Farmer Field Schools slash pesticide use and exposure in Iran  

Many Iranian farmers have become reliant on toxic pesticides and their excessive use leads to dangerously high exposure levels for farmworkers and consumers in fruits, vegetables, nuts and field crops. Hossein Heidari describes pesticide exposure patterns in Iran and current work in helping farmers to reduce use through IPM training.

Farmer preparing solution of phosphamidon, an extremely hazardous Class Ia insecticide, without any protective equipment. Photo: IGRA.

Farming in Iran
Iran’s 3.4 million farmers cultivate 18.5 million hectares, the size of the total land area of Syria. Of these, 14.5 million ha are under different annual crops, 1.9 million ha are orchards, 6 million ha irrigated and others are rain-fed. The three main provinces for agricultural production are Gilan, Mazandaran and Golestan along the coast of the Caspian Sea. The major crops in this region are rice, citrus, cotton and tobacco. Different types of farming system and land tenure exist in Iran from commercial to subsistence farms and both governmental and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are actively involved in the farming sector. Traditionally, women only play an active role in agricultural activities in certain areas. In Gilan province women carry out 80% of the different tasks in rice production. In orchard crops, picking, drying, packing and sorting are done mainly by women. 

Pesticide use and pollution
Over 27,000 tonnes of pesticides were used in Iran during 2000-01, about 16,000 tonnes of which are formulated in the country. Of 241 pesticides in use, insecticides make up 33%, herbicides 30%, fungicides 20%, acaricides 6.2%, rodenticides 3.8%, nematicides 1.5% and others 5.5%. Iran spent US$125 million on pesticide imports in 2002. Although this huge volume of pesticides is distributed all over the country, 60% of all pesticides are applied in the three northern provinces, close to the Caspian Sea, while rice production alone accounts for a quarter of national pesticide use.
    Of the pesticides in common use, 25 are banned in other countries and some have been withdrawn from use in Iran, yet farmers can easily obtain them on the black market or via cross-border smuggling and continue to use them in rice, cotton, citrus and other crops. One investigation has found very high levels of the organophosphate insecticide diazinon at Kianshahr port on the Caspian Sea. This pesticide was used for stem borer control in more than 250,000 out of 400,000 ha of rice paddy. Diazinon levels in the Babol Rud River on the Caspian coast of 4.1 parts per billion (ppb) were recorded, with diazinon, ethion and methyl parathion insecticides the commonest pesticide contaminants in this river(1). Another study determined the level of diazinon as 9.5 ppb in the Shirud River(2). To put these figures in perspective, the UK Environment Agency set their environmental quality standard for annual average exposure for diazinon in freshwater at 0.01parts per billion, to protect aquatic life(3). A 1997 study on pesticide residues in 18 rivers in the three Caspian coast provinces found several organochlorine pesticides belonging to the Persistent Organic Pollutants (POPs) Convention list(4). Among these, the highest was heptachlor (0.005-14.35 ppm); and the highly persistent chemical HCH-lindane was also found (at 0.008-40 parts per million). Pollutant levels were highest in the western part of the Caspian coast.

Health impacts and cancer 
Concerns have been raised about the increasing levels of cancer incidence and possible links with high levels of pesticide exposure. Each year 500 people are recorded as dying from cancer in Golestan province, 350 from stomach and 150 from throat cancer. The main crop in this province is cotton(5). The investigation also revealed that the incidence of cancer among people in the belt between Ramsar and Behshahr in Mazandaran province was 70% higher than in other parts of the Caspian coast and this area suffers 30% more cancer cases than elsewhere in the country. 
    Strawberries are cultivated in several regions of Iran. In Golestan province, after picking the fruit, farmers spray benomyl and Ridomil (metalaxyl) fungicides to protect the fruit from fungal attack. Benomyl has been identified as a possible human carcinogen and linked to endocrine disruption and reproductive disorders(6). In contrast, in the west of Iran farmers produce strawberries without the use of pesticides. The Ministry of Health broadcast television announcements in early 2002, warning that many people in Tehran had been poisoned by eating strawberries laden with pesticide residues and even advised against consuming this fruit. In Karaj, 40 km west of Tehran, more than 200 people were hospitalized following consumption of pesticide-contaminated cucumber in May 2002, while total poisoning cases were suspected to be even higher. Aldrin and malathion were earlier reported as the commonest residues in cucumber obtained from wholesale markets in Tehran(7).
    Highly hazardous practice in pesticide application and distribution is a major concern. During aerial spraying of insecticide on wheat and barley, one farm worker was blinded in Garmsar district in Semnan province. Most farmworkers in this area are Afghan refugees. Most workers do not have adequate clothing or equipment to protect them from the dangerous pesticide exposure. In 1998, three people were killed and 18 people suffered acute poisoning from DDT in Bilevari in West Azerbaijan when a girl mixed DDT by mistake with flour for cooking a kind of sweet for her family. It was not clear how the DDT was obtained. Some chemical shops buy DDT from unknown persons very cheaply and package and sell it to farmers under another name.

FFS farmer checking pheromone trap for monitoring pests in a melon field, Garmsar. Photo: IGRA

Reducing pesticide reliance via IPM training
Damghan district in Semnan province, 250km north-east of Tehran, is one of the most important areas in Iran for pistachio nuts, with 320,000ha under production. Farmers usually spray six times per season on pistachio and 1,800 tons of pesticides are used in this crop annually. Of the 13 different pests and diseases attacking pistachio, the most important pest is the psylla sucking bug. Between two and five seasonal treatments are made to control psylla, accounting for 70% of total pesticide use in pistachio. Farmers currently apply a range of 20 chemicals in pistachio orchards, with endosulfan, Zolone (phosalone) and amitraz insecticides/acaricides making up 70% of the volumes sprayed. Incidence of blood cancer among farmers and their families is high in Damghan, fuelling concerns that pesticide exposure may play a role. In 1999, the author investigated the feasibility of pesticide elimination in pistachio nuts and found that 80% of current pesticide application is unnecessary. Farmers rely on chemical control because they are unaware of the population balance between pests and natural enemies in their agro-ecosystems. Farmers explained that they know pesticides are dangerous, that many farmers become ill after spraying and that cancer is increasing significantly, but they feel obliged to spray because agricultural staff advise these methods.
    The first participatory IPM through Farmer Field School (FFS) project was set up in 1999 to tackle excessive pesticide use in pistachio. A group of 18 farmers from nine villages took part in IPM training and participatory research over two seasons. Three times a month the group assembled in one central village where they had selected one member’s farm as a study site. During this 16 month period, the farmer group was able to study the biology and ecology of pistachio pests and natural enemies. They found it exciting that they could conduct investigations about pests through the FFS sessions, just like researchers. In the first year of project they managed to reduce pesticide applications to one per season. They continued to learn more about natural enemies and were surprised how a small insect can control a large number of pests. FFS members learned how to monitor orchards and decide on appropriate action and can now produce pistachio without the use of any pesticides. FFS group members are responsible for passing on their new knowledge and pest management skills to fellow farmers in their villages. 
    Mr Hajmohamadi from Kalatemola village described how ‘Before the FFS, I used to kill this green fly (a lacewing predatory insect) by spraying it, but now I like it and when I see a number of them on my tree, I stop and watch it. I know the egg, larvae, pupae and adults. You researchers should come and work with us, we have also something to teach you, and we have a lot of indigenous knowledge that we can give you freely’. After two seasons, Mr. Hajmohamadi is now working with another group of farmers in his village as a trainer. He is producing organic pistachio and has eliminated sprays from his crop. After this success in reducing pesticide use in pistachio, many farmers agreed to work with this approach and 125 pistachio farmers in five groups are working and managing their farms through FFS methods. 
    In Garmsar district 120km east of Tehran, four major crops, wheat, barley, cotton and melon are cultivated. Farmers apply 16 different pesticides on these crops, including products which are smuggled into the country by intermediates. Spray frequency on melon averages between 10-32 applications per season. One group of farmers from five communities in Garmsar began to work on wheat and barley through FFS training. The author invited them to meet farmers from the FFS groups in Damghan in February 2002, who discussed their good experiences with participatory IPM on pistachio with the group working on IPM for the first time. Mr. Taheri, a farmer from Garmsar, recounted ‘When I saw the farmers from Damghan bringing material from their farm in small medicine bottles, plastic bags and jamjars, I was surprised. When I saw that farmers were looking at these using a microscope and discussing them, I told my group that this is a way that can solve our crop pest problems’.
    Since this farmer exchange visit, the Garmsar group has built three rooms close to their research farm for meetings, laboratory work and a small insectary for rearing beneficial insects. 
    In 2002 the group worked on wheat and barley and were able to eliminate pesticides from this crop by mechanical control and conservation of natural enemies. The most important pest in wheat and barley is Sunn pest Eurygaster integriceps, a sucking bug. One group of farmers collected Sunn pests by hand early in the season, before the pest reproduced and spread to all the fields. The labour cost was one third of the cost of using chemical methods. At the end of the season, they harvested the cereal one week earlier than normal and in this way, the remaining Sunn pest populations in the fields were unable to feed sufficiently and complete their life cycle. The FFS members were thus able to protect their crop from pest attack without using pesticides and also protected themselves from pesticide exposure. Five of these farmers are now working as facilitators for other farmers.
In May 2002, the Garmsar FFS farmer-trainers began to work on melon, which is often sprayed more than 30 times. They have reduced the time available for egg-laying by the melon fly by early planting and increased natural enemies of the leaf miner secondary pest in their 4000 square metre research plot and are now working on cotton IPM. 

Policy and donor support grows for IPM
Many people from different government agencies, NGOs and farmers from other parts of the province are coming to visit to these FFS groups and their activities. On the basis of the participatory IPM pilots in Damghan and Garmsar districts, the Vice Minister for Extension and Farming Systems recently approved a plan for FFS development in eight other communities. These are working on participatory IPM for potato in Shahroud, more pistachio in Damghan, greenhouse crops in Semnan and rice in Rasht, with capacity building for 25 staff from government and NGOs in these pilots. In May 2002, a National IPM Committee was set up to steer community-based IPM through Farmer Field Schools. The High Council for Pesticide Reduction, established in 1996, has approved a project to support Farmer Field Schools in two national strategic crops of wheat and rice. The Global IPM Facility is supporting IPM/FFS in Iran through technical and Special Service Assistance to train 40 staff from different disciplines as facilitators, who will then expand FFS coverage. The National Plant Pests and Diseases Research Institute (PPDRI) is changing to IPM and plans to work with the Ministry of Agriculture to educate extension staff in the new participatory IPM approach. In February 2003, the Ministry approved a large new FFS project in the strategic crops of rice, pistachio and vegetables in different parts of the country.
    Recently, two NGOs have been established which promote IPM/FFS and organic production: the Institute for Green Rural Advancement (IGRA) and the Organic Farming Support Institute. The Global Environmental Facility has approved a small grant project to implement IPM/FFS in paddy fields in northern Iran, where the Siberian Crane and other migratory birds overwinter. This project aims to eliminate POPs and other dangerous pesticides from the habitats important for conserving the Siberian Crane. There is considerable scope for promoting organic farming although no certification system exists yet for organic products for local or export markets. Farmers sell IPM produce in local markets without any premium and public awareness about organic farming is very low. On the basis of the author’s studies, 70-80% of current pesticide use in most crops is unnecessary, demonstrating the huge potential for pesticide reduction in Iran. With further support from the government, donors and public education, Iranian farmers can make huge advances to protect human health and the environment and to improve their income.

References
1. Nasehi, F, Determination of Organophosphates in Babol Rud, MSc thesis, Azad University, Tehran, Iran, 1999.
2.Vaez Mehrabi Kermani, F, Determination of Organophosphorus pesticides in Shirud River. MSc thesis, Azad University. Tehran, Iran, 2000.
3. Pesticides in the aquatic environment 1997. Environment Agency, Wallingford, 1999.
4. Nazari Z., Haghighi S, Eimandel K, Hosseini S, Parviz M and Kalantari H, Determination of organochlorine pesticides residue in rivers to Caspian sea and sea stations, Second National Conference on Optimum Utilization of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides in Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Karaj, Iran, 2001. 
5 Iran daily newspaper Hamshahri 20 July 2002, number 2187.
6. PAN UK, London The List of Lists, Briefing paper no. 3, November 2001.
7 Farshad A.A., Jalali N, Ezatian R, Parviz M and Yadegarian L, Study on organochlorine and organophosphorous pesticides residue in cucumber and their hazardous evaluation. Second National Conference on Optimum Utilization of Chemical Fertilizers and Pesticides in Agriculture, Ministry of Agriculture, Karaj, Iran, 2001.

Hossein Heidari is Senior Researcher of Biological Control and Field Leader for Community-based IPM at the Biocontrol Department, Plant Pests and Diseases Research Institute, PO Box 1454, Tehran 19395, Iran. Email: hheidari_2000@yahoo.com

[This article first appeared in Pesticides News No. 59, March 2003, pages 12-14]