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BIOTECHNOLOGY AND IPM: THE RELEVANCE TO SMALL SCALE FARMERS IN TROPICAL ASIA *
Author(s) -
Whitten Max
Publication year - 1999
Publication title -
insect science
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.991
H-Index - 45
eISSN - 1744-7917
pISSN - 1672-9609
DOI - 10.1111/j.1744-7917.1999.tb00158.x
Subject(s) - microbiology and biotechnology , agriculture , biology , integrated pest management , sustainability , general partnership , scale (ratio) , agroforestry , relevance (law) , southeast asia , business , agricultural science , environmental planning , agronomy , ecology , political science , geography , history , ancient history , cartography , finance , law
This paper deals with the relevance of biotechnology and IPM to small scale farmers in South and Southeast Asia. IPM may be defined as the combination and integration of approaches to pest management. which maximizes real profitability and genuine sustainability for the users and farming system and gives due regard to the environment. Alternative and practical pest management options should be developed for small scale farmers who could become experts in crop management and capable of making informed decisions through training in field schools. The latest development of biotechnology includes diagnostics, biological pesticides (either genetically manipulated or not genetically manipulated), transgenic plants and animals (vertebrates and invertebrates) and informatics. The place of biotechnology in rice IPM and vegetable IPM in South and Southeast Asia is discussed. Examples of soybean caterpillar in Brazil and rice blast in Vietnam illustrate the benefits of a strong working partnership between farmers, trainers and researchers in creating new knowledge which promotes sustainable agriculture.