Reducing Pesticides and Increasing Crop Diversification Offer Ecological and Economic Benefits for Farmers-A Case Study in Cambodian Rice Fields.

ABSTRACT: Rice production is often associated with high pesticide input. To improve farmers' practice, sustainable management approaches are urgently needed, such as ecological engineering (EE), which aims at enhancing beneficial arthropods while reducing pesticides. Here, we implemented and tested EE in Cambodian rice fields by comparing: (i) fields not treated with pesticides (control); (ii) fields not treated with pesticides but with non-rice crops planted in the surrounding (EE); and (iii) conventionally farmed fields using pesticides (CR). Using benefit-cost analysis, we compared the economic value of each treatment. The non-rice crops preferred by men and women farmers as well as farmers' willingness to implement EE were assessed using surveys. We sampled arthropod abundance and richness in ri

SUBMITTER: Sattler C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8004109 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Mar

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature