Over 73% of farmers reduce pesticide use by following crop weather reports

In addition to reducing the use of pesticides, rice farmers in the West who follow agricultural weather reports also reduce the amount of fertilizer, reduce damage caused by weather risks, and contribute to increasing crop yields.

Mr. Le Thanh Tung - Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (right) receives technical products from representatives of the International Center for Tropical Agriculture - Photo: KHAC TAM

The above information was given by Mr. Le Thanh Tung - Deputy Director of the Department of Crop Production (Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development) at the seminar "Sharing and learning about building and disseminating information on climate services in agriculture in Vietnam", held on November 21, in Soc Trang .

Mr. Tung said that since 2019, the Department of Crop Production has coordinated with the International Center for Tropical Agriculture and many provinces in the Mekong Delta to pilot the construction of agricultural weather bulletins.

"From a pilot project in a few localities, the agricultural weather bulletin model has now been replicated in 13 provinces in the Mekong Delta region, contributing to state management of crop production and adaptation to climate change," Mr. Tung informed.

From weather forecasts provided by the Center for Hydrometeorology, the technical team collects agricultural data including agricultural officers, agricultural extension officers, and hydrometeorological experts to develop agricultural weather bulletins.

This newsletter is then disseminated to farmers through loudspeakers, posters, meetings, training sessions and agricultural application pages of state agencies; especially on Zalo groups.

According to Mr. Tung, in addition to providing weather forecast information, the agricultural weather bulletin also provides technical support, crop calendars and instructions for farmers to deal with risks, contributing to crop protection.

Currently, the agricultural weather bulletin has covered 714 communes in the West with 291,000 farmers benefiting.

The survey showed that 73-82% of rice farmers who followed the agricultural weather report reduced their use of pesticides, 63-86% reduced their use of fertilizers, 56-78% reduced damage due to weather risks, 44-85% increased crop yields and 58-63% improved product quality.

"In the 2024-2027 period, the agricultural weather bulletin will be improved and digitized to bring information to farmers as quickly and effectively as possible," said Mr. Tung.

Source: https://tuoitre.vn/tren-73-nong-dan-giam-su-dung-thuoc-nho-theo-doi-ban-tin-thoi-tiet-nong-vu-20241121104516281.htm