The Evolutionary Changes in Rice-crop Farming: Integrated Pest Management in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam

From the time the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) Programme—initiated by the FAO— was introduced in Indonesia in early 1990 and other Asian countries afterwards, a gradual change in IPM farmers ’ knowledge, practices, empowerment, and dignity has been occurring. In line with the aims of the program to introduce knowledge, stimulate farmers ’ own curiosity, and improve their decision making ability, the implication of this program for farmers ’ knowl-edge and farming practices has been significantly different from the Green Revolution pro-gram and other technological interventions in crop farming. An “evolutionary ” or gradual change rather than a “revolutionary ” one or sudden change is going on among the IPM farm-ers in several countries in Southeast Asia. Not only are their technical understandings of grow-ing crops enriched and modified, but also their creativity, dignity, and self-confidence are enhanced. Nevertheless, knowledge enrichment, production, implementation, and transmis-sion are not simple processes. They are embedded in the local settings and within the course of the agricultural development and history in each locale. Some similarities and many varia-tions are found in different countries in Southeast Asia. This paper examines these phenomena by looking at the evolutionary changes found in IPM farmers ’ knowledge and practices in rice-crop farming in Indonesia, Cambodia, and Vietnam