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A dual indicator set to help farms achieve more sustainable crop protection
Author(s) -
Wustenberghs Hilde,
Delcour Ilse,
D'Haene Karoline,
Lauwers Ludwig,
Marchand Fleur,
Steurbaut Walter,
Spanoghe Pieter
Publication year - 2012
Publication title -
pest management science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.296
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1526-4998
pISSN - 1526-498X
DOI - 10.1002/ps.3332
Subject(s) - sustainability , citizen journalism , business , set (abstract data type) , crop protection , dual (grammatical number) , process (computing) , environmental economics , participatory action research , environmental resource management , sustainable agriculture , environmental planning , risk analysis (engineering) , computer science , agroforestry , economics , environmental science , ecology , art , literature , world wide web , biology , programming language , economic growth , operating system
BACKGROUND: Farmers are being called to use plant protection products (PPPs) more consciously and adopt more sustainable crop protection strategies. Indicators will help farmers to monitor their progress towards sustainability and will support their learning process. Talking the indicators through in farmers' discussion groups and the resulting peer encouragement will foster knowledge acquirement and can lead to changes in attitudes, norms, perception and behaviour. RESULTS: Using a participatory approach, a conceptual framework for on‐farm sustainable crop protection practices was created. The same participatory approach was used to design a dual indicator set, which pairs a pesticide impact assessment system (PIAS) with a farm inquiry. The PIAS measures the risk for human health and the environment exerted by chemical crop protection. The inquiry reveals the farmers' response to this risk, both in terms of the actions they take and their knowledge, awareness and attitude. CONCLUSIONS: The dual indicator set allows for implementation in four tiers, each representing increased potential for monitoring and social learning. The indicator set can be adjusted on the basis of new findings, and the participatory approach can be extrapolated to other situations. Copyright © 2012 Society of Chemical Industry