and Integrated Pest Management - part - usaid

THE ORGANIZATION AND IMPLEMENTATION OF
THE SURVEILLANCE AND EARLY WARNING
SYSTEMS IN THAILAND
S. Sri-Arunotai
Plant Protection Service Division
Department of Agricultural Extension
Bangkok 10900, Thailand
The total land area of Thailand is 51.4 million ha, of which 37.76%
million
(19.4
ha) is under agriculture. Paddy lands constitute 50.62% (9.6 million ha)
of the agricultural area. The annual productioa of paddy rice is about 24 million
metric Ions. Yield losses in rice do to pests (insects, diseases, weeds, rodents,
etc.) are estimated to be 15-30% per year. The farmers' pest control programs
still rely largely on chemical applications, which may result not only in
costs
high
of production and ineffectiveness, but also increase the "3Rs" - resistance,
resurgence and residues. In an attempt to minimize all these factors, and to
enhance the use of effective and efficient methods of plant protection by farmers,
the so-called "Surveillance and Early Warning System" (SEWS)
farmers'
was initiated
fields
in
to serve as an introduction to the Integrated Pest Management
Program throughout the country. This program has been implemented since the
mid-1980s with the assistance and cooperation of the Thai-German
Protection
Plant
Program (TG-PPP) and the FAO Inter-country Integrated Pest
(IPC)
Control
in Rice Program. The objectives of the SEWS program are 1) to
safeguard farmers' rice production, 2) to reduce farmers' costs of production,
3)
and
to safeguard t~ie environment. More details of program targcts are discussed in
other papers presented in this book.
ORGANIZATIONAL ASPECTS
Objectives
The operational objectives of the SEWS program are to ensure 1) that pest
information is stored and available for planning in early warning and control, 2)
that Economic Threshold Levels (ETLs) are adopted by every Plant Protection
Service Unit (PPSU), and 3) that modified and simplified SEWS technology is
introduced and practised by farmers.
Organizational Setup
The Department of Agricultural Extension (DOAE) is the national agency
charged with plant protection in Thailand, and consists of nine divisions, among
which is the Plant Protection Service Division (PPSD). The Kingdom of
Thailand is administratively divided into six regions, each of which has one