Dimensiones del Estudio:

Exploratory Field Research

Exploratory field research on farmers’ pesticide use and management practices was conducted in the northwestern and central region of the MD. The addressed districts, Tam Nong and Cai Rang, of exploratory field research were proposed on the basis of the study objectives and the characteristics of these districts. Two exploratory research field trips took place in the Tam Nong and Cai Rang Districts on 6th _{and 9}th

of April 2008, respectively. In these districts, several areas were primarily surveyed to obtain a general overview of farming pattern. After completion of exploratory field research, only one study site per district was selected.

Questionnaire and Household Interviews

A household questionnaire was compiled aiming to record information on pesticide use and management practices and other farming activities as well. The questionnaire was structured into two parts: local farmers’ profile and information on pesticide use and management. The former section included general information such as age of respondents, residential time, farming experience and family size. The later section focused on farmers’ basic knowledge, attitude, concerns and practices on pesticide use and management. A questionnaire draft was developed in English and was pre-tested in several random household interviews. The questionnaire was then modified, as shown in Annex 1, and translated into Vietnamese for official interviews.

The interviews were implemented by the author and his assistants who were trained in advanced on how to conduct interviews. Normally, the interview process began with a general introduction, and the purpose of the interview was then explained to

the interviewee. The respondents were randomly selected households of which owners did not own fields at the two selected study sites, but lived within the two selected districts. Collected information was recorded, coded and analyzed with Excel.

A draft questionnaire was pre-tested with 11 farmers in Cai Rang District in April 2008. The questionnaire was then adjusted, adding several new questions which focused on pesticide application practices. In June 2008, the revised questionnaire was used during the interview process with 35 households in Cai Rang District. Interviews were conducted twice in Tam Nong District in July 2008 and October 2009 with 40 farmer households in total being interviewed. The respondents were randomly selected beyond the farmers who owned the fields at the two study sites.

In addition to the questionnaire used for household interviews, field owners located at the two study sites were interviewed and given a form to fill in information relating to their pesticide use. This form includes the time of pesticide application, the names of used pesticide and dose. These farmers were frequently reminded to fill in the form, and it was collected at the end of each cropping season. Moreover, several pesticide application events were recorded in the form providing information for possible peak concentrations of pesticide residues in water during monitoring campaigns.

Group Interview

Participatory rural appraisals (PRA), the second interview method, were only conducted with farmers who owned fields at the two study sites. These were used to obtain information on land use status, crop rotation and water management. Pesticide use practices were also further understood through this method. Group interviews consisting of approximately seven farmers per group were facilitated by the author. The meeting was started with general introductions of the members, cultivation and commercial issues concerning rice, vegetables and pesticides. Farmers were then asked to speak about their land use, crop rotation and water management practices. The interview results were documented on a paper sheet in the field and then analyzed with Excel.

Two PRAs were organized with participation of 13 farmers at Ba Lang, who farmed 15 fields at the study site. The first meeting was conducted with seven farmers in September 2008, and the second one consisted of six farmers in December 2008. At An Long, one meeting with eight farmers was organized in December 2008. These farmers owned 10 rice fields and one of these farmers worked in two other fields owned by a relative. One land owning farmer did not attend the meeting but was personally interviewed afterward. Through the PRAs, the following was completed: study site sketch maps were drawn; boundaries of each field were marked, cropping calendar was recorded at each field for the winter - spring, spring - summer and summer - autumn crop of 2008 and 2009, water management practices were recorded, pesticide use data (type, application time, dose) was collected.

3.2.2 Study Areas

Based on research objectives, two districts of the MD were selected as study areas. Tam Nong District of Dong Thap Province is located in the northwestern part of the Delta and upstream of the Mekong River, in Vietnam. Cai Rang District of Can Tho City is located in the central part of the MD. Both districts are characterized with tropical semi equatorial climate of the Mekong Delta. The general characteristics of the two districts are summarized in Table 3.2. For each district, a study site was defined to further explore pesticide use, crop rotation, land use and water management practices as illustrated in Figure 3.2. Moreover, a pesticide residue monitoring campaign was set up at these two study sites.

Figure 3.2: Locations of the two representative research sites in the MeKong Delta, Vietnam (Source: Map from DLR, 2008, adapted.)

N

Study site in An Long Commune Tam Nong District Dong Thap Province

Study site in Ba Lang Ward Cai Rang District Can Tho City

Tam Nong District

Tam Nong District is typically characterized with intensive paddy rice cultivated twice per year which is this district’s most important crop. The winter - spring crop is cultivated from November/December until March/April, and the summer - autumn crop is cultivated from March/April to July/August. On average, the annual crop yield is 5.5 tons/ha. The average yield of the winter - spring crop is always higher than that of the summer - autumn crop. Some kind of pests or diseases often occurred in rice cultivation such as brown planthopper, leaffolder, rice grassy stunt or rice blast.

Table 3.2: Summary of general characteristics of two districts, in 2008

Cai Rang Tam Nong

Total area of district (ha) Population size (people) Agricultural area (ha) Area of rice cultivation (ha) Productivity of paddy rice (ton/ha) Area of fruit trees (ha)

6,900 80,781 4,722 2,392 4.2 1770 47,430 101,621 31,845 30,185 6.2 88

(Source: Statistical year books, 2008)

Figure 3.3: The An Long study site at various periods in 2008

Rice fields are irrigated via a canal system originating from the Mekong River. Annually, all fields are inundated during flood season. In the rainy season, flooding occurs from July until December as illustrated in Figure 3.3. Flooding is caused by the association of heavy local rainfall and large discharge originating from the upstream of the MeKong River. Water level inside fields can reach one meter or

(Source: Statistical year book of Can Tho city, 2008) 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 Area (ha)

Vegetables and other crops Paddy rice area

Perennial crops

Long was selected comprising a total area of approximately 8.5 hectares. It covered thirteen small parcels with an average production area of 0.6 hectares ranging from 0.1 to 1.4 hectares as shown in Figure 3.6.

Cai Rang District

Cai Rang District is a suburban area of Can Tho City and characterized with a mixed cultivation of paddy rice, vegetables and fruit trees. Although its agricultural production is seen as potential activity, its land use area has decreased rapidly. Agricultural land has been used for other purposes such as public infrastructures and homesteads (Chi et al., 2003; Thy et al., 2008). As revealed in Figure 3.4, the area used for rice cultivation has decreased by approximately 66% from 7110 ha in 2001 to 2392 ha in 2008. Rice can be grown in three cropping seasons per year: the winter - spring, spring - summer and summer - autumn crop. Annually, average rice yield was 4.3 tons/ha, and the average yield of the winter - spring crop was always higher compared to the two remaining cropping seasons. Vegetables are often rotated with rice in the same fields or grown separately on raised beds. Rice, vegetable fields and orchards are mixed together creating a diverse agricultural area as illustrated in Figure 3.5.

Figure 3.4: Changes of agricultural land use in Cai Rang District

Pests or common diseases such as leaffolder, brown planthopper, rice blast on rice, armyworms, diamondback moths on vegetables often occurred in this area. Irrigation water is supplied through a dense canal and natural river network of the Hau River and its tributary, the Can Tho River. This area is also affected by flooding during the rainy season, but flooding periods are shorter and flooding peak lower than in Tam

Nong District. The highest peak of flooding often occurs in October, and only rice fields are inundated during this period. In this district, the Ba Lang study site was selected, which covered an area of approximately 5 hectares including fields owned by 13 farmers.

Figure 3.5: Various farming patterns at the Ba Lang study site

3.3 Results and Discussions