FAO and USAID provided agricultural machinery to farmer field schools in Abkhazia
Sukhum. July 17 Apsnypress. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) and the Action Against Hunger (AAH), within the framework of the USAID-funded FAO project “Implementing Integrated Pest Management through Farmer Field Schools (FFS) in Abkhazia” agricultural equipment and tools worth over USD 70,000 to leading farmers - owners of 18 FFS demonstration plots in Abkhazia. The delivery includes a variety of technical equipment such as a walk-behind tractor, petrol trimmer, pruning shears and other tools necessary for the effective use of advanced farming methods in the FFS demonstration plots.
Help focuses on best practices in crop production and plant protection
"Agricultural equipment and tools are donated to farmers to set up demonstration plots where they will train other farmers, members of farmer field schools in new crop management techniques, with a focus on Integrated Plant Protection (IPM). Lead farmers will also be able to provide equipment and tools to their field school members to test integrated plant protection techniques in their gardens, ” the international organization said in a press release.
“We hope that the IPM methods and practices developed during the Field Days will be widely applied by farmers in Abkhazia and they will be able to better protect their crops from pests such as brown marble bug,” said Kyyal Arabaeva, project manager FAO.
Farmer Field Schools are an interactive, participatory learning tool delivered through learning by doing. Demonstration fields are the core of the project, where FFS members meet to identify problems, find solutions and test specific methods based on training programs developed by international experts and the FAO project team. Trainings are conducted by leading farmers with the support of senior instructors and international FAO consultants. Currently, within the framework of the above project, there are 18 Farmer Field Schools in 6 districts.
Under this project, launched in 2019, FAO and USAID aim to minimize the negative impact of pests on agricultural production and reduce the risks associated with inappropriate pesticide use by adopting good agricultural practices, integrated plant protection and agricultural practices with taking into account climatic factors.
