The European Group for
Integrated Pest Management in
Development Cooperation

1. Raison d'être
2. History

Raison d'être

IPM has received growing attention over the past five decades. In order to raise and stabilise developing country agricultural productivity in 'traditional' systems and to reduce pesticide use in high external input farming systems.

Until the past decade, progress with adoption at the farm level was slower than expected, while there was unprecedented growth in the use of agrochemicals. Important agriculture stakeholders, from those that fund research to environmental groups and increasingly the agrochemical industry itself, are concerned about this situation and its non-sustainability.

This concern, recognised in UNCED Agenda 21, spurred the creation of the global IPMForum in 1990 to promote IPM implementation through coordinated international action.

Within this context, and with much of the expertise relating to pest management in the developing world residing within Europe, there was a need for concerted European effort. With this in view, IPMEurope was set up in 1992 to enable Europe to:

• play a more proactive and influential role on key issues;
• strengthen the policy, research and development environment, and
• promote European impact within the international effort.

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History

2000-2002 (Fifth Framework Programme, EU)

• strengthening the technical message from Europe in an appropriate social, economic and environmental context,
• repositioning in changing European and global ARD framework,
• access point for technical advisory services around guidelines concept,
• external review to determine impact and future directions.

1996-2000 (Fourth Framework Programme, EU)

• shift in emphasis to the development of a common strategy for IPM as a route to sustainable agriculture,
• move to bridge the research implementation divide through formulation of EU-guidelines, link to EIARD and Infosys

1992-1996 (Third Framework Programme, EU)

• European IPM working group established by the EC as an accompanying measure to promote impact and coherence of EU research within international effort.

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