The IPMWORKS project devoted much of its first year on establishing its hubs of demonstration farms and reports that 22 new hubs are up and running. And in a further big step, the lifting of Covid-19 restrictions earlier this year meant that the project’s hub coaches could meet for a capacity building session in France.
Writing in the project’s second newsletter, IPMWORKS coordinator Nicolas Munier-Jolain, from INRAE, said: “Our 22 new hubs are now organized. IPMWORKS farmers are motivated to work together with the help of their hub coach, to share knowledge about options for pest management, and to demonstrate that it is indeed possible to reduce the reliance on pesticides, while enhancing farm sustainability.
“Hub coaches have spent part of the time during the last months to know better their group of farmers, their motivations for sustainable agriculture, their pest management strategies and main issues with problematic pests.
“Thanks to the alleviation of COVID restrictions, most hub coaches had the chance to meet (at last!) in Toulouse for a ‘capacity building’ session in March 2022. It was a real pleasure there to share experiences and learn about how to facilitate a group of farmers, how to organize relevant demo events, how to communicate about the results, and many more.”
The newsletter provides the opportunity to get an insider view of two of these hubs. For example, the Teagasc Irish arable crop hub brings together six farmers in the counties of Meath, Kildare, Wexford, Tipperary and Cork.
All the farms grow cereals in rotation with crops such as beans, oilseed rape and potatoes, and due to the mild climate cereal diseases are a constant threat, while grass weeds and barley yellow dwarf virus are also a concern.
Given the need to reduce inputs while maintaining outputs, the newsletter reports: “The members are willing to implement the most widespread aspects of Integrated Pest Management control on their farms including crop rotation, sowing dates, pest monitoring, cultivations, cover crops and judicious use of plant protection products to control the various pests.”
In a rather different climate, a COEXPHAL Spanish greenhouse hub is located in the province of Almeria in the south-east of the country. Here, 12 farmers in the hub produce horticultural crops typical of the region (tomato, sweet pepper, courgette, melon, watermelon, aubergine and cucumber).
The newsletter reports: “Most growers share a common interest in optimizing IPM in their greenhouses, particularly regarding biological control strategies. The majority of farmers release natural enemies over their crops, yet there are still some problematic pests such as aphids or Tuta absoluta that require a holistic approach to efficiently control them.
“In our hub, we focus on promoting the use of measures directed to increase functional biodiversity such as planting flower strips in the crop or hedgerows outside the greenhouses. These plants boost presence of spontaneously appearing beneficial insects and other biodiversity, contributing to enhanced pest regulation.”
The capacity building workshop was held in Toulouse, France. Calypso Picaud, from the Occitanie Chamber of Agriculture, writes in the newsletter: “This first event was a first occasion for hub coaches to meet and exchange on the common issues regarding the facilitation of these farmer groups. Through different workshops, hub coaches discussed IPM strategies and solutions, facilitation methods and tools they will be able to put in action within their group.”
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