Vinh Long, Vietnam -- Soap opera scriptwriters are unlikely tutors on farm management. In Vietnam and Laos, however, they are teaming up with scientists to produce two radio dramas to communicate the environment-friendly practice of integrated pest management (IPM) to rice farmers.  The two Farm IPM Radio programs will premier this year in Vinh Long, Vietnam, on 7 July and in Vientiane, Laos, on 22 July. Each will be broadcast twice weekly over the course of a year.  The serials are set in typical rice-growing households in Vietnam and Laos, detailing the family members’ daily chores, frustrations, joys, relationships and farming problems -- with IPM principles woven seamlessly into each of the 104 episodes. Scientists and creative artists have worked closely together to develop simple stories illuminating such topics as biological pest control, the behavior of pests’ natural enemies, and the toxic effects of pesticides on non-target animals, water quality and human health.  IPM exploits crops’ natural defenses, such as predators of insect pests, and avoids inappropriate crop management that can have dire results. Injudiciously applied pesticides endanger farmers, the environment and -- by killing rice-pest predators more effectively than the pests themselves -- even the crops they are intended to protect.  The project, initiated by International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) entomologist K.L. Heong in 2003 and supported by the Rockefeller Foundation, has over the last 12 months analyzed the potential audience, identified the typical farm family, developed characters and storylines that they can identify with, developed scripts and recorded them. Titled Chuyen Que Minh (or My Home Land), the Vietnamese soap opera is be based on the family of a certain Mr. Hai, an 80-year-old lifelong resident of Vinh Long. In Laos, the soap is called Ban Na Pha Suk (or The Peasants’ Village) and is based on a family living outside Vientiane.   Nguyen Huu Huan, vice director general of Vietnam’s Plant Protection Department, reported that an on-the-ground operation to create radio drama clubs will reinforce the broadcast effort. “Radio has extensive reach in the rural areas, and reach of TV is growing,” said the project’s Vietnam team leader. “We hope to develop a similar TV drama series from this.”   Other popular-media projects led by Dr. Heong have enjoyed great success in Vietnam. The No Early Insecticide Spray mass-communication initiative of 1994-99 used posters, leaflets, and TV and radio dramas to inform farmers of the benefits of delaying and reducing pesticide applications. So does the follow-on Three Reductions (Ba Giam Ba Tang) initiative through which Dr. Heong and his collaborators have since 2003 additionally encouraged farmers to use fertilizer and seed at lower, optimal rates. The two initiatives have seen the average number of insecticide applications in the project area fall from more than 3 sprays per crop to less than 1, and nitrogen fertilizer rates halved, earning the partners three major environmental awards.  For more information on the new radio dramas, visit www.irri.org/radio.    # # #  The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) is the world’s leading rice research and training center. Based in the Philippines and with offices in 10 other Asian countries, it is an autonomous, nonprofit institution focused on improving the well-being of present and future generations of rice farmers and consumers, particularly those with low incomes, while preserving natural resources. IRRI is one of 15 centers funded through the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), an association of public and private donor agencies. Please visit the Web sites of the CGIAR (www.cgiar.org) or Future Harvest Foundation (www.futureharvest.org), a nonprofit organization that builds awareness and supports food and environmental research.   # # #  For information, contact Duncan Macintosh, IRRI, DAPO Box 7777, Metro Manila, Philippines; tel +63-2-580-5600; fax: +63-2-580-5699; email 
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