Motivating rice farmers in the Mekong Delta to modify pest management and related practices through mass media

Authors: Huan, N. H.¹; Chien, H. V.²; Quynh, P. V.³; Tan, P. S.⁴; Du, P. V.⁴; Escalada, M. M.⁵; Heong, K. L.⁶

Source: International Journal of Pest Management, Volume 54, Number 4, October 2008 , pp. 339-346(8)

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Abstract:

A participatory planning process was applied to develop a media campaign to motivate rice farmers in the Mekong Delta to modify pest management practices together with seed and fertilizer inputs. Locally named 'Ba Giam Ba Tang' or 'Three Reductions, Three Gains', campaigns were launched in two provinces, Can Tho and Tien Giang. In both provinces, farmers' practices changed significantly. Their insecticide sprays reduced by 13-33% while their seed rates dropped ∼10% and nitrogen rates, ∼7% and proportion of farmers using insecticides declined by ∼11%. These practices were supported by modifications in belief attitudes that favored high inputs. Farmers who reported significant reductions in the three inputs also changed their perception of yield loss. The campaigns in Can Tho and Tien Giang had significant multiplier effects. They stimulated several provincial governments as well as the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development to provide additional resources to reproduce the materials and campaign process for local use which eventually reached more than 3 million farmers in south and central Vietnam.

Keywords: rice; Vietnam; fertilizers; pesticides; multi-media campaign; mass media; resource management

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09670870802403978

Affiliations: 1: Plant Protection Department, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam 2: Southern Regional Plant Protection Center, Long Dinh, Tien Giang, Vietnam 3: Sub Plant Protection Department, Can Tho, Vietnam 4: Cuulong Rice Research Institute, Omon, Vietnam 5: Department of Development Communication, Visayas State University, Baybay, Leyte, Philippines 6: International Rice Research Institute, Los Banos, Metro Manila, Philippines

Publication date: 2008-10-01

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Motivating rice farmers in the Mekong Delta to modify pest management and related practices through mass media

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