One effective method of making farmers readily accept new ideas is to involve them in experiments
of their own with the guidance of experts.

Just like what the Farmer-Scientists Training Program (FSTP) has been doing since 1994, first in Cebu and then expanding to several other provinces like Bohol, Siquijor, Negros Oriental, Leyte, Mindoro and Compostela Valley in Mindanao.

In this project which was started by Dr. Romulo G. Davide in 1994, the farmers attend lectures conducted by experts from Los Banos and other institutions, and they also conduct experiments in a demo farm that they continue to observe throughout the growing season. So they actually see the results of the technology applied. Therefore, they don’t need further convincing. They also do the experiments in their own farms.

In the case of IPM or integrated pest management, for instance, they have seen with their own eyes that by detasseling a number of rows of corn, the incidence of corn earworm damage could be greatly reduced and therefore yield is improved. Spraying pesticide against the pest is not necessary so they also save money this way.

The technique taught by the Los Banos experts is simple enough. For every four rows of corn, the first three rows are detasseled 40 to 45 days from planting. This means their flowers are cut off before they open. The fourth row is undetasseled. How will this reduce earworm incidence? Well, the adult of the earworm is a flying insect that lays its eggs on the flowers of the corn plants. The eggs usually fall on the silk of the young ears below. When the egg hatches, the larva or worm will get inside the young ear and will eat part of the ear. The fourth row is not detasseled so that it will serve as the source of pollen to pollinate the detasseled corn plants.

In a farmer’s experiment involving UP Var 4 variety of white corn, one farmer in Liloan, Cebu harvested 2.21 tons per hectare from the detasseled corn compared to only 1.33 tons from the plants not detasseled.

In another farmer-scientist’s experiment in Cebu City, different seeding rates was done. It was found that one seed per hill gave the highest yield of 7.80 tons per hectare, followed by 2 seeds per hill with 6.6 tons per hectare. The 5-seed per hill gave only 3.4 tons per hectare.

Many other experiments by farmers are being undertaken with the guidance of the Los Banos and other experts. In most cases, the farmers readily accept the new technologies because they can see that the techniques really work right in their own farms.