ABSTRACT
The introduction of non-formal education to study
the
ecosystem of
rice through discovery and experiential
learning approach give
birth to the Agro-Ecosystem Analysis (AESA). It is a tool to effectively manage
the rice ecosystem and integrate components of rice culture into a management
practices.
A research was piloted with 4
School Field School
(SFS) as replication and 5 small groups per SFS as treatments. School children
from respective 9 National High Schools of the 3 provinces, first year and
second year were considered as pilot
young researchers that were organized into
small group with five members per group and 25 members per SFS.
There were 3 studies conducted within 3 years with
1,421 high school students, remarkable number of teachers, parents benefited
from the project, first was the Crop Protection Trial (CPT), that had 5
treatments; Farmer Practice (FP), Zero Pesticide,(ZP), 1st 40 days without
Pesticide (1st 40 WOP), As the Need Arises (ANA) and Weekly Application of
Pesticide (WAP). The result was non
significant in its agronomic and yield.
However it has been found out that in the ROI, it was highly significant, ZP got
the highest ROI because of no pesticide inputs. The population dynamics of
biological organisms likewise proved that pesticide easily perished the
predators (NEs) which allowed the build up of the herbivores which would
eventually became pests. Thus young researchers concluded that rice production
is not pesticide dependent but rather pesticide dealers are dependents on rice
farmers. This result then recommends that free pesticide rice is healthy for the
community and environment.
Second was, the Integrated Nutrient Management
(INM) with five treatments; Farmers Practice (FP), RR-Soil Laboratory (LAB),
RR-STK, Leaf Color Chart (LCC) and 50% inorganic and 50% organic fertilizer
(50/50). In agronomic and yield data the result were generally significant and
highly significant respectively with LCC that got the highest treatment means,
while in ROI, it was highly significant with the 50/50 that which got the
highest return. Student participants claimed and recommended that inorganic
fertilizer can be substituted by locally produced organic fertilizer for
sustainable productivity and food security.
The 3rd was the compensation simulation study which
shows non significant both in height and tillers, this implied that the rice
plants attacked by defoliators and stemborers at the early stage can compensate
and recuperate the damage and can not affect the yield significantly. Thus young
researchers claimed that rice plants can tolerate foliage and tillers damage not
exceeding 70 days after transplanting or 90 days after sowing.
The IPPM-SFS or known as the lifelong learning
skills developing curriculum through discovery and experiential learning
approach have shown remarkable outputs on learning the applied science, math,
language, arts and values. It is highly recommended then that ecological
literacy must be put at the center of the formal or non formal education
processes which would eventually bringing the school children as lifelong
learners closer to a real world environment.
Keywords: Natural Enemies (NEs), Pests, Agro-Ecosystem Analysis
(AESA), Pesticide,IPPM, School Field School (SFS). Discovery Based Learning
Approach and Experiential Learning Process.
More abstracts about the Lifelong Learning System:Learner Centered School Field School