REDIELUZ
ISSN 2244-7334 / Depósito legal pp201102ZU3769 Vol. 14 N° 2 • Julio - Diciembre 2024: 108 - 117
Propuesta para el desarrollo de un modelo agroecológico-ecoeducativo para el manejo de insectos plaga en un asentamiento agrícola
1 Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC), Caracas, Venezuela. 2 Universidad de O’Higgins, Chile.
3 Faculty of Veterinary Sciences (FCV), University of Zulia (LUZ), Maracaibo, Venezuela. 4 Rafael María Baralt National Experimental University (UNERMB), Cabimas, Venezuela.
https://orcid.org/ 0000-0002-5108-1889, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4676-9945, https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2505- 7850, https://orcid.org/0009-0000-0048-2634
edisonpascal@gmail.com, esanblas@uoh.cl, helimarvasquez@gmail.com, mercedescarrasquerohuerta@gmail.com
The preservation of the environment requires considering through a participatory social practice the involvement of all the actors who directly and in- directly contribute to the development of community collective actions on the environment and agricultu- ral management. The research work is subscribed in the educational field considering the fundamen- tals of eco-education and agroecology, through an approach focused on the qualitative paradigm. The methodological design that included this work was the constructivist investigation, whose guideli- nes were from Latorre. The proposed actions were consolidated with two eco-educational workshops, visits to the community, interviews and with the par- ticipation of all the actors involved. In this investiga- tion, observation was fundamental, since the pest insects and the existing socio-environmental condi- tions were studied, and it was compared with inter- views carried out with the residents. It is necessary to highlight that the eco-educational program was a fundamental tool for the agroecological manage- ment of pest insects and for the elaboration of a pro- posal for an eco-educational-agroecological model based on the community, and its socio-environmen- tal and agricultural needs.
La preservación del ambiente requiere plantear- se a través de una práctica social participativa el involucramiento de todos los actores que de ma- nera directa e indirecta son coadyuvantes en el de- sarrollo de acciones colectivas comunitarias sobre el medio ambiente y el manejo agrícola. El trabajo de investigación se suscribe en el campo educativo considerando los fundamentos de la ecoeducación y la agroecología, mediante un abordaje centrado en el paradigma cualitativo. El diseño metodológi- co que comprendió este trabajo fue la investiga- ción constructivista, cuyos lineamientos fueron de Latorre. Las acciones propuestas se consolidaron con dos talleres ecoeducativos, visitas a la comu- nidad, entrevistas y con la participación de todos los actores involucrados. En esta investigación la observación fue fundamental, ya que se estudió los insectos plaga y las condiciones socio-ambientales existentes, y se comparó con entrevistas realiza- das a los pobladores. Es necesario resaltar que el programa ecoeducativo fue una herramienta funda- mental para el manejo agroecológico de insectos plaga y para la elaboración de una propuesta de modelo ecoeducativo-agroecológico en función de la comunidad y sus necesidades socio-ambientales y agrícolas.
In the world, natural and biological resources are considered a source of food par excellence, which constitutes an alternative for economic sustenance for communities, since they carry out extraction, processing, research, sports and commercialization activities, based on sustainability. human partner; which, in the opinion of Barrero (2000) occurs in a way in the communities of Venezuela.
In this sense, for Santaella (2005) the individual is the only being to resist absolute dependence on nature, among other reasons, because it is not an economic, social, cultural, political and ideological system, with everything and have been able to take for themselves, the possibility offered by the same natural habitat, in creating their environment and developing the social complexity that is characteris- tic of it, differentiating themselves from the situation of housing homogeneity (spatial) and location, if you want climate of the animals, which seem to ca- rry out great tasks of a supposed collective instinc- tive work, which denies all planning and conscious thought of man.
From this vision, in Venezuela and on a global scale, natural resources are of vital importance for development, since they are part of an eco-edu- cational system that promotes the development of communities, based on the various activities carried out by the individual, both in the personal, the pro- fessional, the social and the cultural, in the search to improve their quality of life.
Hence, eco-education according to Jiménez and Rojas (2012) constitutes a co-responsible relations- hip between society and education, in the formation of citizens with an ecological conscience, which is essential in the face of the demands and changes that are taking place in the environment. socio-na- tural, because it requires a harmonious balance be- tween people, needs, use, care and exploitation of the environment.
From this perspective, it is important to recogni- ze ecoeducation as a pedagogical tool because in the opinion of Antunes and Gadotti (2004), educa- tion is linked to space and time, where the relations- hips between human beings and the environment really take place. they happen mainly in the training field. Therefore, eco-education is necessary to bring them to the conscious level.
Within this argumentative framework, in the last
50 years, agroecology has been developing the
fight against pests, based mainly on the intensive use of chemical pesticides or poisons; When they began to be applied, they seemed to be the appro- priate remedy to control the damage they caused to crops, therefore, the increase in agricultural produc- tion was limited.
But, for the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO, 2003) the remedy was worse than the di- sease. The increase in agricultural production as a result of the use of chemical pesticides has led to a very high social, economic and environmental cost, due to the mismanagement and use of chemi- cal pesticides of recognized danger, causing mul- tiple problems that affect the sustainability of the agrosystem. biodiversity, the economy, well-being and the quality of life of humanity.
Consequently, insects that behave as pests are related to various human activities, including agri- cultural production. It is there, where they attract the most attention, because some species manifest as pests, causing crop losses, excessive spending on control measures and insecticide residues in crops that have effects on the health of consumers.
In response to this scenario, the following re- search proposes Generating an eco-educational model as a pedagogical tool for the agroecological management of pest insects in the Nueva Venezue- la peasant settlement.
Eco-education, according to Clark (1997), is approached as a strategy to restructure education in all its aspects from the nature and content of a study plan, as well as the way in which students are grouped, the way in which which the teaching-lear- ning process is administered, the way in which the school system is structured and; finally, the so-ca- lled “school culture”, where the so-called eco-edu- cation is based on the theory of living systems.
In the words of Montecinos (1998), the current cultural ideology has tried to replace these funda- mental ordinances in the consciousness of human beings with human laws from the political, social and economic spheres. These laws, which have ari- sen throughout history, have been imposed on the whole of human society by small groups of power, whether religious, political, social, economic or mi- litary. So, for the human conglomerate, the norms to be respected are human laws and not cosmic or natural laws; The first should not be transgressed, they are punishable by punishment; meanwhile, the
latter have received little attention. However, natural or cosmic laws are always present, and like it or not, they regularly govern social human development and the future of the planet.
The renowned researcher in agroecology, Mi- guel Altieri, together with Nicholls (2000) express that the scientific discipline that focuses the study of agriculture from an ecological perspective is ca- lled agroecology and is defined as a theoretical fra- mework whose purpose is to analyze the agricultu- ral processes of broader way. The agroecological approach considers agricultural ecosystems as the fundamental units of study; and in these systems, mineral cycles, energy transformations, biological processes, and socioeconomic relationships are in- vestigated and analyzed as a whole.
Thus, agroecological research is interested not only in maximizing the production of a particular component, but also in optimizing the total agro- ecosystem. This tends to refocus the emphasis in agricultural research beyond disciplinary considera- tions towards complex interactions between people, crops, soil, animals, among others.
According to Altieri (2009), an agroecosystem, establishes that they are communities of plants and animals interacting with their physical and chemi- cal environment that has been modified to produ- ce food, fiber, fuel and other products for human consumption and processing. Agroecology is the holistic study of agroecosystems, including all envi- ronmental and human elements. Focuses attention on the form, dynamics and function of their interre- lationships and the processes in which they are in- volved. An area used for agricultural production, for example a field, is viewed as a complex system in which ecological processes occur, such as nutrient cycling, predator-prey interactions, competition, symbiosis, and successional changes.
Human development is focused on social, cul- tural, environmental and educational environments, which is why it leads one to think about the existen- ce of activities carried out by man in order to sustain his quality of life. These activities include agroecolo- gical activity, specifically what concerns integrated pest management within the framework of eco-edu- cation, since agricultural communities require edu- cational programs. These settlements demand to obtain knowledge and develop training strategies
on the need to reduce the use of pesticides throu- gh crop rotation, periodic sampling, meteorological records, use of resistant varieties, synchronization of plantations or sowings and biological control of pests, and the systems management to improve plant and animal health; and the ability of crops to resist pests and diseases.
There is no doubt that the agroecological mana- gement of pest insects, within the framework of hu- man development, requires the application of edu- cational strategies, since it seeks to use the least amount of pesticides possible by the members of the agricultural settlement and apply cultural work from a ecological and environmental vision, in order to avoid environmental contamination, thereby im- plementing educational plans for the most adequate and safe control of agroecological programs. In this context, this research proposes to develop a propo- sal for an eco-educational - agroecological model for the management of pest insects in an agricultu- ral settlement.
The research scenario is focused on the Cabimas municipality, (Zulia state, Venezuela), specifically the peasant agricultural settlement “Nueva Vene- zuela” is a rural peasant community that is located on the peri-urban limit of the city of Cabimas, in the Cabimas Municipality, in the Eastern Coast sub-re- gion of Lake Maracaibo, Venezuela. Said peasant settlement consists of several plots or farms with small producers of different agricultural items.
The prevailing climatic conditions in the com- munity is a type of semi-arid climate, characterized by high temperatures, with an annual average of 28.3°C., and low rainfall (728.3 mm annual avera- ge), as well as high evaporation and relative humi- dity (2,227 m.m and 75% per year, respectively), giving rise to very dry tropical forest and dry forest type vegetation. As for the winds, the trade winds that blow in the NE-SW direction predominate, in the period between the months of November/April, they blow throughout the day with some periods of calm and a constant speed (CORPOZULIA, 2011).
Figure 1. Satellite image of the agricultural settlement.
Source: Google Earth, 2020.
The community includes a geographical area comprised of the following boundaries:
North: Highway G
South: Highway 53
East: Highway F
West: Sector H7
Parish: Germán Ríos Linares
Design of the investigation
The study that was carried out is framed under the methodological design proposed by Latorre (1996), focused on the qualitative constructivist me- thodology, which has a holistic, inductive and idio- graphic approach. Holistic for studying reality from a global approach without fragmenting it or sectioning it into variables. Inductive because the categories, patterns and interpretations are built from the in- formation obtained and not from previous theories or hypotheses. Idiographic because it is oriented towards understanding and interpreting the singu- larity of social phenomena
In order to carry out any investigative process, the participation of the researcher is required, the support of the people who make life in the organized community is also essential, so they must be called and taken into account to articulate with the resear- cher, forming a research group. For the negotiation and formation of the research groups, contacts were established with the inhabitants of the community, elucidating the importance of agroecological pest management for the agricultural settlement.
The participants involved in this research were the following: the main researcher, research tea- chers and collaborating students, in the same way the different people belonging to the community. Being fundamental that this involvement of people directly and indirectly allowed leaving evidence in the community of each of the events that were ca- rried out in this investigation.
As an instrument for processing the information obtained through the technique, a structured ques- tionnaire endorsed by the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC, 2018) was used. The questionnaire, according to Chávez, (2007), is a structured instrument or not, which contains a set of items and response alternatives.
This questionnaire is made up of six lines, struc- tured as follows:
Educational Aspects
Information on the productive unit
Phytosanitary aspects of crops
Phytotechnical management of crops
Biological control
Availability
Based on the results obtained in the interviews, two workshops were designed and carried out, the first called: Ecoeducation, a matter to be learned; while the second was called: Agricultural Zoology from an Educational Dimension, aimed at the rural agricultural community.
Interviews carried out with agro-producers of the settlement for the integrated management of pest insects and eco-educational aspects.
The best way to find out what happened in the community was through the interview, since through this the residents commented on interesting data for the present investigation, it should be noted that the instrument used was endorsed by the Venezuelan Institute of Scientific Research (IVIC).
It is important to highlight that an interaction was carried out with twenty-one (21) agro-producers from the community, where they began by reques- ting their personal data, likewise some informati- ve aspects related to their level of education were achieved: some do not have any type of instruction; others explained that they only had primary educa- tion (half); others indicated having completed high school, and only two have a university education.
Based on the interview, the first part contempla- ted questions in line with educational aspects, which were addressed by asking if they had any knowle- dge of environmental education and eco-education, where the majority expressed not having this type of training. It was also asked if they knew how to link the knowledge of eco-education and environmental education with agroecology and the management of pest insects, to which they all highlighted that they were unaware of this subject.
Regarding the following question: Are you wi- lling to receive a preparation on Ecoeducation? The answers obtained in their entirety were affirmative.
However, in the second part, concerning the as- pects of agricultural items that they cultivate, it was possible to focus that it was mango (Mangifera in- dica, L), despite the fact that in some properties it is not used as a crop, it is present throughout the settlement. Then follows Auyama (Cucurbita maxi- ma, Duchesne); Plantain (Musa paradisiaca, L) also showed a marked presence in the settlement. The papaya papaya (Carica papaya, L), as commen- ted by the farmers and the observations made. Le- mon (Citrus, aurantiifolia, Christm) was also found among the crops most used by peasants; melon, (Cucumis melo, L), likewise, was one of the most commented on in the survey; like cassava (Manihot esculenta, Crantz) Figure 2.
Figure 2: Cassava (M. sculenta) crop affected by Aphis sp in the agricultural community.
Source: Pascal, San-Blas, Vásquez, Carrasquero Huerta (2024)
In the same way, the peasants commented on other fruit trees with less presence, such as avo- cado (Persea americana, Mill); orange (Citrus si- nensis, L); soursop (Annona muricata, L); passion fruit (Passiflora edulis, Sims) and pigeon pea (Ca- janus cajan, L). Given these types of crops, there is no doubt that eco-education is a necessary tool to strengthen the theoretical and practical inputs that agro-producers can handle. This could guarantee a higher production and minimize the risks of suffering insect pest attacks. Consequently, if this situation is not addressed from a human, social, economic and educational conception, it leads to a deterioration in the quality of life of the agricultural community.
Another line handled in the interview was fo- cused on the irrigation system managed by the agro-producers, where some expressed using the drip technique, which consists of the use of sma- ll plastic containers, such as PEP bottles (plastic soda bottles), said containers They dispense the water slowly. Half of the respondents reported the use of the furrow or flood technique, that is, they make furrows in the soil and let the water run; while others use the sprinkler technique (devices that dis- perse water), and only one producer indicated that they did not have a defined irrigation system.
Regarding phytosanitary aspects, it was possi- ble to obtain information that a strong majority (98 percent) of the interviewed producers had not recei- ved training workshops. Continuing with the phyto- sanitary aspects of pests, noting those that most frequently affect producers are: the whitefly (Bemi- cia tabaci; Gennadius) that afflicts all interviewees; Aphids (Aphis sp. Linnaeus) damage most existing crops; and the bachacos or leaf-cutter ants (Atta sp. Fabricius) that also cause significant agricultural and socio-economic damage.
It was possible to specify with the observations and the interviews that B. tabaci was one of the in- sects that caused the most economic damage to the producers (together with the Aphids), this he- mimetabolous arthropod is a pest that affects many crops, and one of the Mostly committed errors is the indiscriminate use of insecticides, which can cause increases in production costs. In the same way, when applying insecticides, in an uncontrolled way, affectation could occur on the natural enemies of the mosquito, this being able to generate (in the same way) resistance to the insecticide on the part of this pest insect.
To carry out an effective control of B. tabaci, it is necessary to know about its biology, habitat, eating habits and its different stages of development. It is
particularly useful to know the stage of development at which the pest is most vulnerable. From this sce- nario, it is essential to monitor these arthropods for their control, in order to minimize and avoid the use of uncontrolled agrochemicals.
According to what was established by the agricul- tural community, together with the observations in the field, the pest with the second highest incidence in the community were aphids (Aphis sp.). Obvious- ly, aphids are one of the most common pests in the agricultural sector, since they feed on the plant jui- ces and form colonies on it. In the same way, some obvious symptoms were observed on the infected plants such as: deformations, decay and dents in the leaves, in addition to having a complicated bio- logical cycle.
The third pest evidenced by the observations and manifested by the farmers was the bacha- co (leaf-cutter ant) Atta sp. This insect, belonging to the Formicidae family, Attini tribe, is considered one of the pest insects with the highest incidence in the community, and in agriculture in general, since they can cause a lot of damage in a relatively short time, consuming all the seedlings. from a seedbed or young crop. When they prefer a plant, shrub or tree, they can deleaf it in just one night.
Phytotechnical Management was also addres- sed in this interview, where the respondents were asked: When do they decide to carry out pest con- trol? Where most answered, manage when pest po- pulations are high. As a control measure, almost all reported using chemical pesticides to eliminate or suppress insect pests. Based on this, the question was asked, how has the use of pesticides behaved in the community? where all established that the use of these chemicals has decreased, obviously not for agroecological or environmental reasons, since some said they bought less pesticides due to the current high costs in the market.
However, addressing the following point: When you apply insecticide what do you do? It is potentia- lly striking that the twenty-one producers surveyed do not use special clothing, some allege high costs, others are simply unaware of the toxic potential (for health and the environment) of pesticides. Likewise, only one reported using equipment (mask, gloves). Only one of the producers said they had received training on the handling of chemicals or agroecolo- gical tools.
Regarding the topic on Biological Control, the question was asked: Do you apply any form of bio- logical control on your farm? Only one interviewee
said they did. In the same way, the question was asked: Are you able to recognize any natural enemy of pests? In the conversations it was noted that all the surveyed producers have not received training in the use of biological control agents. Regarding the availability or accessibility of obtaining biologi- cal control agents, all stated that they did not have availability.
According to the behavior of the answers obtai- ned, it was possible to verify the lack of knowled- ge about Ecoeducation and Agroecology, as tools that allow them to cultivate greater knowledge, both theoretical and practical, about techniques, methods, procedures, linked to environmental and ecological work; Therefore, it is perceived that the Nueva Venezuela agricultural community, despite the great efforts and interest that they have been able to show to develop their lands into fertile fields for agriculture, the results are not encouraging for the improvement of their quality of life.
From the product of these results, the decision was made to carry out two eco-educational training workshops, with the purpose of auscultating the reality of the phenomenon studied.
Based on the interviews, meetings, conversa- tions and observations, an eco-educational plan was carried out from an agroecological vision to respond to the purposes of this research, which led to the design and execution of two workshops, the first called: Ecoeducation, a matter to learn ; whi- le the second was called: Agricultural Zoology from an Educational Dimension, aimed at the agricultural community; they were carried out in the community (workshop 1) and at the “Rafael María Baralt” Natio- nal Experimental University, Cabimas, Los Laureles (workshop 2).
It should be noted that these educational sce- narios proposed, addressed, from eco-education: environmental education, environmental impact, ecosystems, conservation and biodiversity, ob- viously these issues are conducive to the funda- mental aspects of agroecology, to then address the biology of the pests identified and a proposal on the agroecological management of these insects. This generated a proposal for an eco-educational model for the agroecological management of pest insects in the agricultural settlement. It should be noted that the duration of the workshops was eight academic hours each.
Figure 3: Photograph of an aphid (Aphis sp.) on C. maxima leaves. Plant Protection Laboratory, IVIC.
Source: Pascal, San-Blas, Vásquez, Carrasquero Huerta (2024)
After studying the pests and training the commu- nity in the studied phenomenon, it is evident that there is a need to propose some pedagogical tool for a complete approach to the community, where the scientific solutions that can be proposed to the producers are assimilated and analyzed by them in a simple and useful way, not only for productive ac- tivity, but also for their lives.
Based on this need, we can propose the crea- tion of a pedagogical model, which can be defined
as particular representations of the interrelation be- tween the pedagogical parameters (Flórez, 1999), that is, that a pedagogical model determines how the relationships between the elements involved in the teaching-learning process.
Rural communities, and specifically the agricul- tural community of “Nueva Venezuela” have the po- tential to aspire to sustainability and to the solution of their problems through the application of an endo- genously generated eco-educational model, based exclusively on local socio-environmental issues, empowerment. of the community, the revaluation of the social organization, of the cultural structures and of the traditional knowledge of the management of natural resources.
If we apply an ecological principle in the agri- cultural community, the biological diversity in this settlement must be increased and, managing the productive properties as agroecosystems, by di- versifying the crops, the interactions are increased, and a balance can be reached in the communi- ty between the prey (pest insects) and predators (entomophagous animals and parasitoids). For this, the populations must be kept in balance (when the ecosystem is balanced), since if there are too many predators, the prey population decreases, and if the prey population decreases, more predators die due to lack of food.
Applying this principle in the peasant settlement we can establish a classic ecological model in the community (figure 4):
Figure 4: Basic model of ecological interaction: Predator-Prey, applicable to biological control in the community
Source: Pascal, San-Blas, Vásquez, Carrasquero Huerta (2024)
In this ecological balance model based on pre- dator-prey interaction, when applied to the commu- nity we can say that plant organisms or crops (A) receive a negative impact from a pest insect (B), because these animals they feed directly on it, by herbivorous action, or by sucking vegetable juices; and in turn (B) receives a negative impact from a predatory species (C) that feeds on it. Taking this into account we can say that (C) has a positive
effect on (A) maintaining control over the population of (B). If this general model is applied in the produc- tive farms of the community, control over the pest insects will be maintained, keeping this relationship in balance. Of course, to achieve the application of this general model, the farms must be managed as agroecosystems so that the proportion in the popu- lations is maintained.
It should be noted that complex systems are cha- racterized by being made up of multiple parts that interact with each other, frequently with the additio- nal complexity of doing so at multiple levels. One of the conceptual challenges of ecology and evolu- tion is to understand how these systems work and how robust they are to disturbances (Jordano et al., 2012).
One of the biggest challenges for agroecologists is to identify assemblages of biodiversity, either at the field or landscape level, that will yield favorable results such as regulation of insect pests. The cha- llenge of designing such architectures can only be met by studying the relationships between vegeta- tion diversification and the population dynamics of herbivores and their associated natural enemies in particular agroecosystems.
From this point of view, the aspects acquired through a pedagogical tool, such as eco-education, taking into account the theoretical aspects of agro- ecology, could generate a more effective and ecolo- gical management of pest insects (figure 5):
Figure 5: Preliminary model for the agroecological management of pest insects through Ecoeducation.
Figure 6: Proposal for an Eco-educational model for the Management of Pest Insects.
Source: Pascal, San-Blas, Vásquez, Carrasquero Huerta (2024)
These previous phases of an educational and ecological nature allowed the construction of an eco-educational model with an agroecological vi- sion, which can be applied to the peasant settlement. Said eco-educational model must propose sustai- nable activities, based on the socio-environmental analysis of the peasant settlement, made up of the results Obtained from observations, interviews and the ecological-educational models proposed here, the use of soils, the study of crops, the characteri- zation of pest insects, all this in conjunction with the expectations and needs of environmental education of the community.
The model shows the results of this research be- ginning with Ecoeducation, as a generator of awa- reness and knowledge, having a main role in this proposal.
Source: Pascal, San-Blas, Vásquez, Carrasquero Huerta (2024)
The generation of knowledge and awareness allowed the identification of the phenomenon stu- died in the peasant settlement in its biological, ecological, productive, environmental and social aspects. Subsequently, by understanding the edu- cational aspects, the model addresses the general environmental problems caused by modern human and agricultural activities. Then it delves into the issue of biodiversity (ecosystems, flora, fauna, in- teractions, biological and environmental services), agro-production (taking biodiversity into account) and based on this, the specific socio-environmental problems of the community. These indicators con- verge in the Agroecology section (where the use of natural resources in the environment is displayed). This generates two aspects, the first deals with the traditional control of pest insects (use of pesticides and polluting chemicals), and is compared with the second, which touches on the issue of agroecologi- cal control of pest insects (addressing the ecologi- cal approach, biological control and use of the eco- logical interactions of the agroecosystem).
This in turn generated a proposal for an eco-edu- cational-agroecological program for the manage-
ment of pest insects within the Nueva Venezuela peasant settlement, since the inhabitants took ad- vantage of the eco-educational tools to carry out agroecological control.
It was possible to appreciate, with this investiga- tion, that Ecoeducation differs from other educatio- nal models because it is developed in natural con- texts, as in the case of the agricultural settlement, where educational activities were carried out, rai- sing awareness and training the inhabitants. Its me- aning lies in the fact that it organizes and guides the knowledge of reality through spoken language, ob- servation and systematic reasoning about the prac- tice of the individuals that are taught. Eco-educatio- nal learning is not a simple learning that occurs by imitation, or copying patterns, or procedures; since it is a learning that reinforces the acquired knowle- dge, connecting it to the daily experience and the advances achieved without excessively altering the ecological balance.
Eco-education takes into account ecosystems, ecology. The natural and social environment is inte- rrelated in the physical environment and in the biotic environment, understanding the set of factors exter- nal to the organism that act on it. We are in times of planetary emergency since there is a progressi- ve decrease in biodiversity in ecosystems, where the peasant community is part of the phenomenon evidenced, by not using ecological techniques for pest control. All of this progressively destroys the ability to self-regulate, isolating populations of orga- nisms and preventing gene flow between them. The anthropogenic impact on ecosystems produces the mass extinction of species or promotes the aban- donment of their breeding, feeding and breeding places.
In the agricultural community, agricultural acti- vities are carried out, which involves not only the production of food, but also a series of processes related to the effects that it produces in society and in the ecosystem. From this consideration, it can be easily accepted that agricultural activities are a fundamental part of human interactions with natu- re and from this perspective, their analyzes can be carried out from the complex environmental point of view. Agriculture is the result of the coevolution of artificial ecosystems and human cultures.
Agroecological science is inserted precisely in this field of environmental analysis of agroecosys- tems, assuming the complexity that this implies and
generating new theoretical-practical approaches, which have been changing the traditional agroin- dustrial thinking of the green revolution, in a more holistic or agroecological thinking.
This becomes notorious in the face of the urgen- cy of satisfying the basic needs of a rapidly growing population in a limited territory, the loss of biologi- cal diversity is a problem that cannot be solved in isolation; the sustainable development paradigm implies that solutions to one problem can worsen the situation in others and vice versa. In this sense, the solutions must be synergistic, that is, favor that all situations are solved at the same time.
The issue of biodiversity is important for the ma- nagement of insect pests, since, in order to have an ecological management of these arthropods, we must increase the interactions within the agro- ecosystem, in this way biological services will be obtained in the productive properties.
The traditional way of eliminating pest insects, that is, through the use of insecticides, pesticides, and other toxic chemicals, rather than generating benefits, generates a series of serious environmen- tal problems, degradation of soils and their edaphic fauna, death of Beneficial and predatory insects that are ideal for biological control, in turn genera- te problems in other animal groups such as birds and mammals. Likewise, bodies of water are con- taminated by these chemicals, due to the action of runoff, causing additional damage to aquatic fauna. Obviously these compounds are also a problem for the health of human beings.
From this point of view, it is imperative to mana- ge pest insects that is in accordance with the laws of ecology, does not have negative effects on bio- diversity, does not degrade ecosystems and does not threaten human health. In this way, the propo- sal of the Eco-educational-Agroecological model for the management of pest insects proposed in this research becomes important.
The authors thank the Venezuelan Institute for Scientific Research (IVIC, Zulia headquarters) for the use of the spaces of the Plant Protection La- boratory. Likewise, they thank the National Experi- mental University “Rafael María Baralt” (Center for Educational Research in Biology and Chemistry; and Postgraduate Program), for the support provi- ded to carry out this research.
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