Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP)
This entry has been selected as a finalist in the
Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities competition.
Project Street Address
104, Masjid Road, Banani DHOS
Project City
Dhaka
Project Province/State
Project Postal/Zip Code
1206
Project Country
Bangladesh
Country your work focuses on:
Bangladesh
Website URL
YouTube Upload
What stage is your project in?
Operating for more than 5 years
What is the average monthly household income in your target community, in US Dollars?
<$100
Name Your Project
Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP)
Describe Your Idea
Describe your idea in fewer than 50 words.
Crop losses to pests and the misuse of pesticides threaten the livelihood of male and female Bangladeshi farmers and the health of the general population. Integrated Pest Management (IPM) has offered alternatives that reduce crop losses due to pests, pesticide misuse and damage to natural ecosystems and loss of biodiversity resulting in improved health and nutrition, and poverty alleviation.
What makes your idea unique?
We work with the local farmers and the government and NGOs to develop and deliver IPM programs that fit local needs. We build lasting collaborations among all institutional levels to provide education based on research done in farmers' fields. With very little funding we empower the people to empower themselves. IPM is a method of managing pests and minimizing crop loss in an economically efficient and environmentally friendly manner. Indiscriminate use of broad-spectrum pesticides has been causing pest outbreaks, pesticide resistance, environmental contamination and public health risks. IPM CRSP is a unique program that combines all available tactics to manage pests with minimal or no use of toxic pesticides. It involves use of compost, neem cake, mustard cake and others for fertilization; use of seeds of pest resistant varieties; treatment of seeds with bioagents to control soil borne disease pathogens; crop rotation; grafting with resistant rootstocks to overcome soil borne diseases; use of pheromone to monitor insect pests; application of biopesticides and other tactics. Another unique aspect is that our research-based technologies are transferred to collaborating group of mutlinational and local NGOs that have already spread IPM throughout the country. Bangladesh is one of the poorest countries in the world where food security, hunger, malnutrition, environmental health, and biodiversity are serious concerns. IPM plays a major role in alleviating these problems
What is your area of work? (Please check as many as apply.)
Education , Communications , Community development , Economic development , Employment , Hunger , Income generation , Networking , Poverty alleviation , Sustainable development , Environment & Sustainability , Biodiversity , Conservation , Sustainable agriculture , Food , Food security , Hunger , Women's issues , Public Participation & Engagement , Women's Issues .
What impact have you had?
We were able to increase the yields of several crops by implementing some components of IPM collectively or individually. Yield increases and pesticide reductions resulted in an average 300% increase in income. Those who could not afford to eat can now afford medical care and can send their children to school. To list a few examples:
Grafting high yielding tomato and eggplant varieties on resistant rootstocks enabled extension of cultivation of these crops in bacterial wilt infested soils and to increase production period of these crops. Grafting provided job opportunities for women. Use of "Cuelure" pheromone traps to attract and kill melon fly in bitter melon, squash, cucumber and other cucurbit fields, the farmers were able to overcome the damage caused by melon fly, a serious pest of cucubits, without resorting to pesticide use. Caterpillar pests of tomato, bean, eggplant and others were controlled by mass release of parasitoids and predators such as Trichogramma sp., Bracon sp., and lacewings. Use of the fungus, Trichoderma harzianum, with organic matter reduced the attack of soil borne pathogens, which are known to cause havoc on vegetable seedling survival. Hundreds of farmers are now producing pesticide-free vegetables by adopting IPM practices.
Describe the primary problem(s) that your project is addressing.
Insect and mite pests and bacterial and viral diseases of vegetable crops cause serious crop losses in Bangladesh. Large tracts of land were infected with bacterial wilt and farmers were unable to grow tomato, eggplant and peppers. Virus diseases such as Tomato Yellow Leaf Curl, Tomato Spotted Wilt Virus Watermelon Mosaic Virus-2 and others cause over 50% crop losses in vegetables. Insect pests such as melon fly causes over 30% yield loss to melons. Mites and fruit boring and leaf-eating pests also take a heavy toll in vegetable production. Fungal and nematode diseases also cause similar losses. In Bangladesh there is a general lack of knowledge, trained manpower, and capital resources to develop, integrate and implement the multiple components of a successful IPM program. Furthermore, pesticide use practices make new, safer practices difficult to implement.
Describe the steps that your organization is taking to make your project successful.
We use participatory approach to encourage farmers to accept and implement the programs we develop. We include all levels of stakeholders from farmers to government officials in order to encourage awareness and develop relationships that will last after the program has ended. We provide support for graduate training to Bangladesh staff. We ensure that components of IPM developed elsewhere have been transferred, validated and integrated into the system. We have introduced grafting of improved tomato and eggplant scions over resistant eggplant rootstock. We have released vegetable varieties resistant to pests and diseases. We involve national extension systems, and NGOs and private agencies to disseminate IPM information. We conduct impact assessments of each component for future improvements.
What will it take for your project to be successful over the next three years? Success in Year 1:
Success in Year 1: The successful introduction and technology transfer of production techniques for locally occurring Trichoderma sp., Pseudomonas fluorescens and Bacillus subtilus seed treatments to control soil-borne fungal, bacterial and nematode diseases as well as the widespread introduction and adaptation of pheromone traps for melon fly and eggplant fruit and shoot borer, tomato fruit worm and other caterpillar pest pests. Routine testing, validation and dissemination of these tactics throughout the country should be established for a successful first year.
Success in Year 2:
Success in Year 2: Identification of locally occurring nucleopolyhedrosis viruses of the caterpillar pests, namely, Helicoverpa armigera and Spodoptera litura. The transfer of knowledge and adaptation of technology needed for mass multiplication and integration of these tactices into the IPM system. The transfer of screening techniques to identify vegetable varieties resistant to virul diseases and the integration of those techniques into the system.
Success in Year 3:
Success in Year 3: Development of individual IPM packages for major vegetable crops in Bangladesh. Privatization and commercialization of the production and distribution of the above bioagents.
Do you have a business plan or strategic plan? (yes/no)
Develop and implement IPM packages for selected vegetable crops throughout Bangladesh by 2009/2014.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 1:
Step 1: Training of local staff and building lasting relationships that will encourage continued efforts to organize farmer field schools where farmers share knowledge and experience with each other.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 2:
Step 2: Developing all the components for the IPM packages and integrating them using the participatory approach to increase the chances of successful implementation.
What are the three most important actions needed to grow your initiative or organization? STEP 3:
Step 3: Policy changes in the Government that will support the adoption of IPM and the development and enforcement of stronger pesticide regulations against the unrestricted use of harmful pesticides.
Describe the expected results of these actions.
Training will resut in capacity building in development, testing, validation, integration and implementation of IPM packages for some of the major vaegetable crops throughout Bangladesh. Policy changes such as government support for IPM, banning the countrywide use of out-dated broad-spectrum pesticides, and subsidies of pesticides would result in widespread adoption of IPM, better management of pests, reduction pesticide use, increase in crop production and biodiversity, and healthy environment.
What was the defining moment that led you to this innovation?
In 1998, Bangladesh was included in the Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP) and Drs. George Norton, Sally Miller and Edwin Rajotte from the U.S have provided leadership in implementing this program.
Tell us about the social innovator behind this idea.
USAID established the Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP) based on the 1992 recommendation of the U.S National Reseach Council and awarded it to Virginia Tech headed by Dr. S. K. De Datta in 1993. IPM CRSP has significantly influenced the introduction and implementation of IPM throughout the developing world, including Bangladesh.
How did you first hear about Changemakers?
Through Google
This Entry is about (Issues)
What would prevent your project from being a success?
Withdrawl of funding support from USAID or policy change in the Bangladesh government.
If yes, provide organization name.
Bangladesh Agricultural Research Council (BARC).
How long has this organization been operating? (i.e. less than a year; 1-5 years; more than 5 years)
More than 5 years.
Does your organization have a Board of Directors or an Advisory Board?
Yes, it has a Board of Directors.
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with NGOs? (yes/no)
Yes.
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with businesses? (yes/no)
Yes.
Does your organization have any non-monetary partnerships with government? (yes/no)
Yes.
Please tell us more about how these partnerships are critical to the success of your innovation.
A significant part of our project includes building lasting collaborative relationships among government agencies, research institutes, universities, NGOs, farmers, and other partners in order to establish a framework for the project that will enable it to continue the development and implementation of IPM programs. For example, a strong relationship exists between research institutes and the ministry that has developed policies for importation and use of fruit fly pheromone. IPM technologies developed, adopted and validated were transferred to farmers and the public with the cooperation of extension agencies and NGOs such as Mennonite Central Committee, Action Aid, CARE, and Practical Action. Collaboration between all these groups is critical in development and dissemination of IPM packages throughout the country.
How many people will your project serve annually?
More than 10,000
What is the total number of employees and total number of volunteers at your organization?
Employees:8-5. Volunteers: several govt. and NGOs
What is your organization's business classification?
Government
Have you received funding from any of the following groups? (Please check as many as apply.)
USAID (United States) .
 | Fran Holuba said: On July 10, 2009 the judges reviewed the entries for the Changemakers “Cultivating Innovations: Solutions for Rural ... about this idea. - 181 days ago read more > |
 | Amelia Forrest Kaye updated this idea. - 230 days ago. |
 | Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP) has been chosen as a finalist in Cultivating Innovation: Solutions for Rural Communities. - 231 days ago |
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