Environment-Friendly Cotton Production through Implementing Integrated Pest Management Approach

Tremendous increases in pesticide use in cotton growing areas have severely affected the health of peoples and degraded environment [Poswal and Williamson (1998); Ahmad and Poswal (2000); Orphal 2001 and Khan (2000)]. Farmer Field School (FFS) based IPM implemented in the world to reduce dependence on pesticides and promote environmentally safe plant protection practices. An FFS-led Integrated Pest Management (IMP) model implemented in Pakistan during 1996—popularly known as “Vehari Model”, clearly demonstrated that IPM could be implemented on a large scale at the farm level. UNDP-FAO Policy Reform Project provided required policy level support to scale up the Farmer-led IPM in the country. Implementation of pesticide policy project in Pakistan highlighted that pesticide consumption increased from 665 metric tons in 1980 to 78,132 metric tons in 2003-4. The role of private sector in promoting the production and use of pesticides was found tremendously high. The private sector also took full advantage of government’s pesticide import liberalisation policies. One of the key components of dramatic increase in pesticide use in Pakistan is related to very soft import and registration at that time, which allowed the generic compounds registered elsewhere, to be imported without fieldtesting. The policy project estimated environmental and social cost to the nation amounted US$ 206 million per year [UNDP (2001) and Azeem, et al. (2003)]. Analysis proved that such a tremendous cost of pesticide use not only drains the exchequer, but also presents a growing threat to national health and environment of the country. It was concluded that chemical based control program in crops has actually increased the pest problems, disturbed the agro-ecosystem and has killed the non-targeted and environment friendly organisms such as parasitoids, predators and birds. Disturbance in an agro-ecosystem led the new pest problems through resurgence and resistance processes in the naturally occurring pest populations. It was understood that over and misuse of pesticides has led to tremendous ecological disasters [Feenstra, et al. (2000); Orphal (2001) and Ahmad, et al. (2000)]. The results of pesticide policy analysis project not only paved the way to