, as part of the final phase of the CPP project, was particularly helpful in spreading awareness of the outputs to other organisations in the Andean region. Lessons Learned and Uptake Pathways Promotion of Outputs: Active promotion of the APW traps is currently taking place within the Cochabamba region of Bolivia, specifically in 12 farming communities centred on the PROINPA station at Toralapa. It is focussed on training in the use of traps of farmers in the context of community farmer associations; it is allied to the practical demonstrations that the season-long trials provide. Furthermore, technical training materials - posters and leaflets in Spanish and Quechua - will soon be provided to supplement these promotional activities. PROINPA's network of contacts with Bolivian and other Andean country research and extension organisations provide avenues of promotion for all its activities - as evidenced by requests for APW traps from University researchers in Potosí and another branch of PROINPA in La Paz, and interest in the IPM training materials for schools from Ecuador. Potential Barriers Preventing Adoption of Outputs: How to Overcome Barriers to Adoption of Outputs: Assuming a successful technical validation of the mass-trapping approach to control of APW, large-scale demand could rapidly develop, in Bolivia, Peru and Ecuador, where APWs are also a signficant problem. In order to interest a potential supplier a suitable marketing study and economic analysis will be needed. One specialist supplier of semiochemical products does exist in Costa Rica, and they might conceivably take on a role in future. For the traps, the necessary plastic bottles are produced locally and the producers are willing to supply, cheaply, those bottles deemed sub-standard for normal use as water or soft drink containers. The bottles require modification for use as traps, which is labour intensive. Alternatively, production of a customised model or template for the trap has been investigated but is expensive; a future project might undertake to fund this. Local lure production is technically feasible. If a potential private sector supplier can be found, funds could be made available to invest in the equipment or initial purchase of materials necessary for very large-scale production. Small grants could be made available to farmer organisations as loans for the purchase of lures (and traps). Further funds may eventually be needed to continue promotion of the school materials. Lessons Learned: The base-line survey of farmers' perceptions of pests and diseases showed that farmers' awareness of the biology of pests, of the best methods of conventional pesticide application and of alternative approaches is generally poor. A large proportion of the farming population is young; many of these are of school age and these can be reached with suitable training materials developed specifically to fit in with the school curriculum. Students receive this kind of training very well. Training on APW traps could be readily incorporated into this approach, as well as using existing, effective conventional approaches to farming communities. Poverty Impact Studies: No impact studies, formal or informal, have yet taken place concerning either the APW traps or the farmer training methods. How the Poor have Benefited (including gender and other poverty groups): Currently, there is not yet any independent use or uptake of the APW traps by farmers. Consequently no poverty impact can yet be attributed to them. Farmer and schools training in IPM approaches and awareness of pests is continuing and this will have had some impact on the effectiveness of pest control by farmers within several communities already. This will very probably expand geographically, but at present this is difficult to quantify. PROINPA has plans for assessing impact at several levels: through formal tests of children at the end of the courses of study, surveys of households whose children have received training as well as checks on the field practices of the relevant farmers and their relatives. Direct and Indirect Environmental Benefits: Both the use of traps for controlling APWs and uptake of IPM training through schools should lead to a reduction in the use of conventional pesticides. Indirectly therefore, environmental benefits will accrue in terms of reduced toxic effects on non-target species. Adverse Environmental Impacts: No adverse outcomes are foreseen for either the APW trap technology or the school IPM training materials, other than the potential for broken or used traps and lures to litter the environment if not cleared away after use. Coping with the Effects of Climate Change, or Risk from Natural Disasters: Neither the
APW trap technology nor the IPM training of school children offer any direct protection
or mitigation of climate change or natural disaster other than through their
potential to improve food security. Relevant Research Projects,
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For relevant research projects, with links to further information
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