This is the conclusion of a study (1, 2) of potato production in the Province of Carchi in northern Ecuador, one of the most productive potato-growing areas in the country. It argues that IPM is an abstract concept that can be difficult to measure, while pesticide reduction is relatively easy to quantify and analyze.

Potatoes have been a staple crop in the Andes since time immemorial. But with agricultural intensification and its concomitant adverse ecological consequences, farmers have come to view pesticides as essential to their economic survival. It is quite clear that pesticides have played a vital role in sustaining potato production in Carchi, particularly against late blight (Phytophthora infestans) and Andean potato weevil (Premnotrypes vorax). While the impact of systematic pesticide overuse on the environment and human health means that alternatives needed to be found, farmers' faith in pesticides made achieving pesticide reduction a socially complex and politically challenging goal.

In Carchi, potato farmers have taken advantage of the favorable climate and soils, and combined fertilizers and agro-chemicals with their knowledge of crop management to produce potato yields well above the national average. Farmers have shifted from subsistence towards commercial production, in a step that potato farmers in other parts of the country may also follow. This shift, however, has increased the exposure of families to pesticides, and most notably the highly toxic insecticides carbofuran and metha-midophos. An escalating economic crisis in the 1990s threatened the profitability of potato production, and made it increasingly difficult for communities to address long-term health and environmental concerns.

For more than 10 years a number of organizations including INIAP (Instituto Nacional Autónomo de Investigaciones Agropecuarios, Ecuador), CIP (International Potato Center), Montana State University (USA), McMaster Institute of Environment and Health (Canada) and Wageningen University (the Netherlands) have been working with communities in Carchi on a variety of projects to assess the role and impact of pesticide use in potato production and how the latter may be ameliorated. These projects have both provided quantitative assessments of community-wide pesticide effects, and shown ways that may allow pesticide use to be lessened.

Hidden Costs

Pesticides play a dual role in Carchi. On one side is the positive role where pesticides contribute to improved productivity. Potatoes can be planted more frequently and yields are higher as result of their use. Undoubtedly, pesticides have helped residents of rural Carchi improve their incomes. At the same time, almost all farm families know of or have experienced pesticide poisoning to some degree. Nevertheless, the local attitude is that pesticides can be tolerated by the 'strong.' This rationalization, based on ignorance, highlights the other finding: despite their central role in the economic life of the community, most know startlingly little about pesticides, how to recognize dangerous products, how exposure can occur, and how to prevent intoxication.

CIP/FAO Global IPM Facility

Farmers' conventional production technology is dependent on the fungicide mancozeb and the insecticides carbofuran and methamidophos. Pesticides, though, are not as widespread in the Carchi environment as might be expected. Carbofuran, for example, is present in groundwater but at levels well below contamination standards used by the US Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). In the environmental and soil conditions in Carchi, carbofuran is relatively short lived and likely to bond to soil and degrade before entering water supplies. Contamination is most likely from accidental or intentional dumping of pesticides in streams. Another potential danger, uncooked and unpeeled potatoes, showed no significant presence of carbofuran. Presumably, any reaching the tuber degrades before it is harvested.

There is, however, a pervasive presence of pesticides in the workplace and at home. Trials showed that most user exposure occurs during mixing and spraying, with hands, arms, backs and legs the most exposed body parts. A trial using phosphorescent powder demonstrated to the communities that poor handling practices and skimpy personal hygiene led to pesticide contamination both inside and outside the home.

The health impacts of pesticide use in Carchi are widespread and serious. An active pesticide poisoning vigilance system established the number of pesticide poisonings in the province is 171 per 100,000 inhabitants (with results about twice as high in rural areas), a figure among the highest reported in the world. The treatment costs and work days lost impose a significant financial burden on the public health system and the individual.

Fungicide use, dominated by mancozeb, causes a variety of eye and skin problems. Carbofuran and methamidofos are neurotoxins and exposure affects the peripheral and central nervous systems. Research to measure adverse neurobehavioral effects in at-risk and control samples of families in Carchi produced startling results. They showed that the entire family unit of potato farming enterprises was at risk, not just the farmer who applied products. Thus in Carchi, the at-risk population is the majority of rural dwellers or urban dwellers that for farming or other reasons handle neurotoxic insecticides. A battery of World Health Organization tests found that nearly 60% of the at-risk sample, and by implication 60% of the at-risk population were affected.

Putting Pesticides in their Place

Agricultural research financed by the government and external donors has developed viable technological alternatives based on IPM. These options, which reduce but do not eliminate pesticide dependence, and the identified knowledge gaps outlined above point the way to possible solutions.

Unexpectedly, an economic analysis indicated that taxing pesticides could improve both health and crop production, without any other technology changes. Farmers with lower neurobehavioral status, as measured by health tests, were generally the less productive ones, who made less efficient use of their production inputs. If carbofuran use were reduced by taxing it, results showed that improved farming due to improved neurobehavioral status would more than offset the losses from reduced carbofuran use. Simply 'punishing' carbofuran use through taxation created a situation where both rural health and productivity of potato growing could gain.

A combination of taxes and changes in technology and pesticide handling practices also showed positive results. Economic analysis showed that either changes in technology or practices or a combination of both could achieve public health goals while at least preserving the agricultural income in the region. At their most fundamental level, the policy solutions rest on strengthening farmer capacity to change farming practice and to change pesticide-handling practices. Solutions also rest on establishing external conditions, such as regulatory policies and market incentives, to promote pesticide reduction and safer use. This was demonstrated in practice in the Eco-Salud project.

The multi-institutional broad-based Eco-Salud project in Carchi was established in 1997 to promote change, and particularly pesticide reduction, through participatory learning and action with farmer households. It was directed at a three-faceted goal of better human health, improved economic welfare and greater environmental integrity. The project began with public forums to discuss outputs of previous research in order to (a) raise awareness and (b) begin to develop possible interventions. Cross-cutting themes of the project were pesticide safety and IPM.

It developed mechanisms for informing the public of pesticide safety concerns from the results of research and community led-activities in Carchi (such as the contamination pathway outlined above). In a 'Safe Use of Pesticides' (SUP) approach, the project sought to increase understanding and awareness of product labeling. Project staff discussed pesticide safety strategies with participating families, especially storage and safety equipment. More than two-thirds of families took advantage of interest-free 2-month credit towards purchase of high-quality protective equipment, which cost the equivalent of a week's labor. Some rented the equipment out to recover costs.

Eco-Salud also worked with provincial government officials to influence public policies. In one innovative move, INIAP and CIP, encouraged by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN (FAO) Global IPM Facility, led a stakeholder meeting in Carchi on 'the impacts of pesticides on health, production and the environment'. The aim was to bring together scientific, government and farming communities and to encourage them to work together for more rational and effective pest management. As a result, stakeholders in Carchi have called for:

better control of agrochemicals (and for the most toxic compounds to be prohibited)

increased funding for IPM

provision of school-level education on pesticide impacts

inclusion of IPM in university-level agricultural training

promotion of awareness of collateral impacts of agricultural practices in rural communities

direct financial support of the agrochemical industry in implementing the resolutions

IPM Depends on Farmers

Educational campaigns and capacity-building interventions by projects in Carchi have been largely based on existing IPM alternatives. Eco-Salud disseminated IPM information (e.g. pest ecology, pesticide effects on beneficials, and specific IPM technologies). Together with its collaborating projects (including the Swiss-funded national potato program FORTIPAPA, the US Agency for International Development (USAID) funded IPM/CRSP (Collaborative Research Support Program) and an FAO Global IPM Facility initiative), Eco-Salud viewed IPM not merely as a suite of technologies, but one whose adoption was dependent on good farmer decision-making, motivation and confidence. Beyond merely 'disseminating' information, Eco-Salud and others have been working to increase farmer innovative capacity through empowerment and environmental education, in particular regarding the management of the agricultural ecology for greater productivity and sustainability.

At the heart of the Eco-Salud strategy was the farmer field school (FFS) approach. IPM was promoted through building and strengthening farmer capacity in decision-making through new information and enhanced agroecosystem analysis. With leadership of INIAP, the Ministry of Agriculture and CIP, Eco-Salud established FFS in three communities in Carchi in 1999. FFS participants conducted experiments on conventionally managed and IPM plots of about 2500 m2. They experimented with use of technologies such as adult weevil traps, late blight-resistant potatoes, specific and low-toxicity pesticides, and pre-spray monitoring.

Late blight poses a particular problem for potato IPM. However, previous participatory research by farmer groups in Montufar and Tulcan with INIAP researchers significantly decreased the time taken to develop new resistant varieties from about 15 years to 5 by the end of the 1990s. Acceptance of new varieties, and particularly 'Fripapa', has consequently been increased in Carchi.

After two seasons, the application of IPM techniques had led to a reduction of pesticide applications from 12 (in conventional plots) to 7 in IPM plots, while production was maintained or increased. The amount (of active ingredient) of fungicide for late blight was decreased 50%, and insecticides for Andean weevil and leafminer (Liriomyza sp.) by 75% and 40%, respectively. FFS participants had not only reduced pesticide use. They had identified how to maintain production with considerably less financial outlay; production costs were decreased from US$104 (in conventional plots) to $80/t in plots under IPM.

CIP/FAO Global IPM Facility

The real test for an FFS is whether the practices learnt are adopted and work for the farmers in their own fields, year on year. Early evidence in Carchi is promising with farmers appearing highly motivated. FFS graduates are showing a willingness to experiment and adapt the IPM technologies they learnt in the FFS. Farmers explained how they had experimented with `traps' for Andean weevil.

Potato weevils are the most serious insect pests of potatoes cultivated in the high Andes. Female weevils lay eggs inside straw debris near potato plants, and the emerging larvae dig into the soil and bore into the tubers. Tuber damage from weevils can exceed 50%. Full-grown larvae abandon the tuber and pupate in the soil, and the adults emerge during the rainy season to infest new potato fields. Earlier CIP research developed a suite of IPM technologies for this pest. See BNI 19(3) September 1998 76N-77N, 'Teaching success in Andean communities'; also see: http://www.solutions-site.org/cat11_sol98.htm

Adult weevils hide in the shade during the day. One control option is to create traps by treating potential shelters (such as straw debris or cut potato foliage) with insecticide. Plant material is replaced and weevil counts are made at intervals. These 'shelter traps' are particularly effective just prior to the emergence of main crop potato plants in new fields.

Traps introduced to farmers in Carchi through the FFS were subsequently improved through experimentation. One farmer described how he planted a small number of potatoes in newly prepared land immediately after plowing. Once adequate foliage was in place (2 weeks after emergence), the plants were sprayed with insecticide and left in the ground as shelter traps while the main crop emerged. Another farmer described how he found he could transfer live potatoes from another field after plowing, and treat these with insecticide. Both modifications meant treated foliage did not need replenishing. Yet another farmer sayhe is planning to put treated potato foliage into a container full of water in each shelter to keep it fresh, while he expects dead weevils to collect in the water and be easy to count.

Farmers have thus demonstrated that they can eliminate highly toxic compounds from their production system and substantially reduce pesticide use and production costs while not adversely affecting production per area. Complementary projects support follow-up activities, including the transition of FFS to small-production enterprise groups, the development of local FFS facilitators, and establishment of farmer-to-farmer extension. Early evaluations by the IPM/CRSP project suggest that the Carchi experience of FFS reflects the positive findings elsewhere.

However, moving farmers from thinking in terms of single-element (`silver bullet') solutions to multiple tactics based on understanding of ecological principles is quite some undertaking. Farmers in Carchi, for example, have accepted late blight-resistant potatoes, but inducing them to try other cultural controls was a challenge. An approach is required that focuses on environment-pest interactions, localized technology development and farmer/community decision-making capacity with an emphasis on the integrated management of practices.

A call is also made for a more balanced research agenda, and for past neglect of biological approaches to pest control, in particular disease and weed management, to be remedied. Better understanding is needed of naturally occurring antagonists in agro-ecosystems, for example, the impact of fungicides on entomopathogenic organisms. There is a need to begin to deal with the complex interactions among the multitude of organisms in the agro-ecosystem and work toward integrating pest management approaches.

Inter-institutional partnerships and collaborations for IPM and pesticide reduction are also seen as key. These would include involving scientists and even the pesticide industry in the solution-finding and implementation process. In particular, scientists' expertise and farmers' practical orientation are important for formulating policies that will work. These can have an important impact on the thinking of decision-makers, public opinion, and policy outcomes.

IPM also needs to face the heterogeneity of communities and farming styles. The projects in Carchi have led partners to conclude that while the FFS approach works in some contexts other IPM intervention strategies may be needed in others. An analysis of farmers by social grouping, farming style and social and economic resource management strategies indicated that FFS was most attractive to farmers with a low-risk approach.

Intervention Strategies: a Way Forward

Interventions can be broadened along three axes: pesticide substitution, market changes and community capacity building by:

Involving all stakeholders in eliminating most-toxic pesticides and substituting less toxic compounds. Less toxic compounds are currently more expensive and costs would need to be ameliorated through alternative FFS-generated technologies, but also financial incentives for implementing IPM. Scientists' involvement in decision support and policy development is highlighted as vital.

Promoting market-based supports for movements towards sustainable production, through such avenues as post-marketing surveillance for pesticide adverse effects, distribution networks for personal protection equipment, and labeling, certification or preferential pricing for IPM products.

Developing capacity in highly diverse rural communities through collaborative community-led and community-based activities, with the focus on user-centered farming interventions.

This study was originally financed by the Rockefeller Foundation. Subsequent investigations were conducted with the support of the USAID Soil Management and IPM Collaborative Research Programs as well as the FAO, the Ecosystem Health Program of the Canadian International Development Research Council, and the Dutch/Swiss Fund for Eco-Regional Research.

1. Crissman C C, Antle J M, Capalbo S M (eds). 1998. Economic, environmental, and health tradeoffs in agriculture: pesticides and the sustainability of Andean potato production. Netherlands; Kluwer, 281 pp.

2. Crissman C C, Espinosa P (eds). 2001. Impactos del uso de plaguicidas en la producción, salud y medioambiente en Carchi: un compendio de investigaciones y respuestas multidisciplinarias [The impact of pesticide use on production, health and environment in Carchi: a compendium of multidisciplinary research and responses]. Quito, Ecuador; CIP, 300 pages.

Corresponding author: S G Sherwood

email: sherwood(at)uio.satnet.net

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1. S Sherwood, C Crissman and D Cole.

2. Reprinted from Biocontrol News and Information (BNI), December 2001, Volume 22 (4) with the kind permission of CABI Publishing