Objective
AAA Agronomists include bioprotectants as part of the solutions portfolio when making a recommendation related to Integrated Pest Management.
For this purpose, the AAA Agronomists need to have the following skills and knowledge:
- Identify and monitor a pest or disease
- Understand when a producer should use a biopesticide
- Understand the solutions contained in the CABI BioProtection Portal
- Monitor the effects of using a biopesticide product
- Promote/improve the effectiveness of biopesticide inputs
In this course, AAA Agronomists will learn about basic concepts related to Biopesticides, their use and how to access the CABI Bioportal.
The CABI BioProtection Portal is a free tool that enables users to discover information about the biocontrol and biopesticide products that have been registered in different countries around the world. Available online and offline, the CABI BioProtection Portal helps growers and agricultural advisors to identify, source and correctly use biocontrol and biopesticide products to tackle problematic pests and diseases that affect their crops. The portal is accessible on smart phones, tablets and desktops.
The Portal is designed to fill a knowledge gap. Globally, there’s far greater awareness of our surroundings and the need to treat our soils and our ecosystems with more respect. The CABI BioProtection Portal we’ve developed, will help make this easier. It’s a web platform where you can effectively ask, “I’m in this country and this bug is eating this particular crop, what can I use that’s safe but effective?”. It’s completely free, so farmers, agronomists, you, me, professionals, even amateur gardeners, can access it. It shows what biological products are legal in different countries, how they work, what they control, and how they’re applied. It contains easily accessible, practical information that enables people to make better decisions.
Steve Edgington
Team Leader – Biopesticides – CABI
Nespresso is one of the sponsors of this initiative. We are confident that it will be a valuable source of information for the adoption of Integrated Pest Management by AAA coffee growers. Information on natural solutions for pest management is not always available to AAA Agronomists in the field, let alone to our coffee producers. This initiative facilitates access to this information, as well as recommendations from manufacturers about the safe and effective use of these inputs.
Nespresso promotes Integrated Pest Management as part of its focus on regenerative agriculture. We encourage farmers to use agrochemicals and biological inputs that are legally registered in the country. It is extremely important that our coffee producers do not use prohibited pesticides.
Introduction to bioprotectants
There are a range of actions on a farm that will enable you to grow crops successfully year on year. At the very heart is the prevention and at times eradication of pests and diseases. For the last 4-5 decades chemical pesticides have been central to pest and disease control, but over recent years it’s become clear that repeated pesticide use is harming the fundamentals of a productive farm, namely a resilient, healthy soil and a rich, thriving community of native bugs and beasts that provide natural crop protection. Furthermore, chemical pesticides put the health of farmers and workers at risk. Cutting back on the use of chemical pesticides is a necessity if farms are to remain productive long-term and people and wildlife are to be kept safe; but how do we do this? The answer is to introduce non-chemical, bioprotectants into your pest and disease control. What are bioprotectants – they are pesticides that are based on naturally sourced ingredients instead of synthetic chemicals, which control pests and diseases but without harming us and the environment. Bioprotectants are becoming increasingly visible in the crop protection market.
Course Instruction
You must complete the following steps as part of this course:
1. Use of Biopesticides in Integrated Pest Management.
Review the concepts related to the integration of Biopesticides as part of coffee pest and disease control measures. Take note of the key concepts.
2. CABI BioProtection Portal
For people from the countries that have information available in the CABI BioProtection Portal, you will be able to learn how to use the Desktop and offline tool for mobile devices, receive information about the different components available in the CABI BioProtection Portal and consultation options for users.
Practical exercises will be shared with participants to highlight different cases that can be served by the CABI BioProtection Portal.
3. Course evaluation
A short quiz will evaluate your understanding of the concepts taught in lessons 1 and 2. You will also be asked questions about the messages at the end of the practical examples. You will be able to respond to the evaluation as many times as necessary until you obtain a score of 90%.
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