Assessing the agroecological status of a farm: a principle-based assessment tool for farmers.

2020/10/24

Nicholls C.I., Altieri M.A., Kobayashi, M., Tamura, N., McGreevy, S. , Hitaka, K.

Agro Sur

48/ 2, 29-41

研究論文（学術雑誌）

Although there are many methodologies available to assess agroecosystem performance (sustainability, resilience, soil quality and plant health, biodiversity levels, etc.), there is still a need to develop a methodology to be used at the field level by researchers and farmers to assess if surveyed farming systems are or not based on agroecological principles. Developing such practical tool is key to determine if farmers in transition are on the right agroecological path. To fulfill this need for a farm-level assessment, a methodological tool was developed and tested with the participation of nine Japanese farmers in three prefectures (Kyoto, Hiroshima and Hyogo). The methodology consists of two parts. The first is a simple and rapid assessment survey based on the grading of eight indicators that match practices used by farmers with agroecological principles. The second part uses the same indicators to define a “threshold level”, below which it is estimated that a farm system is not yet “agroecologically based.” This process enables farmers to reflect and use the tool as a guide to adopt or adjust their practices based on agroecology principles, by changing farm design and management, in order to further optimize the performance of their agroecosystems.

Ecological risks of insecticide contamination in water and sediment around off-farm irrigated rice paddy fields.

2019/05/07

Furihata, S., A. Kasai, K. Hidaka*, M. Ikegami, H. Ohnishi, K. Goka

Environmental Pollution

251, 628-638

研究論文（学術雑誌）

The ecological impacts of insecticides in aquatic areas around agricultural lands have long been ignored
in the regulation scheme of pesticides in Japan. Upon the scheme, the predicted concentration of an
insecticide in the main stream of a river is the only parameter considered, suggesting that the ecological
impacts of insecticides on local biodiversity around agricultural fields are underestimated. To fill this
knowledge gap, we measured insecticide concentrations in surface water and sediment in aquatic areas
around paddy fields at 35 locations across Japan. Among the 18 insecticides considered, 15 were detected
somewhere in Japan and their concentrations were generally higher in the southwestern region in Japan
(e.g. Hiroshima, Saga, or Kagoshima prefectures). Most insecticides were accumulated at higher concentrations
in sediment than in surface water, consistent with previous studies. We also detected insecticides
applied to nursery boxes at high concentrations in surrounding aquatic areas, although such
application is generally considered to have low environmental risks. In addition, derivatives of fipronil,
which have similar toxicity as that of fipronil, were often detected in sediment at higher concentrations
than fipronil itself. Concentrations of dinotefuran in water at two sampling points were higher than the
5% hazardous concentration (HC5), indicating a possibility of a risk of acute toxicity to aquatic organisms.
Our findings indicate that ecological risk assessments of insecticides and their derivatives should be
expanded to include concentrations in sediment and water around paddy fields as well.