The CGIAR agenda has evolved during recent years, broadening to encompass a more holistic, multi-disciplinary approach to problem solving and emphasizing sustainable natural resource management. This evolution in the CGIAR agenda as a whole has been reflected in an increasing, and changing role for crop protection research.
Pesticides were initially an important part of the package of inputs which supported the increasing yields of the Green Revolution. However, as pests became resistant to chemicals and pesticides had to be applied more and more heavily, their natural enemies were destroyed while human health and the environment were threatened by the unforeseen side-effects of these chemicals. Integrated Pest Management - or IPM, as it is generally known - is an approach to crop protection designed to help agriculture escape from this vicious circle of pesticide dependence. Based on an increased understanding of biological and ecological processes in the agro-ecosystem, IPM combines biological control and appropriate farmer management practices with host plant resistance, to minimize or eliminate the use of pesticides. IPM has become so important to environment health that it was identified in Agenda 21 as one of the key elements in sustainable agricultural development.
The CGIAR, as part of its response to Agenda 21, decided to undertake a review of all IPM-related activities within its research Centers. An initial planning meeting, attended by eight CG Centers and nine partner organizations, was held in Aas, Norway, in May 1994, with support from the host country. The participants concluded that a considerable body of IPM research was already being conducted within the Centers, but was failing to achieve its full impact on sustainable agricultural development, for want of a coherent CGIAR policy on IPM and for lack of coordination. To address these weaknesses, the establishment of an IPM Network was proposed.
Plans were further defined at a second meeting, held at ISNAR in February 1995. The participants developed a policy statement, designating IPM as the CGIAR's preferred approach to crop protection (see Box 1) and proposed that the IPM initiative be formally established as a System-wide Program. This proposal was endorsed by the CG Technical Advisory Committee, financial support was pledged by Norway and Switzerland and the program was formally launched in January 1996.
The system-wide program
The System-wide Program on IPM (SP-IPM) is one of several inter-Center initiatives established as part of a re-structuring of the CGIAR research agenda. These initiatives draw together relevant resources from all or several Centers and bring them to bear, in a coordinated manner, on a problem of global or inter-regional importance.
The SP-IPM is envisaged as encompassing the totality of Center activities in the field of sustainable crop protection. The Lead Center of the SP-IPM, for the current three year period is the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture. In principle, all sixteen International Agricultural Research Centers belong to the Program, though so-far only ten have actively participated. In addition, two research Centers which are not affiliated to the CGIAR but which have a strong interest in IPM, ICIPE and AVRDC, are also full members. Many other partners participate in Program activities, and indeed it is explicitly recognized that the success of the program depends on its ability to forge effective partnerships: these involve both other research organizations (in industrialized and developing countries) and those principally concerned with IPM implementation, including governmental, inter-government and non-governmental organizations. Special emphasis is placed on forging close partnerships with national agricultural research and extension services.
Responsibility for steering Program activities lies with the Inter-Center Working Group on IPM, which comprises representatives of the participating research Centers. To ensure proper coordination with other IPM activities worldwide, the Working Group also includes representatives of two other important entities: the IPM Forum, concerned mainly with coordination and information issues, and the IPM Facility, whose priority is IPM implementation. The IPM Forum is an entity, still in the process of evolution, which was originally constituted as the International IPM Working Group, to promote the wider use of IPM. The IPM Facility is a joint enterprise of the World Bank, UNDP, UNEP and FAO, managed by FAO. The SP-IPM is similarly represented on the steering groups of these two organizations. In the first meetings, during 1996, a number of opportunities for productive collaboration have already been identified.
Successful coordination depends on effective exchange of relevant information and IPM is a discipline which depends heavily on sharing information: between researchers and implementers, and between practitioners of different disciplines, as well as among a wider constituency involved in agricultural development efforts. The SP-IPM has joined the IPM Forum, IPM Europe and the US-based Consortium for International Crop Protection in establishing IPMfocus, a partnership whose specific objective is to facilitate the exchange of IPM information related to sustainable development. A number of initiatives are already under way, including the establishment of databases of IPM resource persons and projects and the establishment of an Internet website as a common access point to the wealth of electronically published IPM information. As well as improving coordination, such initiatives help to raise general awareness and impact of CGIAR activities in sustainable crop protection.
The viability of IPM as a part of production systems is very sensitive to the regulatory climate in which agriculture is conducted. The SP-IPM also has an important role in advocacy - providing a common voice with other IPM practitioners on issues which affect their work. For instance, the Inter-Center working group at its 1996 meeting felt so strongly about the issue of pesticide misuse that it issued a statement (Box 2), pinpointing their importance as a major cause of pest outbreaks. Wildly inaccurate estimates of pest losses were identified as another concern to be addressed (see Box 3), in so far as they can seriously distort policy decisions in agricultural development.
Finally, the SP-IPM affirms the comparative advantage of the CGIAR in conducting research on IPM. Such research should be closely linked with the implementation efforts of partner organizations, to ensure its relevance and impact, and farmer participatory methods should be used wherever appropriate to strengthen the link between research and implementation. Guidelines have been established to ensure that research efforts are demand-driven and address issues of widespread economic importance. Improved sustainability, conservation of biodiversity and enhancement of human well-being are also key criteria. The Centers are seen to have a special strength in carrying out multi-disciplinary research on the biological and ecological processes that underpin agricultural production systems.
Project task forces
New initiatives of the SP-IPM are tackled through the establishment of Task Forces. Each Task Force is led by a research Center with a special interest in the particular field. The first responsibility of the Task Force leader is to undertake a wide process of consultation with other interested parties, within and outside the CGIAR system, to establish the current state of knowledge and define any outstanding needs. The process is intended to be flexible, with the scale and nature of activities tailored to the particular problem addressed. A Task Force may go on to establish a full-scale inter-Center project or it may be decided that holding a workshop or establishing a discussion group is sufficient. Task Forces currently being undertaken are shown in Box 3. Centers and partners have already shown considerable support for the Task Force approach. The first to lead to implementation of a project is that on whiteflies and associated viruses which is expected to begin work, with support from Denmark, early in 1997.
Conclusion
In summary, the SP-IPM seeks to draw attention to, make better use of, and further develop the wealth of resources available within the CGIAR Centers and partner organizations in the area of sustainable pest management. The goal of the Program is thus to ensure that this work can realize its full potential in contributing to sustainable agricultural development.
Current project task forces of the system-wide program on IPM:
New task forces to be established
Discussion Groups recently formed
International Institute of Tropical Agriculture (IITA)
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