Management of late blight (LB) presents special problems for resource-poor farmers. Because the pathogen is essentially invisible, farmers cannot easily understand the phenomenon of plant disease. Because the damage can be rapid and devastating, it is hard for farmers to fine-tune their management strategies. Farmers are generally aware of fungicides, but they often lack sufficient information to use them efficiently and effectively. Recent changes in pathogen populations mean that strategies for LB management that previously worked well are no longer able to control the disease. Cultural practices may be less powerful for LB than for management of other diseases or of insect pests, although this is an area we need to explore carefully with farmers.

The availability of, and access to, disease-resistant potato cultivars (or TPS) provides an opportunity for farmers to reduce LB risk. They also need considerable knowledge about the disease, resistance, fungicide use, seed health, and the various agronomic practices that affect LB, as well as knowledge about other aspects of pest and crop management. Thus, the two main objectives of our impact-oriented IPM-LB program are to deploy resistant varieties, and to train farmers in disease and crop management.

One of the lessons learned from other IPM projects is that success in meeting these objectives is most likely where research institutions, implementation organizations and farmers’ organizations get together and pool skills and resources. CIP researchers are working with national research and extension organizations in seven countries to develop methods for participatory research and farmer training on management late blight and other key constraints faced by resource-poor potato farmers. With the support of IFAD and OPEC, pilot-scale “farmer field schools” (FFS) are being carried out with groups of potato farmers in Bangladesh, Bolivia, China, Ecuador, Ethiopia, Peru and Uganda. We are building on a range of experiences in implementing IPM, including CARE and CIP’s work with Andean potato weevil and potato tuber moth in Peru, farmer field schools (FFS) in Asia for rice insect pests, and FFS in Vietnam for rice blast. We can also learn from existing participatory research or extension projects such as farmer research committees (CIALs) and groups for technology transfer (GTTs).

The potato field schools are based on the FFS approach developed by the FAO, and the FAO’s Global IPM Facility has been collaborating with CIP to provide opportunities for training of FFS facilitators and for scaling-up of activities at the national level. In each FFS, a group of ~25 farmers meets regularly (every 1-2 weeks) throughout the cropping season, and conduct one or more field experiment. With the support of a facilitator, the farmers undertake various hands-on learning activities during each half-day FFS session. The experiments and learning activities are designed to allow the farmers to learn about agroecological principles and to test and adapt pest and crop management methods. Useful information based on experiences with farmers has been gathered into a Farmers Field School Guide. This document is currently available in Spanish at this address: http://www.cipotato.org/training/Materials/publications.htm

Participation in the FFS gives farmers access to knowledge and technology. Working with farmers and extension organizations gives researchers insight into farmers’ needs and preferences, and access to information about the performance of IPM tactics and strategies across a wide range of conditions. In Peru, for example, national organizations released three new potato varieties in 1998-1999 after farmers tested a set of elite lines through FFS.