In a village in Tulang Bawang, on the Indonesian island of Sumatra, 25 farmers have gathered in a rice field. They have their eyes to the ground, not planting or harvesting, but studying the ecosystem at their feet. They are learning to compare fields under conventional cultivation, using synthetic pesticides, with those under integrated pest manage-ment (ipm), which uses biological means to establish a balance between beneficial and harmful bugs. ipm usually performs better in terms of cost and yield. Fanners come away from their training with an understanding of a more sustainable and environmentally sound way of keeping their pests down.
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