Bringing Back the Fragrance to Jasmine

It is not uncommon to see children and women selling white garlands of flowers in the Philippines. The white jasmine, locally known as sampaguita provides income for many farmers and street-sellers and is a major peri-urban enterprise in the country. However, the industry has a darker side, including the dangerously high pesticide use against bud-borers. Finding solutions to this problem is one objective of CIP-UPWARD, (the International Potato Center's User's Perspective with Agricultural Research and Development) a network of scientists and development professionals aiming to increase the participation of farmers and other end users in research and development.

In an attempt to reduce pesticide usage, the UPWARD team and the University of the Philippines at Los Baños have introduced farmers to integrated pest management (IPM) using natural predators and pest-resistant cultivars. The results have been positive, with IPM enabling farmers to reduce pesticide applications, while significantly increasing their yields. In another development, SIUPA (the Strategic Initiative on Urban and Peri-Urban Agriculture) has initiated on-farm trials to test new varieties of sampaguita. Traditionally only one variety has been cultivated; now, a greater range of flower size and color is available, helping to boost market sales and bringing benefits not just to the growers, but to the garland makers and sellers as well.

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