Moldova ready to apply Integrated Pest Management nationwide

For the past two years, FAO has been working with Moldova to develop a national programme on Integrated Pest Management, or IPM. With more than 6 000 small-scale farmers now trained in techniques for minimizing pesticide use, project results were presented here today at a final workshop.

Entitled "Support for adaptation and implementation of Integrated Pest Management in Moldova," the project achieved its results through field training for farmers, provision of equipment, and capacity building.

Today’s workshop also presented the results of a related project to support small-scale berry producers. Moldova received technical assistance to assess the current situation and plan further development of the berries sector.

"FAO provided support at every step of the process, from developing strategic papers to multiple trainings and study visits for state employees from MARDE and ANSA, and field schools for farmers with technical equipment provided for the demonstration fields, said Vasile Luca, Deputy Minister of Agriculture, Rural Development and Environment. “Now, after two years of work, we can say that Moldova is ready to implement IPM at national level and we are grateful for the technical support from FAO."

Maxim Usatii, a farmer from Glodeni and a beneficiary of the IPM project, participated in the concluding workshop.

“Farmers saw the advantages of IPM in the field schools, and tested it on their own fields,” said Usatii. “Not only are the products are better, with less chemicals, but also our costs have been reduced. Therefore, we are the first to be interested in implementing and coordinating our efforts with the state authorities."

"Implementing IPM has to be a nationwide effort and that is why we focused on preparing all the stakeholders and promoting collaboration and communication among state authorities, farmers and experts," said FAO plant production and protection expert Artur Shamilov. He underlined the positive contribution of the National Agency for Rural Development (ACSA) in organizing the farmer field schools and providing local expertise.

For continuity and efficiency, FAO linked the IPM work with its efforts on behalf of small-scale berry producers, Shamilov noted.

“Berry farming is a sector where implementing IPM can generate high economic potential and reduce rural poverty,” he said. “We have finished the national assessment of the sector and are happy to announce another two-year project focused on strengthening the capacity of smallholders in berry production." Over the next two years, berry growers will benefit from field training, international expertise, technical equipment and more productive and resilient berry varieties imported from abroad.

Integrated Pest Management, or IPM, is an ecosystem approach to crop production and protection that combines different management strategies and practices to grow healthy crops and minimize the use of pesticides.

FAO promotes it as the preferred approach to crop protection and regards it as a pillar of sustainable intensification of crop production and pesticide risk reduction.

The FAO IPM programme currently comprises three regional programmes (Asia, Near East and West Africa) and several stand-alone national projects.

19 September 2017, Chisinau, Republic of Moldova