Dual indicator set for sustainable crop protection: do's and don'ts

Vertaalde titel van de bijdrage: Tweeledige indicatorset voor duurzame gewasbescherming: doen of niet doen?

Hilde Wustenberghs, Ilse Delcour, Karoline D'Haene, Ludwig Lauwers, Fleur Marchand, Walter Steurbaut, Pieter Spanoghe

Onderzoeksoutput: Bijdrage aan tijdschriftConferentieartikel in een tijdschrift

Uittreksel

Using a participatory approach, a conceptual framework for on-farm sustainable crop protection practices was created. Making this framework operational resulted in a dual indicator set that pairs a pesticide impact assessment system (PIAS) with a farm inquiry. The PIAS measures the risk for human health and the environment exerted by chemical crop protection. The inquiry reveals the farmers’ response to this risk, both in terms of the actions they undertake and their knowledge, awareness and attitude (Wustenberghs et al., 2011).
This paper explores the possibilities for use and misuse of such an indicator set. The indicator set was designed to be implemented in small discussion groups, with farmers from the same agricultural or horticultural sector, coached by an advisor. Within these groups the farmers’ progress towards sustainability is monitored and their learning process fostered. In this context we foresee implementation of the indicator set in four different tiers, ranging from a ‘quick and dirty’ to a ‘full’ farm scan, each representing increased potential for monitoring and social learning.
Even though the above implementation of sustainability monitoring instruments is appreciated by the agricultural sector, questions also arise concerning other types of implementation. Could the proposed indicator set for instance also be used without coaching, in an individual assessment process? Could predictions be made about the effects of changing management practices? Could the dual indicator set in contrast with current practice be used in large groups? Could it be institutionalised and used to score the sustainability of all farms in a region? Could it thus form a basis for rewarding or charging the farms on either end of the spectrum? Could it be used for labelling food as issued from ‘sustainable production practices’?
This paper explores the use possibilities of our dual indicator set in each of these cases and explains why some cases would imply misuses.
Vertaalde titel van de bijdrageTweeledige indicatorset voor duurzame gewasbescherming: doen of niet doen?
Oorspronkelijke taalEngels
TijdschriftCommunications in Agricultural and Applied Biological Sciences
Volume77
Exemplaarnummer4
Pagina's (van-tot)401-405
Aantal pagina’s5
ISSN1379-1176
PublicatiestatusGepubliceerd - mrt.-2013
Evenement64th International Symposium on Crop Protection (2012) - Gent, België
Duur: 22-mei-201222-mei-2012
http://www.iscp.ugent.be/

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