What are some ways to ensure that your agribusiness uses sustainable pest management practices?

1 What is sustainable pest management?

Sustainable pest management (SPM) is an approach that aims to prevent or reduce pest damage while minimizing the use of harmful chemicals and maximizing the use of natural and biological controls. SPM is based on the principles of integrated pest management (IPM), which is a process that involves identifying, monitoring, and managing pests using a combination of cultural, mechanical, biological, and chemical methods. SPM goes beyond IPM by also considering the social, economic, and ecological aspects of pest management, such as farmers' knowledge, preferences, and resources, as well as the impacts of pest control on soil health, water quality, and biodiversity.

2 How to implement SPM in your agribusiness?

In order to successfully implement SPM in your agribusiness, a systematic and adaptive process should be followed. This includes assessing your pest situation and identifying your pest management goals and objectives, analyzing the available pest management options and selecting the ones most suitable for your agribusiness, implementing the chosen options in a coordinated and integrated manner following best practices and recommendations, and monitoring and evaluating the results of your pest management actions while adjusting them as needed based on feedback and data collected.

3 What are some examples of SPM options?

When selecting an SPM option for your crop type, pest problem, and agroecological context, you can choose from a variety of options. Cultural methods, such as crop rotation, intercropping, and resistant varieties, modify the crop environment or the crop itself to make it less favorable for pests or more favorable for natural enemies. Mechanical methods, like traps, barriers, and nets, physically remove or kill pests or their habitats. Biological methods use living organisms or their products to control pests or enhance natural enemies. Chemical methods employ synthetic or natural substances to kill or repel pests or interfere with their growth or reproduction.

4 What are the benefits of SPM for your agribusiness?

By using SPM for your agribusiness, you can enjoy many benefits that can improve your productivity, profitability, and sustainability. These include reduced pest damage and crop losses, resulting in higher yields and quality; reduced reliance on and costs of synthetic pesticides, leading to lower input costs and health risks; increased diversity and abundance of natural enemies, enhancing biological control and ecosystem services; increased soil health and fertility, improving crop nutrition and resilience; reduced environmental pollution and degradation, resulting in improved water quality and biodiversity; and increased social acceptability and marketability, leading to improved customer satisfaction and loyalty.

5 What are the challenges of SPM for your agribusiness?

While SPM has many advantages for your agribusiness, it also has some challenges that need to be addressed. These include complexity and uncertainty due to the greater knowledge, skills, and information needed compared to conventional pest management, as well as the dynamic and varying responses of pests. Additionally, coordination and collaboration among different stakeholders is essential for effective and consistent pest management actions. Adoption and adaptation are also necessary for SPM, as pest management options must be tailored to the specific needs of each agribusiness. Lastly, regulation and certification may be more difficult to achieve under SPM than conventional pest management, as standards and labels must be clear and credible to gain trust from customers and authorities.

6 Here’s what else to consider

This is a space to share examples, stories, or insights that don’t fit into any of the previous sections. What else would you like to add?