Non Pesticidal Management (NPM)

CSA has pioneered the concept of Non Pesticidal Management which is now practiced by millions of farmers in Andhra Pradesh. The ecological and economical problems of pests and pesticides in agriculture gave rise to several eco-friendly innovative approaches which do not rely on the use of chemical pesticides. These initiatives involved rediscovering traditional practices and contemporary grass root innovations supplemented by strong scientific analysis mainly supported by non-formal institutions like NGOs. Such innovations have begun to play an important role in development sector. This trend has important implications both for policy and practice. One such initiative by Centre for Sustainable Agriculture was Non Pesticidal Management. The “Non Pesticidal Management” which emanates from collaborative work of public institutions, civil society organizations and Farmers in Andhra Pradesh shows how diverse players join hands to work in generating new knowledge and practice, can evolve more sustainable models of development. Pest is not a problem but a symptom. Disturbance in the ecological balance among different components of crop ecosystem makes certain insects reach pest status. From this perspective evolved the Non Pesticidal Management which is an “ecological approach to pest management using knowledge and skill based practices to prevent insects from reaching damaging stages and damaging proportions by making best use of local resources, natural processes and community action.”

CSA collaborated with Society for Elimination of Rural Poverty (SERP) of government of Andhra Pradesh) between 2005-06 to 2007-08 to scaleup the NPM practices through a systematic Community Managed Extension System.  The program is today independently run by SERP across the states of Andhra Pradesh (13 districts, 388 mandals and 8,799 villages) and Telangana (9 districts. 295 mandals and 5,421 villages)

The data shows that the pesticide use reduction between 2005-06 was more than 50% in AP which is highest compared to any other state with similar cropping systems and production practices (Maharashtra, Karnataka, Gujarat, Punjab and Haryana)

Pesticide use in India  2005-06 to 2009-10
S.No.	States/UTs	2005-06	2006-07	2007-08	2008-09	2009-10
1	Andhra Pradesh	1997	1394	1541	1381	1015
2	Gujarat	2700	2670	2660	2650	2750
3	Haryana	4560	4600	4390	4288	4070
4	Jammu & Kashmir	1433	829	1248	2679.27	1640
5	Karnataka	1638	1362	1588	1675	1647
6	Kerala	571	545	780	272.69	631
7	Madhya Pradesh	787	957	696	663	645
8	Maharashtra	3198	3193	3050	2400	4639
9	Orissa	963	778	N/A	1155.75	1588
10	Punjab	5610	5975	6080	5760	5810
11	Rajasthan	1008	3567	3804	3333	3527
12	Tamil Nadu	2211	3940	2048	2317	2335
13	Uttar Pradesh	6671	7414	7332	8968	9563
14	West Bengal	4250	3830	3945	4100	NA
	Total in India (in round fig.)	39773	41515	43630	43860	41822

Source: Agricensus 2005 http://ppqs.gov.in/IpmPesticides.htm

The latest data can be seen here http://ppqs.gov.in/sites/default/files/statewise_consumption_chemical.pdf

Several National and International studies have shown the impacts of the NPM on farmers livelihoods and environment.

Attachments

• Out of Trap: Cover Story on Down to Earth, 31st May, 2006
• Detoxyfying Villages, Jayati Gosh, Oct 23, 2004, Frontline
• Riding High: Cover Story on Down to Earth, 1st January, 2009
• Non Pesticidal Management Learning from Experiences
• Ecologically Sound Economically Viable- Community Managed Sustainable Agriculture in Andhra Pradesh, World Bank
• Evaluation of NPM in CMSA program by Acharya NG Ranga Agriculture University
• UN Stock Home Conference Report on Alternatives to Endosulfan
• Does No Pesticides Reduce Suicides Indian Journal of Social Psychiatry
• INDIA’S POTENTIAL BEST PRACTICES FOR FOOD AND NUTRITION SECURITY, Report by USDA
• Non-Pesticidal Management of Pests: Status, Issues and Prospects – A Review by Centre for Economics and Social Studies, Hyderabad