Abstract

The impact and sustainability of two interventions that have been formulated to introduce integrated pest management (IPM) into rice and maize crops in Southwestern China, Laos, and Myanmar between 2011 and 2016, and were assessed at the end of 2017. From 22 Trichogramma rearing facilities established during the interventions, 11 were still producing substantial quantities of biocontrol agents 1.5 years after project support had ended, while seven had stopped operations completely, and four were doing stock rearing only. Through the implementation of biological control-based IPM, slightly higher yields were achieved in maize and rice (4–10%), when compared to control farmers, but the difference was not statistically significant. However, the use of pesticides nearly halved when farmers started using Trichogramma egg-cards as a biological control agent. Support from either public or private institutions was found to be important for ensuring the sustainability of Trichogramma rearing facilities. Many of the suggested IPM measures were not adopted by smallholder farmers, indicating that the positive impacts of the interventions mostly resulted from the application of Trichogramma biological control agents. The following assessment suggests that further promotion of IPM adoption among farmers is needed to upscale the already positive effects of interventions that facilitate reductions in synthetic pesticide use, and the effects on sustainable agricultural production of rice and maize in the target area more generally.

Highlights

  • Rice is the most important crop in Southwestern China, Laos, and Myanmar; parts of the GreaterMekong Subregion (GMS)

  • Despite significant improvements in rice production in these countries over the past 15 years, productivity has remained low for irrigated rice (i.e., 3–4 t/ha in Laos and Myanmar) [2], while maize grain yields are in the range of 3.6–5.6 t/ha [3,4]

  • The Key informant interviews (KIIs) revealed that, among a total of 22 Trichogramma rearing facilities (TRFs) established in the three target countries during the project period, 20 TRFs (12 for the rice integrated pest management (IPM) project and 8 for the maize IPM project) were running in mid-2016, when both projects had just finished

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Summary

Introduction

Rice is the most important crop in Southwestern China, Laos, and Myanmar; parts of the GreaterMekong Subregion (GMS). Maize is the second most important cereal crop after rice in the countries mentioned above, produced by around 19 million farmers, and it is a staple for both human consumption and animal feed. Despite significant improvements in rice production in these countries over the past 15 years, productivity has remained low for irrigated rice (i.e., 3–4 t/ha in Laos and Myanmar) [2], while maize grain yields are in the range of 3.6–5.6 t/ha [3,4]. More sustainable and economically viable pest management approaches, which are in line with integrated pest management (IPM) practices are, urgently needed for rice and maize farming in the GMS. Agro-dealers may deliver specific pesticide products, or farmers may get subsidies for specific products, which are not in line with IPM

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