Integrated pest management for resource-limited farmers: challenges for achieving ecological, social and economic sustainability

Abstract

Hailed as the single most important paper published on crop protection in the 20th century, Stern et al. in 1959 formed the conceptual basis for modern integrated pest management (IPM) worldwide. The ecological foundation for IPM envisioned by its authors is as valid today as in 1959. However, adoption by developing country farmers has been low and its advances short-lived. The present paper examines the concept of integration in IPM and criteria for determining whether its control tactics have been integrated harmoniously. The effects of local and regional landscape patterns on pests and on the design of IPM are reviewed, arguing that the agroecosystem must be understood and managed as a living system with the goal of enhancing and conserving agrobiodiversity and keeping ecosystem services intact. Key to IPM adoption is convincing farmers to integrate non-chemical alternatives (e.g. biological control, plant diversification) as primary management components and to apply pesticides judiciously and only after non-chemical components fail to manage pests effectively. Research, extension and policy changes are identified to increase the efficiency, adoption and sustainability of IPM on resource-limited farms. The over-arching challenge is devising communication and support systems that allow resource-limited farmers to try, adopt and sustain IPM that enhances yields and profits in light of the many uncertainties and challenges. Use of information technology, media development, crowdsourcing and rural sociology is advocated to connect farmers to the technical sources required to enhance yields and profits and reduce risks to them, the farming community and the environment.

Investment’sfeatures In Order To Ensure Sustainable Development In The Longterm

“…One can spend a significant amount of resources, but the economic efficiency of the sectoral investment will be minimal or even negative. A number of methods and approaches to assessing investment performance and dependence on the existing investment climate are used to avoid such mistakes (Bottrell & Schoenly, 2018). The following can be listed here: methods of the Institute of Economics of the Russian Academy of Sciences; the methodology of the Council for the Study of Productive Forces (SOPS); the method of Shakhnazarov, Roizman (Borisova, 2017) and other scientific economists; the methodology of the rating agency Expert RA (Rating Agency RAEX, 2018) and other methodological approaches to the determination of investment indicators.…”

Creating the Urban Farmer’s Almanac with Citizen Science Data

“…This approach reduces the frequency and intensity of pest infestation by eliminating disruptive pest control methods and enhancing ecosystem services that contribute to ecological resilience. In an IPM framework, agriculture systems are managed as living systems [42]. Essential to this framework is documenting where and when insect pests, beneficials, and pollinators are present on the farm and in the surrounding area [42]; such data are increasingly available through a number of citizen science resources.…”

Gene Editing and Systems Biology Tools for Pesticide Bioremediation: A Review

“…This is achieved by lowering down the damage to agricultural crops by pests (Schmidt-Jeffris and Nault, 2018). Pests can be weed, herb, insect, rodent, nematode, and microorganisms (bacteria, fungi, and algae) (Bottrell and Schoenly, 2018; Duke, 2018). Pesticides are classified according to their target and show an excellent role in the production of crop yield and lowering down the rate of agricultural losses due to pest (Allmaras et al, 2018).…”