Rice Scientists,

About 5 months ago the US AGRONOMY journal invited me to write a review. Since it is pandemic time I thought it will be a nice mental challenge. After peer reviews, corrections, editing etc, it is finally published. Those interested the online version is available for those interested. https://www.mdpi.com/2073-4395/11/11/2208/pdf

KL Heong

klheong@yahoo.com

Ecological Engineering for Rice Insect Pest Management: The Need to Communicate Widely, Improve Farmers’ Ecological Literacy and Policy Reforms to Sustain Adoption

by Kong-Luen Heong ^1,*,Zhong-Xian Lu ²,Ho-Van Chien ³,Monina Escalada ⁴,Josef Settele ⁵,Zeng-Rong Zhu ¹ andJia-An Cheng ¹¹Institute of Insect Sciences, College of Agriculture and Biotechnology, Zhejiang University, Hangzhou 310058, China²Institute of Plant Protection and Microbiology, Zhejiang Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Hangzhou 310021, China³Department of Plant Protection, Mekong University, Vinh Long 890000, Vietnam⁴Department of Development Communication, Visayas State University, Baybay City 6521, Philippines⁵Helmholtz Centre for Environmental Research—UFZ, 06120 Halle, Germany^*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.Academic Editor: George G. KennedyAgronomy2021, 11(11), 2208; https://doi.org/10.3390/agronomy11112208Received: 20 September 2021 / Revised: 24 October 2021 / Accepted: 29 October 2021 / Published: 30 October 2021(This article belongs to the Special Issue Crop Pest Management Based on Ecological Principles)
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Abstract

Ecological engineering (EE) involves the design and management of human systems based on ecological principles to maximize ecosystem services and minimize external inputs. Pest management strategies have been developed but farmer adoption is lacking and unsustainable. EE practices need to be socially acceptable and it requires shifts in social norms of rice farmers. In many countries where pesticides are being marketed as “fast moving consumer goods” (FMCG) it is a big challenge to shift farmers’ loss-averse attitudes. Reforms in pesticide marketing policies are required. An entertainment education TV series was able to reach wider audience to improve farmers’ ecological literacy, shifting beliefs and practices. To sustain adoption of ecologically based practices organizational structures, incentives systems and communication strategies to support the new norms and practices are needed. View Full-TextKeywords: ecological engineering; entertainment-education; adoption; sustainability; rice insect pest management; rice farmers; pesticide marketing; policy reform; ecosystem services▼ Show Figures

Figure 1This is an open access article distributed under the Creative Commons Attribution License which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited

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