Implementing Integrated Pest Management in Developing and Developed Countries

Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems in developed countries are largely based on substantial bodies of available information from a number of sources, including published material, extension agents, contract crop consultants and, more recently, the internet. Delivery systems for this information have traditionally been through extension agents in the USA but the internet is playing a larger role. IPM in developing countries, such as those in Southeast Asia, has been addressed most effectively through massive training of farmers through farmer field schools and farmer participatory research in the region. S.E. Asia is characterized by large numbers of farmers cultivating small plots. Production systems involve substantial amounts of labor inputs, which often put farm laborers at risk from exposure to harmful chemicals. Mechanical devices that replace labor in developed countries are not common in the S.E. Asia region. Technological advances have made an impact mainly through improved plant varieties and cultural practices to enhance yields. IPM training has taken hold throughout the region as a means to establish the farmer as the primary decision-maker and to equip him or her with an understanding of the critical relationship between agricultural output and field ecology. Training programs in all S.E. Asian countries are aggressively spreading the message to “grow a healthy crop” as the first step in establishing sound IPM programs. Results from some IPM programs are presented and discussed but the list is not all inclusive and is always evolving and changing with the farmers’ crop mix and increased knowledge of the agricultural ecosystem.