Commentary: The right message and method

Abstract

Pesticide abuse among tropical smallholders is one of the greatest challenges to sustainable agriculture today. The alternative, integrated pest management (IPM) depends on conveying the right message (a technology and its background information) in the clearest way to as much of the target audience as is possible (method). In recent years, farmer field school (FFS) has been the dominant method for IPM extension. Field schools meet weekly to observe and discuss pests in the field, from seed to harvest. From its start in Indonesia in the 1980s, FFS was creative, ecologically sensitive and peoplefriendly. It caught the imagination of many IPM specialists and spread to various countries. However, there has now been time for detailed evaluations (reviewed in Bentley, 2009). Some of these show that farmers like FFS and change their attitudes as a result of it. FFS graduates learn about pest ecology, and often decrease their insecticide use. Some studies show that FFS graduates farm more profitably than their neighbours (e.g. spend less money while reaping larger harvests), although not all of the studies replicate these results. The more quantitative studies tend to show the fewest benefits. FFS farmers are often chosen from among the wealthiest farmers, confounding comparisons with others. The studies agree that FFS graduates do not teach what they have learned to their neighbours. This is sobering, since FFS can reach about 25 people per community per season. FFS is a high-quality, face-to-face method which reaches few people. If those people do not or cannot convey their new knowledge to others, then most of the farming community learns little about IPM; thus other extension methods would probably reach more people, and so be more appropriate and democratic. There are other extension methods, including radio, video, television, promoters (villagers trained to pass a message on to others through practical demonstrations), written material, workshops, extension agents, picture songs, going public (Bentley et al., 2003) and plant clinics, among others.Whilethesemethodsdeservemorecreativity and thoughtful evaluation, it is clear that radio especially can reach enormous audiences at low costs in local languages. AlthoughFFSreachessmallaudienceswhichthen fail to pass information on to their neighbours, this intimate audience contact makes FFS an exciting tool for participatory research. FFS gives farmers