Learn about pest management approaches that work with the environment, that avoid the use of damaging chemicals and that provide a healthier outcome for nature and ourselves.

Traditionally, indigenous knowledge was used for agriculture, planting was done based on natural cycles, using local species. But today farmers are dependent on industrialized agricultural industries and their unchecked price fluctuations. Most seeds are hybrid or genetically modified, and as chemicals pesticides destroy beneficial soil microorganisms, their use increases dependency on chemical fertilizers. All of this is dramatically increasing the cost of food production. While farmer dependency increases, pest resistance and soil quality are increasingly undermined

A key aim of IPM is to reduce reliance on insecticides as the sole and primary means of pest control. IPM can improve farmer’ profitability while reducing environmental damage and limiting the risk of on-farm pesticide exposure. To control the pests, one needs to make a proper identification of the pests and most importantly know the pest’s biology so as a proper management strategy can be planned.

Topics Covered during the course include:

  • The principles of Integrated Pest Management
  • Monitoring crops for pest prevention
  • IPM cost benefit analysis
  • Natural solutions to various pest problems
  • Encouraging natural pest predators
  • Companion plants for pest control
  • Pest prevention with baits and traps
  • Making and using natural pesticide and fungicide sprays
  • How to use local resources for natural pest management
  • How to use the best possible combination of various techniques

ABOUT THE FACILITATOR:

Jackson Njiruh farmer and an organic farming specialist
Jackson Njiruh is a farmer and an organic farming specialist with over 5 years experience and has vast knowledge in ecological farm management. He studied Organic Agriculture at Kenya Institute of Organic Farming (KIOF) and Agri-Processing in Uganda. He later trained with real IPM as a farm manager for 2 years. Jackson has since been working with different organisations in East africa and has successfully managed a pilot project on dryland agri-ecological farming without use of any chemicals. In his free time, Jackson likes gardening and sharing his knowledge on holistic agriculture, with a special emphasis on IPM. His impact has been felt across the Kenyan farming media platforms such as Shamba Shape-Up on Citizen TV and Hela Mchangani on WTV. His rich knowledge in diseases and pest identification, controls and purely safe and healthy ways of managing your garden has always left participants in his training inspired, which is a great motivator for him.