and Integrated Pest Management - part - usaid

TRAIN-THE-TRAINER PROGRAMS IN THAILAND
U. Dcchrmani
Director of Plant Protection Service Division
Department of Agricultural Extension
Bangkok 10900, Thailand
Thailand is in the (.;rsc of accelerated development to achieve economic
stability for the well-being of its people. The main occupation of the Thais is
agriculture and in this respect farmers want to improve productivity through the
application of advanced technology and keep up with technological changes. For
example, fertilizers and pesticides are commonly used together for the prevention
and externination of pests.
Substantial losses are caused each year by pests during cultivation,
harvesting, and transportation of products to the market. These pest-induced
losses are the chief "variable" undermining agricultural production, leading to the
lowering of both quality and quantity. The value of annual losses is thus
sizeable. With the farmers' need to maintain quality and quantity, agropesticides
have become common items among farmers in the control of plant pests. Tile
reason is that these agropesticides have proved effective in putting a stop to the
spread of pests to a wider area. Protection of crops from pests and maintenance
of the normal condition of crops would be more difficult without help from
agropesticides. However, the use of these agropesticides can produce numerous
adverse effects. They are harmful to man and animals as well as to tile
environment. Other living things are also more or less affected by residues,
depending on the extent of their evolution for survival. Thus we find in
Thailand a situation where pesticides are posing a problem to the health of
people, animals and other living things.
TARGET AUDIENCE 01 TRAIN-TIII-TRAINER PROGRAMS
Our target is to train five million farm families or 35 million people in the
safe use of agropesticides and to instill in them knowledge about potential
dangers from improper use of agrochcmicals.
O.JECTIVES
1. To provide training to ensure correct, economical, and safe use of different
types of agropesticides by farmers and to prevent harm to other living things
and the environment.
2. To jointly seek measures ,br preventing harm from the use of agropesticides
for agricultural puqoses,