In order to meet the food needs and expectations of a global human population, that is projected to increase to 9 billion by around 2050; crop production will have to increase by some 70– 100% during the 21st century (01). In Southeast Asia, 618 million people (11.7%) currently live in 3.3% of the World’s land area2. Attempting to address this global issue, a number of recent, high profile, multi-author, scientific and policy papers have identified the need for a holistic approach to a broad range of issues, including soil conservation, water availability and the need for sustainable and improved pest and disease management practices (02) (03). With changes to market policy, rural development, low producer prices and increased costs of agricultural inputs, food production in the ASEAN countries can barely keep up with increasing demand: especially in the cities. Contamination of food with residues of pesticides, together with their impact on the environment in the rural areas, is a matter of increasing concern in this region and elsewhere. In Southeast Asia, food supply is commonly based on smallholder structures, especially for important staple foods such as rice or soya. Furthermore, many cash and export crops such as oil palm, cocoa, or tropical fruits are grown by small farmers: often then supplying the processors of large plantations. The various technologies of the ‘Green Revolution’, including high-responding varieties tied to inputs of chemical pesticides and fertilisers, brought about increases in yield per hectare for many crops, but due to low and even declining producer prices, did not always increase income for rural families. This increased dependence of farmers on expensive chemical inputs, which sometimes was compounded by pesticide resistance and pest resurgence caused by the impact of broad-spectrum insecticides on natural enemies (see section 3.1). Government extension services, aided by international programmes and often supported by the FAO, promoted IPM from the 1990s onwards. Manufacturers of BCA inputs often only have scattered distribution networks, resulting in a lack of availability of suitable biological control agents for farmers. In contrast, manufacturers of chemical pesticides have a well-developed distribution and supply networks and frequently make excessive promises on improvements of yield. However, most farmers are insufficiently trained in the selection and use of pesticides. Application techniques are usually poor and there is a deficit of knowledge among both farmers and pesticide salesmen; this knowledge gap may also adversely affect the successful implementation of biocontrol products or biopesticides (see section 2.5.3). These Guidelines summarise the work of AMS experts, who met in the region several times during 2013 (09), in response to a request of the ASEAN Working Group on Crops (ASWGC) to the ASEAN Biocontrol for Sustainable Agrifood Systems Project. It is implemented by GIZ on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ). In order to prepare Southeast Asian countries for the challenges of the ASEAN Economic Community (AEC), which is scheduled for 2015, the Member States are working together on the ASEAN Integrated Food Security 9 Preface 2excluding Antarctica
Implementing Biological Control Agents in the ASEAN Region
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