World pest control debates

The 13th International Plant Protection Congress, held in The Hague in July, aimed to enhance understanding between groups involved in crop protection: from the farming community to regulators, and environmentalists to the agrochemical industry. As one might predict, the hottest debates surrounded hazardous pesticides in the Third World and the disposal of obsolete pesticides.
    The most popular sessions centred on IPM and biological control - a reflection of the enlightened attitude of the Dutch hosts, tireless exponents of the environment and sustainable development. The conference reinforced the view that biological and integrated control are effective with such examples as Dutch greenhouse application, southeast Asian rice, Brazilian soybean production and many more.
    There was an important acknowledgement that' top-down' IPM systems fail to help farmers understand the concepts and field indicators of biological control. Instead participation through farmers field schools was recognised as a way people can learn about the role of natural enemies in an agroecosystem framework.
    The issue of gender and crop protection was addressed at the conference which was a welcomed move as literature studies reveal it to be a neglected field. Much has been written on women and much on crop protection, but few researchers have investigated how these two inter-relate. (DB)

This issue of CRM lists some of the papers presented at the conference. A reader on gender issues and crop protection is available from the conference organisers.