Adoption and Impacts of IPM for Cambodian Rice Farmers

This study evaluates the adoption and impacts of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) adoption for rice in Cambodia. Extent of adoption and characteristics of adopters are discovered. Farmers are considered high adopters of IPM if they used two non-pesticide or minimal-pesticide practices to control rice insect, disease, weed, or rodent pests in the last twelve months; farmers are considered low adopters if they used one practice; farmers are considered non-adopters if they used zero practices. IPM practices include pest-resistant variety; stale seedbed (sequential harrowing or harrowing followed by a non-selective herbicide); apply Trichoderma on seeds or seedlings, no insecticide spray for the first 40 days; apply bio-pesticides such as neem, Bt, and metarhizium, and Beauvaria; Sarcocystis bait for rodents; hand weeding at recommended growth stage; and/or another practice specified by the farmer.

Out of 394 farmers surveyed, 40 (10.15%) were found to be high adopters, 228 (57.86%) were found to be low adopters, and 126 (31.97%) were found to be non-adopters of IPM. IPM practices currently include mostly hand-weeding and no spray for 40 days; few other practices were adopted. Our study reveals a need for broader education on rice IPM throughout Cambodia. The high frequency of pesticide applications among rice farmers, the finding that adoption of IPM was not found to have a meaningful influence on the number of pesticide applications, and the finding that less than one-quarter of farmers in our study have received training on IPM reveal the need for increased knowledge of IPM in Cambodia, and the need for future education on IPM to focus on reducing pesticide use.