Traditional agricultural practices include a number of extremely practical and effective non-chemical pest control methods. Among these are use of numerous plant extracts, predatory insects and several practices used to trap, repel and otherwise control various pests. However, it is necessary to research and document these in detail, and develop practical methods of preparing and using natural pesticides in the field. Our work in this area can be broadly classified as :

• Identification and documentation of plants with pesticidal properties, identification of pests they can be used against.
• Research and experimentation with several plants. Currently, we have developed technologies for using nearly 25 plants.
• Development of methods of preparing extracts from these plants and use in the field.
• Research and experimentation on storage forms of extracts.
• Helping farmers establish biopesticide units for securing a key input to organic farming and supplementary income generation.
• Development of a practical and feasible plan for use of non-chemical pesticides for farmers.
• Conducting training programmes for farmers as well as other organisations to familiarize them with these methods.
• Preparation of manuals, monographs, and audiovisual presentations to support and augment the training initiative.

TRAINING PROGRAMMES

The Centre has been been holding a series of training programmes on the use of natural products for pest control in different parts of Tamil Nadu with support from different agencies. The organisation is involved in conducting workshops for farmers in different parts of Tamil Nadu and also southern regional workshops where NGOs from the southern states are invited. While these training programmes were being conducted by our centre, there were requests from different farmer groups and NGOs from various parts of the country to also provide them with such training. In order to cater to the needs of various NGOs we decided to conduct Trainers Training Programmes so that the people benefiting from these programmes could reach out in turn to more people in different parts of the country.

Participants are chosen from voluntary organisations who are directly involved in agriculture related work. During the course of the training programme, trainees are taught to identify pests of major crops, such as rice, cotton and vegetables, predators and pests one could find in these crops, their value, and the ways in which these pests damage the crops. They are also taught a number of natural non-chemical alternatives for controlling major pests. For the identification of pests and predators, various theoretical sessions are conducted with explanatory slides followed by identification of these organisms by the trainees during practical sessions in the field. The trainees are also provided a comprehensive training on the use of plant products for pest control. They are taught different procedures regarding the preparation of various plant products and are provided guidelines in terms of deciding the concentration and plant products to be used against certain pests. The trainees are also taught to make products from nearly 10 different plants such as Neem, Garlic, Persian lilac etc. Biological control using various methods such as spiders and other bio-control agents are also provided. The training programme also provides an opportunity to learn about preparation of certain organic compost methods and to interact with farmers and groups who have been successful in using non-chemical alternatives.

If you need more information on our training programmes, contact training@ciks.org

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