DUSHANBE (TCA) — The three day Regional Workshop on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) is taking place on 15-17 August in the Tajik capital, Dushanbe, to review the current situation on plant protection in the region and to enhance the capacity of national experts on application of modern techniques, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN in Tajikistan said.
The workshop allows identifying the needs and opportunities on use of efficient plant protection measures through adoption and promotion of IPM through development and implementation of national strategies. The workshop is organized within this technical assistance of FAO and in collaboration with the Tajik Ministry of Agriculture.
Senior plant protection specialists from the Ministries of Agriculture of Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Turkey, Turkmenistan, Ukraine and Uzbekistan are taking part in the workshop, to present the status on plant protection and achievements on application of IPM in priority crops. The workshop participants will discuss the emerging problems and barriers on further promotion of IPM in home countries and find out the solutions.
“We hope that this event will have strong impact on upscaling the outputs of the project ‘Support to promote and implement integrated pest management (IPM) strategies for priority arable crops and fruits in Tajikistan’. The IPM helps to reduce damages caused by disease and save yield through application of environmentally sound methods that allows to increase farmers’ income followed by improved food security and livelihoods,” said Hafiz Muminjanov, FAO Plant Production and Protection Officer.
Tajikistan is an agrarian country and crop production plays an important role in the national economy. However, most farmers do not have sufficient knowledge on diseases and pests, modern crop protection techniques and safe use of pesticides. FAO is assisting in strengthening the capacity of the National Plant Protection Organization and strengthening national frameworks on pesticide management and environmentally friendly crop protection methods. In this framework FAO is supporting to promote the implementation of IPM in the country.
