Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
and public and private institutes of higher learn-
ing. The program would target a major weakness
in current food production: the lack of well-
trained extension specialists. At the same time, it
would upgrade national university programs in
crop protection, a precondition for sustainability
in food production. It would be economical in that
the students will remain in their region and are not
shipped around the world to centers of excellence
in training in temperate regions. They would
remain part of the online information-sharing net-
work after graduation.
The ultimate goal of the capacity building pro-
grams is to solve crop health problems by educat-
ing the people who are in a position to make an
impact on sustainable food production. This will
be accomplished by placing CHM in the knowl-
edge chain from the policy maker, through the
researcher and extension expert, to the farmer.
It will take advantage of new market opportunities
for new crops or those meeting specifi c quality or
pesticide residue standards - all factors that will
address food security, sustainability, and poverty
reduction. It is important to understand that the
benefi ts are not just for farmers and their suppli-
ers; the ultimate benefi ciary is the consumer in
both local and export markets.
Critical to the successful development of a
holistic CHM paradigm is participatory project
planning involving as many as possible of the
partners. Such participatory planning will ensure
that partners hold project ownership: they have
all agreed on the objectives and proposed goals
and outputs, activities, and budget needs.
Identifi cation of initial project sites, documenta-
tion of the baseline situation, provision for proj-
ect monitoring, impact assessment, and publicity
are all critical to successful planning. The impor-
tance of planning grants to bring these diverse
partners together cannot be overemphasized.
Prior to the initial planning meeting with the
partners, preparatory work with stakeholders is
very important to build a critical mass for partici-
pation in and commitment to the potential project.
Publicity is critical to transferring successes and
to inspiring others to duplicate or adopt CHM in
new locations and to generate new support from
donors or other fi nanciers to promote plant health.
Finally, partners in each project should develop
plans for succession planning and mechanisms
for sustaining the projects beyond initial funding.
It is both logical and practical that the advanced
national and international research and education
institutes should take the leadership in initiation
since they are strategically located worldwide,
have the research and extension faculty expertise,
and possess established networks to initiate col-
laboration. This will, however, require the
advanced national and international research and
education institutes and their faculties to cooper-
ate across disciplinary and geographic lines, both
internally and with other organizations involved
in international agriculture.
The benefi ts from recognizing the diverse
partners in CHM and the need for them to col-
laborate in project planning, implementation, and
evaluation will be seen in the delivery and adoption
11.6
Collaboration
and Partnerships to Improve
Crop Health Management
The multidisciplinary nature of sound CHM
requires inclusive partnerships for development,
adaptation, and adoption. Potential collabora-
tions and partnerships that should be considered
in this systems approach are farmers and farmers'
associations, then on partners who are in direct
contact with farmers, and fi nally on partners who
infl uence technology or provide the enabling
environment for change from component-based
technologies towards a holistic agricultural
paradigm.
These partners must make possible the capac-
ity building by farmers through extension educa-
tors, input suppliers, and others. This clearly
requires policy makers, regulatory agencies, and
fi nancial managers to provide an enabling envi-
ronment to allow for new markets, market struc-
tures, transportation infrastructures, fi nance, and
new IPM tools for plant health. Such an enabling
environment will provide incentives for farmers
to use new inputs (healthy seeds of new cultivars
and crops, biological control agents, safer pesti-
cides, pest monitoring and scouting tools, etc.).
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