Keywords: institutional factors of agricultural technology extension
Classification China Library Classification S43
Agricultural pest control is an important link to ensure stable and high agricultural production. However, the extensive use of chemical pesticides in the prevention and control process has caused environmental pollution and ecological damage, which directly harms human health. Therefore, it is particularly important to study and adopt technical measures for prevention and control that take into account both economic benefits and environmental benefits. 1993- 1996 With the assistance of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), a pilot project of integrated pest management (IPM) was established in Tianmen City, Hubei Province, to study non-chemical and efficient prevention and control measures for environmental safety, and to develop a cotton IPM technology system suitable for the main cotton producing areas in China. Through the description of IPM project and its technology promotion process, this report discusses the feasibility of technological change caused by environmental pressure, as well as the related problems of institutional factors affecting technological change, and puts forward policy suggestions to solve the problems.
1 background
Tianmen City, Hubei Province has a total area of 2260km2 and a population of 1.67 million. This city is located in the main cotton-producing area in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River in China. At present, the total output of cotton ranks first in the country in terms of counties and cities, and cotton production and textile industry with cotton as raw materials play an important role in the economic development of this city.
The prevention and control of cotton diseases and insect pests in Tianmen City began to use pesticides gradually in 1950s and 1960s. Since the 1980s, cotton diseases and insect pests have become more and more serious, the use of chemical pesticides has been increasing, and the varieties have been constantly updated. Chemical control methods bring three problems. First, the failure of control is often caused by the drug resistance of pests themselves, and they are caught in a vicious circle of "pest harm-chemical control-pest harm aggravation"; Second, the increase of prevention and control costs makes the production cost rise continuously; Third, the degree of pesticide pollution is increasing. In the history of cotton planting in this city, the prevention and control technologies to reduce pesticide pollution have been continuously studied. In the 1970s, due to the excessive use of pesticides (mainly organophosphorus and organochlorine), residents in this city generally suffered from liver diseases and eye diseases. During the recruitment period from 65438 to 0975, there was no qualified pilot in the city. 1976, Tianmen city made up its mind to carry out biological control, invented, produced and used biological pesticide "72 16" on a large scale, and even banned the use of chemical pesticides, which led to a great reduction in cotton production in 1978. At the end of 1978, Tianmen completely overthrew the biological control technology and changed to chemical control. In the 1980s, China's plant protection system put forward the guiding ideology of "prevention first, comprehensive control". Tianmen City began to adjust its control ideas from 1985, explored comprehensive control technologies, and gradually explored a series of non-chemical control methods such as agricultural control, biological control and physical control.
The implementation of IPM project in Tianmen City has played an important role in promoting the research and development of comprehensive management technology. IPM is called Integrated Pest Management, which translates into Integrated Pest Control in Chinese. The goal of integrated pest control technology is to give consideration to both economic benefits and ecological environment benefits, one is to control and reduce the harm of pests and diseases, the other is to reduce the cost of prevention and control, and the third is to protect the ecological environment. It can be seen that IPM project is a technological change caused by environmental pressure, which is different from that caused by land and population pressure in the past.
The contents of the project implementation are as follows: (1) establish the basic point of field application research and carry out basic investigation; ② Carry out on-site demonstration and cotton farmer training at the base. Tianmen City has established a farmer field training school, and opened a farmer teacher class (TOT) and a farmer training class (FFS). ③ Carry out the information exchange of cotton IPM technology, establish a computer database, summarize the survey results, and make statistical analysis, so as to provide a basis for designing IPM countermeasures and lay a foundation for popularizing cotton IPM technology in a large area.
2 IPM project effect evaluation and existing problems
During the implementation of the project (1993 ~ 1996), Tianmen municipal government and agricultural department attached great importance to IPM project, and set up a project coordination team headed by a deputy mayor to directly lead the project implementation. A farmer field training school was established, an experimental area was set up according to the requirements of the project implementation plan, field investigation and training activities were carried out, and various tasks of the project were completed as planned.
IPM project should not only research and develop the technical system of integrated cotton control, but also pay attention to the large-scale popularization of this technology. Therefore, the implementation of the project includes two aspects: compared with the concept and practice of integrated control of plant protection system in China, IPM project has obvious characteristics in technology and operation. First, it has a strong environmental protection orientation, and technically emphasizes promoting the ecological balance of cotton fields, reducing the use of chemical pesticides, and making full use of natural enemies of pests to suppress and alleviate pests; Second, it has the orientation of decentralized decision-making (or farmers' decision-making). In field planting, the micro-ecosystem of each field is different, and the degree of pests and the ratio of benefits to pests are also different. Therefore, control measures should be determined according to the specific situation, and "one size fits all" cannot be done. Considering that farmers are the main body of rural micro-economy, farmers are directly engaged in agricultural production, dealing with land all day, and know the situation of their own farmland best, so they deny the existing guiding ideology of unified prevention and control in Tianmen plant protection system and emphasize the decision-making at the peasant level. There is a causal relationship between the above two characteristics. In order to fully grasp the benefit ratio of specific fields and promote the ecological balance of cotton fields, we must adhere to the guiding ideology of "giving priority to agriculture and decentralized decision-making". If we do not implement decentralized decision-making and still adhere to unified defense, it will be difficult to adapt to local conditions. A "one size fits all" approach will often destroy the ecological balance of cotton fields.
2. 1 technical level effect evaluation
① Establish the concept of environmental protection and ecological balance in pest control, so that agricultural departments and local farmers can fully realize the necessity and feasibility of integrated control; Through research and training, the technical knowledge and prevention level of agricultural departments and local farmers have been significantly improved; (3) A set of cotton pest control technology system suitable for Hubei cotton region was established. The main content is to take cotton as the center and promote the ecological balance of cotton field as the premise, and implement various technical measures in stages according to the cotton growth period; ④ Establish farmers' field training schools. Different from the previous training methods of domestic agricultural technology departments, IPM project has its own unique training methods, focusing on field training, so that students can master cotton IPM knowledge through field investigation and experiments. Pay attention to the participation of students, and the training form is more vivid and effective. The students in the farmers' teacher class will organize a training for local farmers after each training. By establishing training schools and carrying out training activities, agricultural technology departments have mastered the effective methods of training farmers, and this training activity has formed many branches in the local area and continued circularly.
The implementation of IPM project has achieved good results at the technical level. Through investigation, experiment and demonstration, a series of comprehensive pest management technical measures suitable for the main cotton-producing areas in Jianghan Plain were formed, which enriched and improved the contents and specific measures of "prevention first and comprehensive management".
2.2 Effect evaluation at the business level
Compared with the good results achieved at the technical level, the operational level has not achieved the expected results. Although some technical measures of IPM project have been adopted in large-scale prevention and control, decision-making has not been decentralized according to local conditions, and a "one size fits all" approach is still adopted in prevention and control. Although the trainees have improved their control techniques and skills, they are limited by the technical measures of "unified control" when applying IPM knowledge and technical measures to their own cotton fields. It can be said that the implementation of IPM project did not convince local officials and agricultural departments to change the method of "unified prevention and control".
Because IPM projects are closely related in technology and operation, if decentralized decision-making is not adopted in operation, the technical effect will be reduced. Therefore, the key problem lies in the contradiction between the current control system and IPM technology system. IPM technology can not be effectively implemented in the current control system, and the introduction and promotion of new technologies are affected by institutional factors.
3 Agricultural control decision makers and control systems: the crux of the problem and its analysis
Before the implementation of IPM project, CABI judged the current situation of agricultural prevention and control in China. Under the current household contract responsibility system in China, the land is managed by families, so farmers play a decisive role in agricultural prevention and control, that is, scattered farmers with the right to contract the management of land are the decision makers of agricultural prevention and control. Integrated control technology system is based on decentralized decision. Under this premise, it is feasible and necessary to train the farmers who have the decision-making power of prevention and control, so that they can master comprehensive prevention and control technologies to reduce agricultural pollution and maintain ecological balance.
However, at present, Tianmen City has established a highly centralized agricultural prevention and control system on the basis of decentralized farmers, and all prevention and control measures are unified. If this centralized prevention and control system is not perfected, it will be difficult for IPM projects to operate effectively and comprehensive prevention and control technical measures to achieve good results. At the same time, the goal of IPM project-reducing agricultural pollution and improving ecological environment will be difficult to achieve.
The investigation shows that there are two main factors in the establishment of centralized control system, one is due to the characteristics of small-scale dispersion of farmers, and the other is due to the characteristics of pests.
Tianmen City, like most areas in China, has a small scale of farmers, with an average arable land area of less than 0.5hm2(7.5 mu), scattered on 3-4 plots (the size of a plot ranges from tens to hundreds of mu). Each farmer does not cultivate a piece of land independently, but occupies a part of it. In a plot, several or even a dozen farmers work together, which makes the plot a plot. This small-scale decentralized feature of farmers has shifted the decision-making power of agricultural prevention and control to local cadres. Another factor that promotes centralized control decision-making is the characteristics of pests. At present, one of the main pests in cotton producing areas in Tianmen City is Helicoverpa armigera, which is explosive, food-loving and migratory. It is impossible to control the harm of pests to cotton crops in a short time with high intensity and large area without unified control.
The above two factors determine that it is necessary to establish a centralized prevention and control system with high mobilization ability in Tianmen City (and some parts of China). At the same time, the current agricultural production management system in China is the local administrative leadership, especially the leaders at the county and city levels have a high responsibility for local agricultural production, and the higher-level government has formulated quantitative tasks and strict reward and punishment measures. Therefore, the prevention and control system is dominated by counties and cities, that is, the agricultural administrative officials of counties and cities are the decision makers of agricultural prevention and control. An effective prevention and control system centered on the deputy mayor in charge of agriculture, including organization and mobilization system, technical guidance, pest forecast, consultation system and material supply system, has been formed. Organization and mobilization system refers to government officials and village cadres at the city and township levels, who are responsible for mobilizing local manpower and material resources for prevention and control, as well as coordinating and directing technical guidance and material supply departments at the same level; The technical system is mainly the agricultural department and its subordinate plant protection system, including county and city agricultural bureaus, township-level agricultural extension stations and village-level agricultural technicians; The material supply system refers to the supply and marketing cooperative system, which has a supply and marketing cooperative at the city level, subordinate production material companies, and a sales department of the supply and marketing cooperative at the township level, responsible for preventing and controlling the supply of materials.
The above centralized and unified prevention and control system was established under the pressure of pursuing output. Top-down yield pressure has played a great role in improving the supply of agricultural products and solving the population pressure, but it is difficult to give consideration to the long-term development of agriculture and social benefits because it often pursues short-term benefits.
Due to the pursuit of output, we have adopted a more cautious attitude when implementing any comprehensive prevention and control measures. In Tianmen City, from 1976 to 1978, biological control was once the main method, but it was later rejected because it was difficult to effectively control pests and diseases by biological control, and the main government officials decided which pesticide to use each year. The reason why biological pesticide Bt preparation is difficult to be popularized in a large area is also because the control system is worried about its effectiveness in inhibiting pests.
Interest groups in the sales of chemical pesticides are also a factor worthy of consideration. Chemical pesticides are the exclusive agricultural means of production. The technical guidance and service system (agricultural department) is responsible for the promotion and sales of new pesticides, and the material supply system is responsible for the sales of conventional pesticides. The quota ratio of the two systems (stipulated in government documents) is 15% and 85% respectively. At present, the two systems have not found any dissatisfaction with the promotion of IPM technology, but if the large-scale promotion of IPM technology leads to a sharp drop in the sales of chemical pesticides and damages the interests of the two systems, it will inevitably lead to a strong reaction.
The survey shows that local government officials are also concerned about the environmental situation in this area and have a certain understanding of the environmental pollution caused by pest control. But its main attention is still on output. There are two reasons. On the one hand, it is difficult to know exactly the degree of agricultural pollution caused by pesticide application, the proportion and share of agricultural pollution in the whole environmental pollution, and the ways through which agricultural pollution affects and destroys the ecosystem and ultimately threatens human survival. On the other hand, the main pressure of government officials in charge of agricultural production comes from the output of agricultural products. Reducing agricultural pollution and protecting the environment are not included in the post responsibility and performance evaluation of these officials.
The decision-makers of agricultural prevention and control are government officials at all levels, and the decision-making process is highly centralized, and the prevention and control measures are uniformly implemented. Therefore, the decentralized decision-making operation mode of IPM project is difficult to implement in Tianmen City. It can be seen that institutional factors are one of the main factors affecting technological change.
4 Countermeasures and policy suggestions to solve the problem
The four-year pilot project of IPM in Tianmen City, Hubei Province has come to an end, and the project work has also made great progress. Considering that the purpose of this project is to popularize the application of cotton IPM technology system in the main cotton-producing areas in China, we should sum up the successful experience in project implementation and put forward some policy suggestions for improvement.
The implementation of IPM project in Tianmen city shows that: ① the technological change caused by environmental pressure is feasible on the premise of giving consideration to economic and ecological benefits; The problem worthy of attention is that the operation mode of IPM technology system brings the problem of system selection of prevention and control system. The main problem lies in the contradiction between decentralized decision-making orientation and unified prevention and control system. This is related to whether IPM technical measures associated with decentralized decision-making operation mode can exert the best control effect.
For this problem, it is not the only choice to simply deny another aspect with one aspect. Institutional evolution is a long-term process, and new technologies may promote institutional change to a certain extent in a suitable way at a certain time in the process of popularization and application. Not only the original institutional arrangement needs to be changed and adjusted, but also the new technology itself must be improved and adjusted to some extent in the implementation process.
During the implementation of IPM project, we should not only research and develop the technical system suitable for local conditions, but also explore the appropriate operation mode:
(1) Considering that the decision-makers of agricultural prevention and control in Tianmen City (and most major cotton-producing areas in China) are mainly local officials and agricultural departments, the focus of technical training should also be agricultural officials at all levels of government and technicians in agricultural departments.
(2) The relevant technical measures are often implemented uniformly within the administrative region under the organization and mobilization of a certain level of government, so the technology should be adjusted accordingly, and technical measures suitable for large-scale implementation should be studied and formulated.
(3) As the agricultural department and its subordinate plant protection system are responsible for providing the occurrence and trend of plant diseases and insect pests to the government at the corresponding level, and proposing prevention and control schemes, the material and capital investment of the project should strengthen the technical equipment and personnel training of the plant protection system.
In order to play the control role of IPM technology system more effectively, the domestic agricultural management system and agricultural control system can be improved and adjusted in the following aspects:
(1) The goal of protecting the environment and improving the ecological environment should be included in the post responsibility and performance appraisal of local government officials and agricultural departments. Create an external environment conducive to the popularization and application of IPM technology system and other sustainable agricultural technologies. For example, promote eco-agriculture and sustainable agricultural development model; Local environmental protection departments pay attention to agricultural pollution and regularly publish ecological environment monitoring data; Encourage the public to participate in the discussion of environmental issues and express their wishes and requirements for improving the ecological environment.
(2) The highly centralized and unified agricultural control system is relatively decentralized. For example, choose an intermediate level between centralized and unified prevention and control at the county level and decentralized decision-making by farmers, delegate the decision-making power of agricultural prevention and control at the county level to the township level, and delegate it to the village level conditionally. Professional guidance, technical training, supervision and inspection of prevention and control work are mainly carried out at the county and city level, while prevention and control measures are determined at the township level according to the occurrence and trend of pests and diseases in the region, forming a more flexible and effective decision-making process.
(3) At present, although it is difficult for farmers to become decision makers of agricultural prevention and control, they can become active participants first. It is necessary to establish a forecasting system of pests and diseases with farmers' participation, fully grasp the occurrence of pests and diseases, and accurately reflect the differences of microecosystems in different regions of large cotton fields. By encouraging farmers to participate in the pest forecasting system, farmers' awareness and technical level of comprehensive prevention and control will be improved, and effective channels will be established to express farmers' opinions and suggestions on pest control measures.