There are several organizations involved in promoting the cause of pest management at international and national levels.
A. International Organizations:
1. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations:
Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), founded in 1945, leads international efforts to defeat hunger, with a focus on developing rural areas, home to about 70 per cent of the world’s poor and hungry people. FAO was one of the first organizations to promote IPM in the 19605 and has held several important symposia and workshops.
It has organized regional IPM implementation programmes and also supported national IPM programmes. A panel of experts was formed in 1967 to advise FAO/UNEP in promoting and implementing IPM projects. The contributions of two programmes sponsored by FAO have been widely acclaimed.
FAO Inter-country Programme for IPM in Rice:
The Inter-country Programme for the Development and Application of Integrated Pest Control in Rice in South and South-east Asia remains one of the best examples of IPM implementation in the tropical region. It involves purposeful, direct efforts to change farmers’ practices in contrast to some more indirect routes of IPM technology diffusion in many industrialized temperate environments.
The first phase of the programme (1980- 86) focused on developing and testing the technical aspects of the IPM concept in its seven participating countries. More recently, the project has been directed towards enhancing farmers’ adoption of IPM. One significant accomplishment of the programme has been to cause policy changes within several governments, in the form of official support of IPM as the means for national plant protection in the Philippines, Indonesia, India, Sri Lanka and Malaysia.
Global IPM Facility:
The global IPM Facility has been established on June 30, 1995 at FAO, Rome and co-sponsored by FAO, UNDP, UNEP, CABI and the World Bank. This development is in response to the UN Conference on Environment and Development, held at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 3-14, 1992, which assigned a central role for IPM in agriculture as part of ‘Agenda 21’.
Its focus is to assist interested governments and NGOs in initiating, developing, and expanding IPM programmes that aim to reduce pesticide use and associated negative impact on health and environment, while increasing production and profits through improved crop and pest management. The Facility serves as coordinating, consulting, advising and promoting agency for the advancement of IPM on global basis.
The Facility helps governments in following ways to promote IPM:
i. Assistance with project identification needs assessment and preparatory studies.
ii. Support for pilot projects demonstrating farmer-led IPM.
iii. A forum for policy consultation and coordination.
iv. Mobilization of national expertise.
v. Workshops in training methods and international exchanges.
vi. Resource materials including field guides.
vii. An on-line global IPM database and reference library.
2. Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research:
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), established in 1971, is a strategic partnership of diverse donors that support 15 international centres, working in collaboration with hundreds of government and non-government organizations around the world. The Group’s focus is to reduce poverty and hunger, improve human health and nutrition, and enhance ecosystem resilience through high quality international agricultural research, partnership and leadership.
The centres which have made significant contribution to promote IPM include Africa Rice Centre (Formerly West Africa Rice Development Association), International Centre for Tropical Agriculture (CIAT), International Maize and Wheat Improvement Centre (CIMMYT), International Centre for Agricultural Research in the Dry Areas (ICARDA), International Centre for Research in Arid and Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT) and the International Rice Research Institute (IRRI).
The contributions made by the IRRI in development and implementation of IPM in rice are spectacular. IRRI has developed improved varieties of rice which possess multiple resistances to several insect pests and diseases. For example, IR36 is resistant to brown planthopper, green leafhopper, stem borers, gall midge, blast, bacterial blight and tungro.
This variety has been grown on about 11 million ha in South-east Asia and yielded an additional annual income of one billion dollars annually to rice growers and processors. In addition, IRRI has provided technology in biological control, botanical pesticides and application techniques of pesticides. IRRI has also provided training in IPM tactics to students, scientists and farmers from South and South-east Asian countries. The CGIAR has also initiated several IPM programmes.
CGIAR SP-IPM:
The system wide programme on IPM (SP-IPM) is an inter-centre initiative of the CGIAR. The programme was launched in 1995 in recognition of the need for a radically different approach if IPM research is to be more responsive to sustainable agricultural development. The SP- IPM is a global network of CG and other International Agricultural Research Centres. The SP-IPM target zones are in Africa, Asia and Latin America.
The beneficiaries of the programme are farmers, national and international agricultural research organizations, extension programmes and NGOs who benefit from exchange of expertise, information as well as genetic and other resources to increase their capacity to manage pest problems, stabilize productivity and income, and foster a pesticide safe environment.
Integrated Pest Management Task Force:
An Integrated Pest Management Task Force (IPMTF) was set up in mid-1989 by a group of interested donors to assist the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) of the CGIAR in its consideration of international support for plant protection. Its mission was to report on the status of IPM and make recommendations for improving its implementation and then proceed as necessary to execute those recommendations.
The Task Force appointed a team of consultants to carry out a review and report the findings. The Consultants’ Report submitted in December 1989 provides a broad overview of the major issues which influence the pace of IPM adoption in the developing world. As the work of the Task Force moved into the area of implementation, it was reconstituted as the Integrated Pest Management Working Group (IPMWG) in May 1990.
Integrated Pest Management Working Group:
The Integrated Pest Management Working Group (IPMWG), set up in 1990 to promote the implementation of IPM, is a loose affiliation of organizations who meet twice a year, in May and October. Its current focus is to identify initiatives for implementation through a series of regional workshops involving key developing-country researchers, extension specialists and policy makers.
The Group has been active in improvement of information exchange including publication of a quarterly newsletter IPM Working for Development since November 1993. During the last several years, IPMWG has organized a series of regional workshops, where country representatives and their development partners discussed the different constraints in implementation, and identified plans and initiatives for action.
As a follow up, Regional IPM Working Groups were set up to build on the momentum created by the workshops, to carry out identified plans and to provide a structure for IPM implementation in each region, in the context of sustainable development. As a result of the efforts of the IPMWG, both as a group and through its individual members, a new financing group called IPM Facility has been established.
This facility has grown out of cooperation between WB, FAO, UNDP and UNEP, in an effort to mobilize the multilateral donor system for IPM. At the same time, the research centres of CGIAR have established an Inter-centre Working Group to ensure that IPM becomes central to their research.
3. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International:
The Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau Inter-national (CABI) is a non-profit international organization that improves the people’s lives by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. CABI traces its origin back in 1910, when it began as Entomological Research Committee, followed by formation of Imperial Bureau of Entomology (1913) and Imperial Agricultural Bureau (IAB) (1930), formed as Commonwealth Organization. IAB became Commonwealth Agricultural Bureaux in 1947 and truly became an international organization, viz. Commonwealth Agricultural Bureau International (CABI).
In 1998, CABI Publishing came into existence; in the same year, International Institute of Entomology, International Institute of Biological Control, International Institute of Parasitology merges to form CABI Bioscience. In 2006, CABI Publishing and CABI Bioscience became united under one single CABI brand. CABI has international centres in the UK, Kenya, Pakistan, Switzerland, Malaysia, and Trinidad and Tobago, and country offices in Costa Rica, India, Vietnam and China.
CABI has become an international service in agricultural information, pest identification and biological control. It has provided a range of services to national programmes that represent critical inputs for the effective planning and implementation of IPM programmes. Its diagnostic services in identification of pathogens and insect pests are invaluable.
Its comprehensive information services in agriculture are also unmatched. Recently, CABI has brought out many valuable publications relating to different aspects of IPM. Of particular relevance to IPM is CABI’s International Institute of Biological Control (IIBC). For nearly 70 years, IIBC has been providing international service in biological methods of pest and weed control.
4. IPMnet:
The global IPM Information Service was created through the joint efforts of the Consortium for International Crop Protection (CICP) and the National Biological Impact Assessment programme (NBIAP) of the US Department of Agriculture in late 1993. IPMnet offers IPM support almost immediately on line through Internet 24 hours a day, seeks to assemble and disseminate global information that will support IPM research, teaching, technology implementation and policy development.
In addition to serving as an information source, IPMnet also provides an effective channel for contacting others working on the same problem, and serves as a source for finding specialized equipment or materials. There is also a forum to use for engaging colleagues around the world in discussion and debate related to IPM development and strengthening issues.
B. National Organizations:
These are a number of organizations in India, which are engaged in promoting the cause of IPM to reduce the pesticide load in the environment.
1. Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage:
Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage (DPPQS) was established at Faridabad under the Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India in 1946 to bring awareness about plant protection problems and monitor pests and diseases.
In this connection, Central Plant Protection Stations were established in 1957-58. The strategy adopted by these stations was to educate the farmers and extension officers of the State Department of Agriculture through regular training programmes and demonstration on the use of plant protection measures.
The notable initiatives taken by the Government of India for the promotion of IPM on sustainable basis are:
i. Setting up of 31 Central IPM Centres (CIPMC) for promotion of IPM approach in 28 states and 1 union territory.
ii. Assistance to state for setting up of State Biocontrol Laboratories and emphasis on production and releases of biocontrol agents.
iii. Allocation of 50 per cent state funds on plant protection to promote IPM.
The Government of India has adopted integrated pest management (IPM) as cardinal principle and main plank of plant protection in the overall crop production programme since 1987, with the following objectives:
i. Maximise crop production with minimum input costs.
ii. Minimise environmental pollution in soil, water and air due to pesticides.
iii. Minimise occupational health hazards due to chemical pesticides.
iv. Preserve ecosystem and maintain ecological equilibrium.
v. No or less use of chemical pesticides for minimum pesticide residues.
vi. To improve farming systems.
The Directorate is undertaking the following activities to achieve the above objectives:
i. Popularizing IPM approach among farming community.
ii. Conducting regular pest surveillance and monitoring to assess pest/disease situation, for need based and timely application of selective insecticides.
iii. Conservation and augmentation of beneficial species such as parasitoids, predators and microorganisms.
iv. Promotion of biopesticides and improved cultural practices including the use of tolerant/ resistant varieties and other non-chemical methods of pest control.
v. Play a catalytic role in spread of innovative IPM skills to extension workers and farmers equally to resource-poor and resource-rich states.
vi. Human resource development in IPM by imparting training to master trainers, extension workers and farmers through Farmer Field Schools through Central IPM Centres, Krishi Vigyan Kendras and ICAR institutes.
2. National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects:
An All India Coordinated Research Project on Biological Control of Crop Pests and Weeds was initiated in 1977 under the Indian Council of Agricultural Research. When in 1988, the Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control (CIBC), Indian Station, Bangalore was closed, the Project Co-ordinator’s cell was merged with that unit taken over by the ICAR. The new headquarters called Biological Control Centre was shifted to the premises of this erstwhile CIBC, Indian Station.
The ultimate recognition of the importance of biological control came during the VIII plan with the up-gradation of the centre to the Project Directorate of Biological Control (PDBC) during October 1993 with headquarters at Bangalore (Bengaluru). PDBC has been further upgraded to National Bureau of Agriculturally Important Insects (NBAII) during the XI plan.
NBAII is a nodal institute at national level for research and development on all aspects of work on harnessing resources of insects including biological control of crop pests and weeds, training, information repository, technology dissemination, and national and international cooperation. Under All Indian Coordinated Research Protect on Biological Control of Crop Pest and Weeds (located at NBAII), with 20 centres carries out work on basic and applied aspects of biological control of crop pests and weeds.
The following thrust areas have been proposed under the Bureau’s programme:
i. Exploration, identification, characterization, conservation and utilization of biodiversity of beneficial insect resources.
ii. National and international exchange of beneficial insects.
iii. Development of digitized inventories, information storage and retrieval systems on insect resources.
iv. Consultancy and human resource development for exploitation of insect sources.
v. Utility of effective symbionts and toxins produced in insect cell line cultures and cloned products of biopesticides with increased virulence and persistence.
vi. Establishment of repository for insect derived beneficial bacteria and testing for crop use.
vii. Exploitation of acarine microbial associates.
viii. Insect symbiosis for pest and disease management in crop plants.
3. National Centre for Integrated Pest Management:
The National Centre for Integrated Pest Management (NCIPM) was established by the Indian Council of Agricultural Research in February 1988 to cater to the plant protection needs of the country.
The mandate of NCIPM is:
i. To develop and promote IPM technologies for major crops so as to sustain higher crop yields with minimum ecological implications.
ii. To develop information base on all aspects of IPM to advise on related national priorities and pest management policies.
iii. To establish linkages and collaborative programmes with other national and international institutes in the area of IPM.
iv. To extend technical consultancies in IPM.
The Centre aims for effective cooperation with All India Co-ordinated Crop Improvement Programmes, Research Institutes, State Agricultural Universities, Department of Science and Technology, Department of Biotechnology, National Remote Sensing Agencies, Indian Meteorology Department, National Information Centre Network, National Horticultural Board and Department of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage for implementation of its programmes. The headquarter of the Centre has recently been shifted from Faridabad to New Delhi. The Centre has started publishing a NCIPM newsletter with effect from June, 1995.
4. Department of Biotechnology:
The Department of Biotechnology (DBT), Government of India is providing financial assistance to various state agricultural universities and research centres for developing and producing biopesticides and biocontrol agents such as nuclear polyhidrosis virus, granulosis virus, Trichogramma, Chrysoperla and Trichoderma. Presently, 10 biopesticide production units are able to cover an area of one million ha per annum on 10 crops.
Under this programme, biopesticide production units and plant protection clinical centres have also been established at regional research stations. DBT has made concerted efforts towards the development of biopesticide technology in a systematic manner during the last more than 20 years by launching various projects and programmes.
National Biocontrol Network Programme:
DBT had established a National Biocontrol R&D Network Programme in 1989 to study the control of insect pests, diseases and weeds of economically important crops. Almost 300 R&D projects have been implemented at various ICAR/CSIR national institutes and state agricultural universities throughout the country.
This is a continued programme of DBT and its main aim is to develop better formulations as well as cost effective, commercially viable mass production technologies of various biopesticides. Based on the technology developed through this programmes, two biocontrol units were set up at Coimbatore and Madurai in Tamil Nadu.
Integrated Pest Management for Sustainable Agriculture:
A major R&D programme on Biological Control of Crop Pests and Diseases under IPM as a Component of INM Programme was launched during 1998-99. This programme was launched at 14 centres in 12 states.
The main aim of this programme was:
(i) To develop effective modules/package of practices, which are cost effective, sustainable and ecofriendly in different ecosystems.
(ii) To demonstrate the sustained preservation of ecosystem by conducting frontline demonstrations in identified clusters by adopting IPM and INM techniques.
(iii) To develop suitable techniques for packaging, storage and application of bioagents to enhance their field efficacy.
(iv) To promote involvement of NGOs towards the use of biopesticides. This programme has been concluded and finally reviewed in 2003.
5. National Institute of Plant Health Management:
The National Institute of Plant Health Management (NIPHM), Hyderabad, is an autonomous institute under the Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, Ministry of Agriculture, Government of India, which came into being in 2008. NIPHM has its origin in the Central Plant Protection Training Institute (CPPTI) which was established in 1966 as a training agency of the Directorate of Plant Protection, Quarantine and Storage.
The basic objective of CPPTI was to develop human resources in various plant protection disciplines. The institute was renamed as the National Plant Protection Training Institute (NPPTI) in 1994. Based on the recommendations of an evaluation study by National Productivity Council, Chandigarh, Department of Agriculture and Cooperation, decided to make this institute as an autonomous body in October 2008.
In accordance with its mandate, NIPHM offers its services in training, research, consultancy and plant health management education, with the following objectives:
i. Human resource development in plant protection technology, plant quarantine and biosecurity with special emphasis on crop-oriented IPM approaches, and protecting the biosecurity borders, both in public and private sectors.
ii. Human resource development in analysis of pesticide formulations and pesticide residues for monitoring the quality status of pesticides in states/UTs.
iii. Develop systematic linkages between state, regional, national and international institutions of outstanding accomplishments in the field of plant protection technology.
iv. Function as a nodal agency/forum for exchange of latest information on plant protection technology.
v. Collect and collate information on plant protection technology for dissemination among the state extension functionaries and farmers.
vi. Identify, appreciate and develop modern management tools, techniques in problem-solving approaches and utilizing the mechanism of personnel management, resource management, input management and finally conflict management at the organization level.
vii. Develop need-based field programmes for training and retraining of senior and middle level functionaries for executing plant protection programmes, and using training of trainer approaches to ensure maximum reach of the programmes.
viii. Conduct programme-oriented research in the areas of plant protection, integrated pest management, pesticide management, plant quarantine and pesticide delivery systems and residues, to provide feedback to training programmes.
ix. Serve as repository of ideas and develop communication and documentation services at national, regional and international levels with regard to the subject of plant protection management.
x. Forge linkages with national and international institutions and create networks of knowledge sharing through a programme of institutional collaboration and employment of consultants.
xi. Function as policy support to the Central Government in various sectors of plant protection, viz., integrated pest management, pesticide management, plant quarantine, biosafety, etc.