Pests and poverty: the continuing need for crop protection research

The UK Department for International Development's White Paper and Strategie s for Achieving the International Development Targets' recognize that knowl edge and technology underpin development and that the elimination of povert y, improved economic growth and protection of the environment can be achiev ed through support for research and development that enhances the sustainab le livelihoods of poor people. This philosophy is also the foundation of th e Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) future strategy A New Vision for 2010.(2) The DFID Crop Protection Programme (CPP) is committed to the development and promotion of socially and environmenta lly acceptable management technologies to reduce crop losses from pests(3) in developing countries. Improved pest management is an essential part of a holistic approach to crop improvement, substantially contributing to pover ty elimination, enhanced livelihood security and reduced environmental degr adation. This article reports the progress being made in the development, a pplication and promotion of a broad range of pest management technologies t hat farmers are adopting, especially in South Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, home to most of the world's poorest people. Without the advances made by ag ricultural research, including crop protection technologies, during the pas t 30-40 years, the effects of poverty would have been far worse. Further su pport is essential to meet the challenges of producing even more food from even less land using technologies that have minimal adverse environmental i mpacts and that contribute to poverty elimination. Technologies such as hos t plant resistance, judicious use of pesticides, biological control and int egrated pest management will have an increasingly important role to play in the future.