Strategic Communication for Integrated Pest Management

Farmers and consumers in developing countries are too often faced with a serious dilemma: they must either sacrifice a significant share of their crops to pests or use highly toxic pesticides that can harm human health and the environment. If we can help solve this dilemma, we will be making a major contribution for the improvement of food security, eradication of starvation, and alleviating poverty in resource-poor countries throughout the world. By recognizing the importance of agricultural inputs in food security and the reputation risk associated with the use of very toxic agricultural chemicals, the World Bank and other organizations are supporting integrated pest management (IPM) to ensure good practice in its projects. IPM succeeded in developing environmentally sound practices, but struggled to communicate the value of information on the risks and benefits of IPM. The slow adoption of IPM is often attributed to the widespread gaps between farmers ’ knowledge and understanding of the complex and controversial issues surrounding pesticides and IPM. This paper addresses IPM and risk assessment not only from the economic, environmental an