Improving Food Security Around the World: Three-Year Report, 2014-2017

Abstract

The IPM Innovation Lab: Feeding a Hungry World For the past six years, I have had the distinct privilege of supervising the Feed the Future Innovation Lab for Integrated Pest Management, also known as the Integrated Pest Management Innovation lab. This program, which began over two decades ago, has helped countless farmers around the world protect their crops and livelihoods and ensure food security. It has also helped control devastating pest invasions, such as that of the papaya mealybug in India, an intervention estimated to have saved the country up to one billion dollars. This USAID-funded program, formerly known as the Integrated Pest Management Collaborative Research Support Program, began in 1993. The program assists developing countries in tackling their agricultural pest problems by introducing methods that are affordable, environmentally sound, safe to human health, and socially acceptable. Since the program’s inception, it has been managed by Virginia Tech, one of America’s valuable land grant universities. Over the last six years, I have traveled to several countries with the Virginia Tech-based management entity and their collaborating scientists, and I continue to be impressed by their hard work, organization, and vision. One of the many strengths of this program is that, in addition to developing technologies to tackle pest problems using non-chemical pesticides as often as possible, it also helps prevent and mitigate pest problems by tracking invasive species worldwide and raising awareness in countries well ahead of the invasion. I have also actively participated in the IPM Innovation Lab’s many workshops and symposia conducted at international conferences. These workshops disseminate the information developed by the program outside of the mandated Feed the Future countries, pushing its impact well beyond national borders. The IPM Innovation Lab has taken to heart my recommendation to work with the local missions and value chain projects in its host countries. As a result, it has one of the best track records among all of the Innovation Labs for leveraging additional USAID mission funds. Where possible, the IPM Innovation Lab also partners with host country governments, international agricultural research centers, and other Innovation Labs in order to implement its work. All of these aspects have led to a unique and successful process of technology transfer that I hope other Innovation Labs will follow. Seeing all of the impressive achievements of the IPM Innovation Lab over the last three years makes me very proud of the work we’ve done. What we do is vital to international food and economic security, is highly supportive of the U.S. government’s new Global Food Security Strategy, and is highly protective of U.S. agriculture against emerging pest threats and food safety concerns. I am confident that the next two years of this phase of our program will bring even more innovations, collaborations, and solutions to the field of agricultural pest management. John E. Bowman, Ph.D. Senior Agriculture Advisor Agreement Officer’s Representative (AOR) for IPM Innovation Lab Program Area Leader: Nutritious & Safe Foods USAID Bureau for Food Security (BFS) Office of Agricultural Research & Policy (ARP)