Nghiên cứu khoa học nông nghiệp " Implementation of the IPM program using weaver ants as a major component for cashew growers in Vietnam " ppt

A manual about the integrated cashew improvement ICI program using weaver ants as a major component has been developed for ICI program trainers and extension officers in Vietnam, and was

Ministry of Agriculture & Rural Development

029/05VIE Project Completion Report

Including Sixth Six-monthly Report

Renkang Peng, Keith Christian,

La Pham Lan and Nguyen Thanh Binh

September 2009

6 Report on Cross-Cutting Issues 18

6.1 Environment 196.2 Gender and Social Issues 19

7 Implementation & Sustainability Issues _ 19

7.1 Implementation 197.2 Sustanability 197.3 other issues _ 20

8 Next Critical Steps 20

9 Conclusion 20

11 Tables and Figures _25

12 References _ 31

1 Institute Information

using weaver ants as a major component for cashew growers in Vietnam

Feb 2006 – Apr 2009 (completion report)

Contact Officer(s)

In Australia: Team Leader

Organisation Charles Darwin

University

In Australia: Administrative contact

In Vietnam

Department

Organisation Institute of Agricultural

Science of South Vietnam

2 Project Abstract

3 Executive Summary

Because this completion report includes the 6th 6-monthly report, the executive

summary consists of the summery of the 6th 6-monthly activities and the summary of the project achievements against the project objectives, outputs and activities

In the last 6 six-months of this project, the following 5 activities proposed have been successfully completed

• Conduct and complete the second year FFS training in ten cashew growing

provinces

• Complete all the field experiments in the demonstration orchards,

• Complete the cashew IPM curriculum,

• Complete the cashew IPM photo book, and

• Conduct the second baseline survey, and compare the results with those of the first baseline survey

A total of 70 FFSs in 9 cashew producing provinces, with strong support from

provincial Sub-PPDs, have been completed jointly by the first- and second-year TOT trainers Each FFS covered three most important periods: pre-flowering flush,

flowering and nut setting and harvest, and had 9 – 10 training periods (2 days /period)

A total of 1750 farmers have graduated from the 70 FFSs FFS farmers were very

pleased with the ICI training contents, methods and the results from the FFS

demonstration orchards The majority of FFS farmers were willing to use weaver ants

in their orchards in the next cashew season Due to the positive influence of the

current FFSs, there was high demand by local cashew farmers to have the ICI

Having finished two years of field experiments in collaboration with two years of TOT training, operation of the demonstration orchard in Binh Phuoc province was stopped in September 2008 because the orchard owner wanted to cut down cashew trees for other crops However, the field experiments at the two demonstration

orchards in Dong Nai province continued and have been successfully completed The main results are:

(1) the ghost ant problem in Mr Bi’s orchard was successfully resolved,

(2) weaver ants were kept at high and stable levels throughout the year,

(3) The main insect pests in this orchard were tea mosquito bugs, the shoot borer, leaf rollers, leaf miners, mealy bugs and aphids In general, the mean damage level on cashew flowers or young nuts by each of these pests was similar between the farmer’s plot and the IPM plot,

(4) The average yield of cashew nuts per tree was either similar or higher in the IPM plot than in the farmer’s plot, and the nuts were cleaner and shinier in the IPM plot than in the farmer’s plot, and

(5) Compared to the farmer’s plots, 13% more net profit was achieved in the ICI

plots

A manual about the integrated cashew improvement (ICI) program using weaver ants

as a major component has been developed for ICI program trainers and extension officers in Vietnam, and was used in the TOT training The ICI photo book for

cashew growers in Vietnam has also been developed and used in FFS training

Positive comments on these two documents were received

The second baseline survey was conducted between November and December 2008 using a standard questionnaire A total of 220 questionnaires were sent to farmers who graduated from our first year FFSs, which were completed between April – May

2008, in 10 cashew growing districts of five major cashew growing provinces A total

of 197 questionnaires were collected After the FFS training, farmers’ knowledge and farming skills have been greatly improved in terms of

(1) general cashew farming,

(2) farmers’ health and farm environment,

(3) cashew insect pests, diseases and their natural enemies, and

(4) farmers’ opinion of using weaver ants with particular reference to cashew yield and nut quality

Over 95% of farmers were happy with the FFS training programs, with the training

methods, and with the results of FFS demonstration orchards Our ICI program training was successful and very welcomed by cashew farmers

(2) to develop an IPM cashew curriculum and an ICI cashew photo book that will work in Vietnamese conditions based on the cashew IPM programs developed

in Australia, and

(3) to assess the effectiveness of the FFS model in increasing farmer knowledge and reducing pesticide use in cashew production

These objectives have been successfully achieved A total of 113 TOT trainers have

graduated from our TOT training, and they are very competent in the FFS training These TOT trainers have successfully conducted 98 FFSs in their local regions,

resulting in 2,448 knowledgeable cashew farmers

The cashew curriculum “The integrated cashew improvement (ICI) program using weaver ants as a major component - Manual for ICI program trainers and extension officers in Vietnam” has been developed The manual includes

• cashew botany,

• breeding,

• culture practice,

• diseases and their control,

• insect pests and their damage,

• natural enemies,

• integrated pest control,

• role of weaver ants,

• weaver ant keeping,

• cashew harvest,

• a checklist of the ICI program at different cashew growing periods, and

• four appendices of the guidelines for TOT and FFS trainings and for the monitoring of pest damage and weaver ant abundance

An ICI photo book “The integrated cashew improvement (ICI) program using weaver ants as a major component – photo book for cashew growers in Vietnam”

has also been developed It covers

• cashew variety selection,

• advanced farming practice,

• major diseases,

• insect pests,

• natural enemies,

• integrated pest control,

• role of weaver ants,

• weaver ant keeping techniques, and

• Summarisation of the ICI programm

We have obtained positive comments on these two documents from some master TOT trainers, TOT trainers and Heads of provincial Sub-PPDs

The effectiveness of the FFS training on farmers’ knowledge and farming skills has

been assessed against our baseline data Over 95% of farmers were happy with the

FFS training contents, with the training methods, and with the results of FFS

demonstration orchards More that 80% of the farmers were sure that weaver ants

could control the main cashew insect pests and would improve cashew yield and nut

quality Over 80% of farmers knew how to use weaver ants, and would use weaver

ants and tell their friends and other farmers to use the ants Farmers’ knowledge about insect pests, diseases and their natural enemies as well as general farming skills has

been significantly improved After the FFS training, 24% of farmers stopped using

insecticides because insect pest damage was greatly reduced by weaver ants When farmers get more and more experience using weaver ants, the current level (24%) will

be greatly increased In addition to this, 92% of the farmers demonstrated a full

understanding of when and how to properly use insecticides

Smallholder Benefits

Based on the results of our survey of 197 cashew farmers who graduated from the first-year FFSs, the cashew smallholders’ benefits from this project are:

• Improved knowledge about cashew farming practice,

• Improved knowledge about insect pests, diseases and the role of the natural enemies,

• Cost-effective pest control system using weaver ants as a major component,

• Considerable reduction of insecticide use while maintaining high yield,

• Greatly improved cashew nut quality,

• Opportunity to produce ‘organic’ cashew nuts,

• Improvement of the environment in which farmers are living, and

• Improved farmers’ health

Demonstration orchards suggested that, compared to the net profit under the

conventional management, smallholders can get 13% more net profit when they use

the ICI program

Capacity Building

The following 7 aspects of capacity building have been created:

• An ICI manual for TOT trainers and extension officers in Vietnam has been developed and used in our TOT training

• An ICI photo book for cashew growers in Vietnam has been developed and used by our TOT trainers in the FFS training

• A total of 6 staff at the Institute of Agricultural Science (IAS) for South Vietnam have been intensively trained with the weaver ant technology Now, IAS staff can operate and teach the ant technology successfully

• A total of 113 TOT trainers have graduated from our two TOT training centres

with full knowledge about the ICI program, and they are competent in their local FFS training

• A total of 2448 cashew farmers have graduated from our FFS training with

improved knowledge about farming tactics, cashew insect pests, diseases and their natural enemies, benefits from weaver ants and reduced costs, etc

• Charles Darwin University has awarded a Ph.D scholarship to a member of the IAS staff for a period of three years to work on a project related to the cashew ICI program

• Two people from a national animal conservation centre in northern Vietnam have been extensively trained with the weaver ant technology

Project Management

Since the start of this project, the project leaders and the principal researcher have managed the project smoothly They have successfully collaborated with each other to run demonstration orchards and TOT and FFS training, and to develop an ICI manual and an ICI photo book

Environment

The farming environment has been positively improved with the implementation of

this project In the farmers’ survey after the FFS training, 89% of the farmers

believed that there would be a significant improvement in their farm environments,

and 95% of the farmers believed that their health would be greatly improved

Gender and Social Issues

In our FFS training, women and minority people have been strongly encouraged to participate In each FFS, we have included 20-30% women Apart from this, we also get minority people involved in the demonstration orchard management Our recent survey showed that there was no difference in women’s role before and after the FFS training This is because time (only 7 months after the completion of the FFSs) has been too short to show any changes in family labour participation, but, in the long run,

we expect that women’s participation in smallholder’s cashew production will be promoted because this ICI program using weaver ants as a major component is not physically strenuous and it does not involve toxic insecticide sprays

Implementation

The implementation of the developed ICI program has been successfully conducted

and completed Over 95% of farmers were happy with the FFS training programs,

with the training methods, and with the results of demonstration orchards, indicating that the ICI program has been successfully accepted Importantly, there was high demand for the FFS training of the ICI program by cashew smallholders who have not been trained This is because of the positive impact of the graduated FFS farmers This high demand for cashew FFS training will stimulate provincial sub-PPDs under the local Government support to continue implementing the ICI program after this project is finished

Sustainability

Sustainability of cashew production in Vietnam is the focus of this project All the objectives, approaches, implementation methods and the training program have been linked with this issue The project has shown that using weaver ants as a major

component to manage cashew insect pests is profitable and effective Most FFS farmers commented that this ICI program would achieve sustainable cashew

production because the farming techniques used in this ICI program would improve soil structure and fertility Also, the great reduction of toxic insecticides will help cashew orchards recover from the currently unbalanced relationship between pests and their natural enemies

Other issues

Master TOT trainers, TOT trainers, plant protectionists in cashew growing provinces, and farmers that have graduated from our FFSs are keen to have a hard copy of the ICI photo book and the ICI manual for their reference and for teaching other farmers Based on a quotation from the Agricultural Publishing House in HCM City, in

addition to the funds set aside for this purpose, we apply for an additional Au$3200

from the CARD Office to print 3000 copies of the ICI photo book and 500 copies of the ICI manual book

The aims of this project are to increase cashew yield and nut quality and improve the environment by using weaver ants and by using non toxic insecticides Specific objectives are

(1) to conduct TOT training in cashew IPM for TOT trainers to conduct FFSs in their local region,

(2) to develop an IPM cashew curriculum and an IPM cashew photo book that will work in Vietnamese conditions based on the cashew IPM programs developed in Australia, and

(3) to assess the effectiveness of the FFS model in increasing farmer knowledge and reducing pesticide use in cashew production

The project expects to result in 120 TOT cashew IPM trainers from eight major cashew growing provinces and 3750 cashew farmers educated in cashew FFSs A practical guide for cashew IPM and an IPM cashew photo book will be developed The effectiveness of FFS in enhancing farmer knowledge in cashew cultivation will

be assessed

The project will concentrate on (1) the use of the farmer participatory training and research program, involving TOT and FFSs and (2) the development of a cashew IPM curriculum and an illustrative photo book based on field monitoring, observations and experiments by field experimentalists, TOT trainees and FFS participants

The implementation methods include establishment of demonstration orchards for TOT courses, the TOT and FFS training, the development of a cashew IPM

curriculum and an IPM photo book, and the community baseline surveys A total of 8 major cashew-growing provinces, which have 300,700 ha of cashew (accounting for 86% of the total cashew areas in Vietnam) will be targeted

5 Progress to Date

Based on our logframe, this report will cover two aspects: (1) the sixth six-monthly activities and (2) the project achievements against the project objectives, outputs and activities

5.1 Sixth six-monthly activities

In the last six months of this project, the following 5 activities were planned, and they have been successfully conducted and completed

1 Conduct and complete the second year FFS training in ten cashew growing provinces

2 Complete all the field experiments in the demonstration orchards,

3 Complete the cashew ICI curriculum,

4 Complete the cashew ICI photo book, and

5 Conduct the second baseline survey, and compare the results with those of the first baseline survey

The following is the progress against each of the proposed activities

5.1.1 The second year FFS training in ten cashew growing provinces

Of 81 FFSs in 10 cashew producing provinces that were planed (Peng et al 2008f), 70 FFS, with strong support from provincial Sub-PPDs, have been successfully

completed by the first- and second-year TOT graduates (Table 1) The shortfall of 11 FFSs was due to

(1) Sub-PPD in Binh Duong province wishes to conduct 10 FFSs, but the paper work was too complicated for them to complete, resulting in the fail of making

a contract with the IAS (for Sub-PPDs to conduct FFSs, each Sub-PPD has to make a contract with the IAS To do this, they have to fill in a complicated paper work as required by IAS administration) (Table 1), and

(2) TOT trainers in the Sub-PPDs of Ba Ria –Vung Rau and Tra Vinh were too busy for rice pest control (top priority of the provinces) to conduct the same numbers of FFSs as planed (Table 1)

The FFSs started between October 2008 or February 2009, and completed in April

2009 based on the variation of local cashew growing conditions (Table 1) The

training period for each FFS covered three most important periods: pre-flowering flush, flowering and nut setting and harvest Each FFS had 9 – 10 training periods, and each period lasted two days A total of 1750 farmers have graduated from the 70 FFSs (Table 1) The main results and comments from the FFS farmers are

summarized below:

(1) FFS farmers were pleased to accept this ICI program because it does not need many inputs, but maintains high yield and nut quality The farmers particularly mentioned that weaver ant technology is very useful to the orchards that are on the sloping hills, on which it is very difficult for pesticide sprays

(2) Currently, cashew growers can only earn small profits because of high costs of pesticides, fertilizers and fungicides, and because of the unstable cashew nut price This has resulted in a considerable shift from cashew to rubber due to the high price of the rubber Because the costs of using this ICI program are low, most farmers will not cut down cashew trees, but continue cashew

production (also see Tables 5 and 9 for detailed economical analyses)

(3) Local governments and Farmers’ Associations have welcomed this ICI

program, and they provided strong support to the FFSs, such as organisation of farmers, selection of classrooms and demonstration orchards, provision of favourable conditions for farmers to travel from and to their villages, etc (4) FFS farmers were very happy with the ICI training contents, methods and the results from the FFS demonstration orchards

(5) After seeing the effective control of a range of cashew pests by weaver ants in our FFS demonstration orchards and their own orchards, the majority of FFS farmers will use weaver ants in part of their orchards in the next cashew season to have a test and to further familiarise themselves with the ant

(8) Due to the positive influence of the current FFSs, there is high demand by local cashew farmers to have the ICI program training

(9) Most FFS farmers need more training occasions /FFS with more time for practice, especially on weaver ants

(10) The ICI photo book is essential for their future references

Because some farmers in our first-year FFS training expressed their concern about the protection of aphids and scale insect by weaver ants, this time, our TOT trainers concentrated on this issue and collected some field data (wherever possible) to

demonstrate the effective control of mealy bugs and aphids by their natural enemies This has alleviated farmers’ concern about the damage caused by aphids and mealy bugs after using weaver ants

5.1.2 The field experiments in the demonstration orchards

Three demonstration orchards were used in this project since the second year of the project The operation of the demonstration orchard in Binh Phuoc province was stopped in September 2008 after we finished two years of field experiments in

collaboration with two years of TOT training This was because some cashew trees were seriously damaged by an incidence of strong winds in the 2008 wet season, and the orchard owner wanted to cut down cashew trees for other crops However, the two demonstration orchards in Dong Nai province ran very well in the third year

In the Dong Nai demonstration orchard (Mr Bi’s orchard), the third year experiment

at this demonstration site has been successfully completed After the ghost ant was identified as the major factor responsible for the failure of the insect pest control by weaver ants in the first and the second year (Peng et al 2008d), existing weaver ants colonies on the orchard boundary were used to avoid a strong competition between ghost ants and weaver ants This method successfully kept weaver ant populations high and stable on cashew trees The following are the summarised results:

(1) Weaver ant abundance was over 60% from November 2008 to May 2009, and the ant populations were stable during the period of cashew flowering and fruiting (Fig 1)

(2) Regular field observations showed that, in contrast to the results of the

previous two years (Peng et al., 2008d), weaver ants behaved normally, and they actively foraged on flushing shoots, flowers and developing nuts No competition for food between weaver ants and ghost ants was observed (3) The average number of flushing shoots and flowers was similar between the IPM plot and the farmer’s plot (Table 2)

(4) The main insect pests in this orchard were tea mosquito bugs, the shoot borer, leaf rollers, leaf miners, mealy bugs and aphids (Table 3) The mean damage level on cashew flowers or young nuts by each of these pests was similar between the farmer’s plot and the IPM plot, with the exception of aphids, for which the damage level was higher in the IPM plot than in the farmer’s plot (Table 3) However, the average aphid damage was < 2% (Table 3)

(5) The average yields of cashew nuts per tree were higher in the IPM plot than in the farmer’s plot (Table 4) Also, the nuts were cleaner and shinier in the IPM plot than in the farmer’s plot

(6) The net profit in the farmer’s plot was 11,684,000 VND/ha (Table 5), while that in the ICI plot was 13,698,000 VND/ha (Table 5) Compared to the

farmer’s plot, net profit was 17.2% higher in the ICI plot

(2) Field observations showed that weaver ants actively foraged on flushing shoots, flowers and developing nuts on cashew trees while ghost ants were active on grass, weeds and cashew coppices between tree rows No

competition for food between weaver ants and ghost ants was observed

(3) The average number of flushing shoots and flowers was similar between the IPM plot and the farmer’s plot (Table 6)

(4) Regular monitoring showed that the main insect pests in this orchard were tea mosquito bugs, the shoot borer, leaf rollers, leaf miners, mealy bugs and aphids (Table 7) The mean damage level on cashew flushing shoots, flowers

or young nuts by shoot borers, leaf rollers and leaf miners was similar between the farmer’s plot and the IPM plot (Table 7) Although tea mosquito damage was higher in the IPM plot than in farmer’s plot (Table 7), the damage caused

by tea mosquito bugs was < 5 %, which is lower than the control threshold determined by Peng et al (1997) The damage caused by mealy bugs and aphids was higher in the IPM plot than in the farmer’s plot, but the average damage was < 1% and < 2% for mealy bugs and aphids respectively (Table 7) (5) The average yield of cashew nuts per tree were similar between the IPM plot and the farmer’s plot (Table 8), but the nuts were cleaner and shinier in the IPM plot than in the farmer’s plot

(6) The net profit in the farmer’s plot was 4,005,400 VND/ha (Table 9), while that

in the ICI plot was 4,376,600 VND/ha (Table 9) Compared to the farmer’s

plot, net profit was 9.3% higher in the ICI plot This result confirms the result

obtained in 2007-08 in which 13.3% more net benefit was created in the ICI plot than in the farmer’s plot

5.1.3 The cashew ICI curriculum

The cashew ICI curriculum has been developed A manual of an ICI program using weaver ants as a major component - for ICI program trainers and extension officers in Vietnam, was completed in October 2008 The English version of the manual was submitted to the CARD Office, and it has been accepted The Vietnamese version will

be submitted in September 2009

This manual is comprised of nine parts, together with 4 appendices of guidelines of the TOT training, the FFS training and field monitoring sheets (Peng et al., 2008a)

• Part 1 provides an overview of current international and national cashew production and opportunities in the future, pointing out the national objectives and the need for a cost-effective ICI program

• Parts 2 and 3 take an ecological approach to characterise the effects of

physical and biological factors on cashew tree performance, and to

demonstrate how to apply the up-to-date farming techniques to grow healthy trees

• Parts 4 and 5 deal with the main cashew insect pests and diseases, their

economical importance on cashew production, their natural enemies, their relationships with weaver ants, and their control strategies The information used in these two parts is mainly from our field experiments, surveys and laboratory rearing

• Part 6 demonstrates the main results obtained in our demonstration orchards, pointing out the efficiency of using weaver ants to manage the main pest assemblage and the importance of keeping weaver ant populations high and stable

• Part 7 describes the basic bio-ecology of weaver ants and provides a series of practical skills to manage weaver ant colonies

• Part 8 suggests a growing pattern of new cashew orchards in relation to the use

of weaver ants

• Part 9 provides a checklist for the ICI program at different cashew

developmental stages together with detailed references to the relevant parts of the manual

5.1.4 The cashew ICI photo book

The ICI photo book for cashew growers in Vietnam was completed in October 2008 The English version was submitted to the CARD Office in October 2008, and it has been accepted The Vietnamese version of the photo book was submitted in April

2009

This photo book consists of 7 parts with 321 pictures and figures (Peng et al., 2008b)

• Part 1 contains 41 pictures and figures demonstrating the main farming

techniques for growing healthy cashews,

• Part 2 contains 198 pictures and figures showing the main insect pests, their natural enemies and their control methods in relation to weaver ants,

• Part 3 has 14 pictures showing the main cashew diseases and their control methods,

• Part 4 has 4 pictures and figures summarising the results of cashew yield and nut quality from the demonstration orchards, emphasising the role of weaver ants,

• Part 5 has 30 pictures describing the bio-ecology of weaver ants,

• Part 6 has 34 photos and figures demonstrating how to use weaver ant colonies step by step, and

• Part 7 is a checklist of the ICI program reminding farmers when to do what

5.1.5 The second baseline survey, and the comparison of the results with those

of the first baseline survey

The second baseline survey was conducted between November and December 2008 using a standard questionnaire A total of 220 questionnaires were sent to farmers, who graduated from our first year FFSs which completed between April – May 2008,

in 10 cashew growing districts of five major cashew growing provinces A total of

197 questionnaires were collected The results from this survey were compared to our baseline data collected at the beginning of this project (Peng et al., 2006a) In

summery, farmers’ knowledge and farming skills have been greatly improved after the FFS training in terms of

(1) general cashew farming,

(2) farmers’ health and farm environment,

(3) cashew insect pests, diseases and their natural enemies, and

(4) farmers’ use of weaver ants with particular reference to cashew yield and nut quality (Peng et al., 2009 - project validation report)

Of 196 farmers who made comments on the quality of our FFS training, 98%, 95% and 96% of farmers were happy with the FFS training programs, with the training methods, and with the results of demonstration orchards, respectively Our extensive and intensive training with the ICI program was successful and very welcomed by cashew farmers (Peng et al., 2009) The FFS demonstration orchards and farmer orchards with weaver ants provided farmers with a full picture of how the ants could benefit them

activities

Specific objectives of this project were:

(1) to conduct TOT training in cashew IPM for TOT trainers to conduct FFSs in their local region,

(2) to develop an IPM cashew curriculum and an IPM cashew photo book that will work in Vietnamese conditions based on the cashew IPM programs developed in Australia, and

(3) to assess the effectiveness of the FFS model in increasing farmer knowledge and reducing pesticide use in cashew production

Here, we must mention that the name of our project is “Implementation of the IPM program using weaver ants as a major component for cashew growers in Vietnam”, and the term ‘IPM’ means integrated pest management Here ‘pest’ refers to insect pest, disease and weed In fact, our TOT and FFS training and our cashew curriculum (manual plus photo book) have addressed not only insect pests, diseases and weed control, but cashew variety selection and a range of farming tactics Therefore, the term “integrated cashew improvement (ICI) program” is used in replace of the term

“integrated pest management (IPM) program” The term ‘ICI’ has been used

throughout the cashew manual and the photo book, and this term will be used in the rest of this report

5.2.1 TOT training in cashew IPM for TOT trainers to conduct FFSs in their

local region

This objective has been achieved A total of 113 TOT trainers have graduated from our two-year TOT training (56 in the first year and 57 in the second year (Peng et al., 2008e); Table 10), and they are very competent in FFS training (Peng et al., 2008c) These TOT trainers have successfully conducted 98 FFSs in their local regions, resulting in 2,448 farmers having graduated with improved knowledge and farming skills in relation to the cashew ICI program (Table 10; Peng et al., 2009) The

distribution of the number of TOT trainers, FFSs and cashew farmers graduated from the FFSs is shown in Table 10 for each of the 10 provinces

Compared to the proposed number of 120 TOT trainers, only 113 TOT trainers graduated due to the availability of sub-PPDs’ staff with IPM and/or FFS experience Compared to the proposed numbers of 3,750 farmers, 2,448 farmers graduated This shortfall of 1302 farmers is mainly due to

(1) unexpected outbreak periods of rice brown leafhoppers that overlapped our FFS training periods in 2007 and 2008 (rice is the top priority in Vietnam) As

a result, our cashew TOT trainers were too busy to conduct as many FFSs as

we had planned,

(2) a shortfall of funding due to high inflation rates in Vietnam Thus, the costs of materials related to FFS training could not cover the costs of training 3750 farmers, and

(3) The paper work involved in the contract between the IAS and the sub-PPDs was so complicated that staff in sub-PPD of Binh Duong province refused to complete the paper work, resulting in no FFSs conducted in the second year FFS training in Binh Duong province (Table 1)

5.2.2 Development of an IPM cashew curriculum and an IPM cashew photo

book that will work in Vietnamese conditions

This objective has been successfully completed The cashew curriculum has been developed based on our long-term field experiments and field surveys in major

cashew growing provinces (Peng et al., 2008d) It is entitled “The integrated cashew improvement (ICI) program using weaver ants as a major component - Manual for ICI program trainers and extension officers in Vietnam” As planned, the manual includes up-to-date information about

• cashew botany,

• breeding,

• culture practice,

• diseases and their control,

• insect pests and their damage,

• natural enemies,

• integrated pest control,

• the role of weaver ants,

• weaver ant keeping,

• cashew harvest,

• a checklist of the ICI program at different growing periods, and

• four appendices of guidelines for TOT and FFS training and for monitoring pest damages and weaver ant abundance (Peng et al., 2008a)

An ICI cashew photo book has also been developed based on our long-term field experiments, field surveys and laboratory rearing (Peng et al., 2008d), which is better than the cashew posters we initially proposed The ICI photo book covers

• cashew variety selection,

• advanced farming practice,

• major diseases,

• major insect pests,

• the main natural enemies,

• the integrated pest control methods,

• role of weaver ants,

• weaver ant keeping techniques, and

• the summary of the ICI programm (Peng et al., 2008b)

Before submitting the ICI manual and the ICI photo book to the CARD Office, we obtained the following comments from some master TOT trainers, TOT trainers and Heads of provincial Sub-PPDs:

(1) the manual was well designed and was easy to follow,

(2) both the manual and photo book will be applicable under the Vietnamese cashew growing conditions, and

(3) the photo book will be very helpful for cashew growers

The English version of the ICI manual and the ICI photo book have been accepted by the CARD Office with very positive comments (see Appraisal Report of cashew nut IPM curriculum) The Vietnamese version of the ICI photo book has been submitted, and the Vietnamese version of the ICI manual, which involves large amount of translation work, will be submitted in September 2009

5.2.3 Effectiveness of the FFS model in increasing farmer knowledge and

reducing pesticide use in cashew production

The effectiveness of the FFS training on farmers’ knowledge and farming skills has been assessed against our baseline data Of 197 questionnaires collected from our first

year FFS farmers, over 95% of farmers were happy with the FFS training contents,

with the training methods, and with the results from FFS demonstration orchards

More that 80% of the farmers were sure that weaver ants could control the main cashew insect pests and would improve cashew yield and nut quality Over 80% of

farmers knew how to use weaver ants, would use weaver ants, and would tell their friends and other farmers to use the ants Farmers’ knowledge about insect pests, diseases and their natural enemies as well as general farming skills has been

significantly improved (see Peng et al., 2009 for details)

With regard to the reduction of insecticide use, 91% of the farmers used insecticides before the FFS training, but after the FFS training, only 67% of the farmers used

insecticides, resulting in a 24% reduction (Peng et al., 2009) This was because insect

pest damage was greatly reduced after using weaver ants in their orchards However, with the application of the ICI program, we expect that the current level (67%) of farmers using insecticides will decrease further when farmers get more and more

experience using weaver ants Besides this, 92% of the farmers demonstrated a full

understanding of when and how to use insecticides in their orchards (Peng et al., 2009) In contrast, in our baseline survey, 80% of the farmers experienced various

kinds of poison symptoms during or after the insecticide operations (Peng et al., 2006a)

environment will be improved because no toxic insecticides are used with the ICI program With FFS farmers’ influence, many local cashew smallholders have

requested FFS training (Peng et al., 2009)

Net profits from demonstration orchards suggested that, compared to the net profit

under the conventional management, smallholders can get 13.3% more net profit

when they use the ICI program

5.3.2 Smallholder benefits of this project (February 2006 – April 2009)

From the results of our survey of 197 cashew farmers who graduated from the year FFSs (Peng et al., 2009), the cashew smallholders’ benefits from this project can

first-be summarised as follows:

(1) Improved knowledge about cashew farming practice, including

a the importance of cashew variety,

b planting skills,

c pruning techniques,

d intercropping principles,

e importance of farm manure,

f application methods of chemical fertilizers,

c the role of the natural enemies in cashew orchards,

(3) Advanced and cost-effective pest control system using weaver ants as a major component,

(4) Considerable reduction in the use of insecticides while maintaining high yield, (5) Greatly improved cashew nut quality due to the use of weaver ants,

(6) Opportunity to produce ‘organic’ cashew nuts,

(7) Improvement of the environment in which farmers are living and

(8) Improved farmers’ health

Demonstration orchards suggested that, compared to the net profit under the

conventional management, smallholders can get 13.3% more net profit when they use

the ICI program

existing weaver ant colonies in the orchard boundary trees (Acacia sp) expanded their

territories into the farmer’s plot, some of trees that were previously occupied by ghost ants were now occupied by weaver ants, and ghost ants were pushed back to the centre of the plot This pattern was also shown clearly on the other side of the

boundary trees With this interesting pattern, Dr Peng worked closely with IAS project staff to modify the site by shifting some of trees in the farmer’s plot into the IPM plot and some trees in the IPM plot to the farmer’s plot in order to use this positive interaction, rather than to spend time on the control of ghost ants in the centre

of the IPM plot where ghost ant populations were too high to control

To inspect FFS activities, Dr Peng visited 5 FFSs in four provinces: Binh Phouc, Dong Nai, Ninh Thuan and Binh Thuan At each FFS, he participated in the training run by one or two TOT trainers and the field practice He talked with FFS farmers about the training topics and the training methods, and about what they had learned and what they needed for the best management of their orchards He also answered a lot of questions raised by farmers At the end of each FFS visit, Dr Peng exchanged information with the TOT trainer and the Head of the provincial sub-PPD and made some comments to improve the FFS training quality in the future These comments included:

(1) It is ideal to select at least one farmer with some knowledge about weaver ants for each FFS,

(2) TOT trainers need to take the farmers into the orchards more often to

selectively demonstrate the different techniques, and

(3) A hard copy of the photo book is necessary to improve the FFS training quality

5.4.2 Capacity building of this project (February 2006 – April 2009)

The major objective of this project has been to help cashew smallholders with

increased yield and improved nut quality through developing and implementing an ICI program based on the IPM programs using weaver ants as a key element

developed at Charles Darwin University To achieve this, we have conducted an intensive training with the weaver ant technology and advanced farming tactics and have used long-term field experiments, together with large scale field surveys The details of each of these activities in the training and filed experiments have been given

in our 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th and 5th 6-monthly reports (Peng et al., 2006b; 2007 a, b; 2008e, f), and the following is a summary of our achievements in capacity building

(1) An ICI manual for TOT trainers and extension officers in Vietnam has been developed and used in our TOT training The English version of the ICI