Identifying problems faced by facilitators and farmers in integrated pest management farmer field schools’ training programme in Sindh Province
Keywords:
Integrated Pest Management (IPM), Farmer Field School (FFS), Training of Facilitators (ToF)Abstract
The FAO-EU-ADB funded National Integrated Pest Management Programme (Nat-IPM) for Cotton was
started in Pakistan during 2001-2004 and introduced new extension training methodology called Farmer
Field School (FFS). Basic principle of FFS training was to enable farmers to be self-sufficient, using
Integrated Pest Management (IPM) practices that are agro-ecosystem friendly. To identify problems faced
by the facilitators (ToF participants) and farmers (FFS participants) in IPM-FFS training programme with
special reference to cotton, study was conducted in four districts of Sindh province (Hyderabad, Tando
Allahyar, Matiari and Mirpurkhas) of Pakistan. The sample size comprised of 48 facilitators and 144
farmers in total. The results of this study indicated that facilitators and farmers were involved in IPM
programme due to their self-interest despite facing some problems in IPM-FFS training programme.
