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WWF's Agriculture and Biodiversity Initiative evolved from an assessment conducted in 1999 of the major threats and opportunities for conservation in the Global 200 ecoregions. Through this work it became clear that in most cases, agriculture was a major threat to biodiversity conservation because of expansion into wild lands, farming marginal areas, and pesticide and nutrient pollution, and that WWF needed to address agriculture's impact on biodiversity conservation.
At the same time, the WWF was realizing the success of its collaboration with the Wisconsin Potato and Vegetable Growers Association (WPVGA). WWF and WPVGA joined forces with the University of Wisconsin's (UW) Integrated Pest Management research and extension team and set targets and timetables for industry wide reductions of use and reliance on highly toxic pesticides. In the first 3 years of the collaboration (1996-98), the Wisconsin Potato Industry as a whole successfully decreased by 37 percent its "toxicity units" - the collaboration's measure of pesticide risk. In 2000, the collaboration shifted focus by creating a brand of fresh market potatoes called "Healthy Grown" that met stringent environmental standards established by the independent ecolabel Protected Harvest. In 2003 producers certified by Protected Harvest achieved a stunning 64 percent reduction in per acre toxicity units compared to the 1998 industry-wide average. The ability of fresh market potato growers to significantly reduce their per acre toxicity units, demonstrates the power of targets and market incentives to induce environmental innovation.
The success of the WWF/WPVGA/UW collaboration to motivate, support with technical assistance, and document the success of Wisconsin potato farmers in achieving significant pesticide risk reduction encouraged WWF to focus on working with producers, researchers and other agricultural interests. The WWF/WPVGA/UW collaboration demonstrated the potential for partnerships to identify innovative solutions and leverage resources from multiple sources. Working together, producers, research and extension organizations, NGOs, and governments can have a greater impact than any one group alone. Most importantly, finding ways to farm with nature can benefit producers by lowering input costs, increasing market share and or access to new markets, improving soil health, reducing exposure to harmful chemicals, and enhancing the public's perception of farmers and ranchers as stewards of the land.
Learn more about the WWF Eco-Potato Partnership and Certification.
Visit the WWF/WPVGA/UW Collaboration Web site.
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