improving tobacco production in Argentina

so what’s the problem?In the province of Misiones in Argentina, tobacco production is of high social and economic importance. It constitutes the primary and often sole source of income for around 12,000 small-holder farmers.

The farmers are contracted by leaf supplier companies who provide them with crop production supplies and buy their tobacco at the end of the season. Leaf supplier companies process and pack this tobacco and then sell it to manufacturers. Field technicians from the leaf supplier companies visit the farmers throughout the cropping season to provide advice on tobacco production, including pest and disease management. However, the majority of technicians, and therefore also farmers, have very limited knowledge on sustainable pest management techniques. As a result, most of the farmers rely only on chemical pesticides throughout the cropping season to protect their fields from pests and diseases, and are therefore not fulfilling all the requirements of the Good Agricultural Practice (GAP) scheme being implemented by the tobacco industry in Argentina.

what is CABI doing?CABI is working with leaf supplier companies to help the tobacco farmers of Misiones adopt integrated pest management (IPM) strategies on their farms.

IPM is a dynamic pest control strategy which involves the application of a variety of non-chemical control tools. It particularly emphasises tactics which promote long-term prevention of pests and sustainable reduction in pesticide use. With this system, pesticides are only used as a last resort, thereby protecting the environment.

This integrated approach represents an important part of the GAP standards and its implementation means that the overall quality of tobacco will be improved. Not only this, it will also help these farmers to continue being reliable partners of the leaf supplier companies. This in turn will help to guarantee a secure livelihood for the farmers and their families for the foreseeable future.

results so farThe initial challenge was to devise a strategy whereby 12,000 farmers – many of whom live in isolated and relatively inaccessible locations – could receive hands-on IPM training in as little time as possible. A fully dedicated local team of eight trainers and two coordinators was initially established through the leaf supplier companies and a national research organisation. With CABI’s support, the team developed an IPM training curriculum and organised training sessions for groups of about 25 farmers at a time. Using participatory training methods, the IPM trainers delivered four training sessions to each farmer group over the course of a cropping season. Using this strategy, the IPM team trained an astounding 10,000 farmers within the first three years!

A set of technical guidelines for tobacco IPM has now been published, providing a comprehensive description of the requirements of this agricultural system. In addition, a Green and Yellow List was developed by the team as a ‘farmer-friendly’ guide to IPM. This farmer aid uses a traffic light system to explain the best methods of preventing and treating tobacco pests and, in doing so, helps to reduce the use of chemical pesticides. With CABI’s support, a tobacco IPM manual for farmers was also compiled, providing an overview of topics addressed during the training. Acknowledging that many farmers are illiterate, self explanatory diagrams were used to illustrate IPM techniques to increase the utility of this tool. Colour photos of the major insect pests, diseases and natural enemies in a tobacco crop were also incorporated to allow easy recognition in the field.

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KNOWLEDGE FOR LIFE

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contactUlrich Kuhlmann, CABI Europe - Switzerland, Rue des Grillons 1, CH-2800 Delémont, Switzerland T: +41 (0)32 421 4882 F: +41 (0)32 421 4871 E: u.kuhlmann@cabi.org

IPM coordinator showing tobacco IPM manual to a farmer and his family

Hands-on training in how to monitor for pests and diseases

Recognising the important advisory role that the field technicians play, they have been involved in project activities from the start. They have been trained in IPM and participatory training methods whilst also accompanying IPM trainers to farmer training sessions to provide support and further develop their own skills.

what next?Anticipating that the implementation of IPM will be of utmost importance in the future, work is already underway to establish a farm inspection system to verify IPM farmers. Using the IPM technical guidelines as a reference, CABI, together with local partners, has developed an inspection protocol and IPM trainers have been provided with relevant classroom and on-farm training to supply them with the necessary skills to become IPM inspectors.

The IPM team will now continue to both train and inspect farmers. Farm inspections will provide an effective feedback system, highlighting difficult topics on which training activities should focus. Links between the IPM team and the national research institute will also be strengthened. This will enable the development of tailor-made solutions for problematic issues, which can then be conveyed to farmers through the IPM team.

Through knowledge acquired from the training, farmers are now able to formulate their own ecologically-sound pest management decisions, rather than reaching straight for a pesticide sprayer. Benefits from the reduced cost of using fewer pesticides are already being felt. Tobacco quality is also increasing and many farmers are well on their way to fulfilling the industry’s GAP standards. The establishment of a fully dedicated IPM team has been central to the successes of this project and could provide a model strategy for other similar future IPM programmes. With the continued dedication and enthusiasm of the IPM team, tobacco farmers of Misiones will be assured quality IPM support well into the future.

sponsors

Philip Morris International

partners

Bonpland Leaf S.A.

Comercial e Industrial Misionera Argentina S.A.

Cooperativa Tabacalera de Misiones LTDA

Tabacos Norte S.A.

Instituto Nacional de Tecnología Agropecuaria

Red MIPE de productores de tabaco Burley de la Provincia de Misiones

project team

Ulrich Kuhlmann / Manfred Grossrieder / Emma Hunt

dates of project

July 2005 – ongoing