IAPPS NEWSLETTER

Number V      May, 2005

USAID FUNDS A GLOBAL IPM PROGRAM

USAID awarded a $12 million grant to Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University (Virginia Tech) for applied research in integrated pest management. Virginia Tech won the award in a competitive process. The grant awarded Sept. 30, 2004 will fund five years of research and education. In addition, missions and other bureaus can put up to $5 million of additional funding into associate awards. The grant will be managed by EGAT's Office of Natural Resource Management. The IPM-Collaborative Research Support Program (IPM CRSP), with funding through the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and its missions, pairs host country and U.S. scientists and stresses broad participation that includes farmers, non-governmental organizations, international agricultural research centers, private sector groups, and relevant public agencies.

Originally begun over a decade ago, the IPM CRSP now enters Phase III with a mandate to initiate new IPM activities aimed at pest management problems of global concern via a competitive grants program. Virginia Tech University located in Blacksburg, VA, USA will lead a consortium of U.S. and international research institutions in implementing an ecologically-based, participatory integrated pest management program. The purpose of the IPM CRSP is to develop and implement around the world a replicable, integrated approach to pest management that will: (a) reduce agricultural losses due to pests, (b) mitigate damage to natural eco-systems, and (c) prevent contamination of food and water supplies. The new program will be designed around Regional IPM Centers of Excellence and cross-cutting Global IPM Themes. Technical, social, policy, economic, and education issues will be addressed within these regional and thematic programs.

Regional IPM Centers of Excellence
Proposed sites for Regional Centers are:

Global Themes
The IPM CRSP will focus its efforts on areas that are expected to provide the most return on investment. These global themes are:

Partners and Collaborating Institutions
Current IPM CRSP partners include the Consortium for International Crop Protection (CICP), Clemson University, Florida A&M, Michigan State University, North Carolina A&T, North Carolina State University, Ohio State University, Penn State University, Purdue University and the University of California, Davis.
Collaborating institutions include Fort Valley State University, University of California Systemwide Biotechnology Program, and USDA-APHIS-PPQ; the IARCs, The World Vegetable Center-AVRDC, IFPRI, ICARDA, ICIPE, ICRISAT, CIP, IITA, ILRI, and IRRI; the NGOs, CARE/Bangladesh and World Vision; and the private sector, Glades Crop Care, Heinz Seeds, World Cocoa Foundation and ZedX, Inc.

IPM CRSP Invites Applications for the Regional Centers of Excellence and the Global Themes
The IPM CRSP has launched invitations to U.S. universities to submit applications for both the regional IPM and global theme IPM programs. Proposals are due June 1, 2005. See the IPM CRSP: website www.ag.vt.edu/IPMCRSP/index.asp for details. The website has a portal for non-U.S. university institutions to express their interest in collaborating with U.S. institutions who are preparing proposals. Collaborators can be any U.S. or host country (non U.S.) institution such as National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS), universities, NGOs, International Agricultural Research Centers (IARCs) and the private sector.

E. A. "Short" Heinrichs
Program Director, IPM CRSP
Secretary General, IAPPS
Virginia Tech University
Blacksburg, VA, USA
Email: ipm-dir@vt.edu

The IAPPS Newsletter is published by the International Association for the Plant Protection Sciences and distributed in Crop Protection to members and other subscribers. Crop Protection, published by Elsevier, is the Official Journal of IAPPS.

IAPPS Mission: to provide a global forum for the purpose of identifying, evaluating, integrating, and promoting plant protection concepts, technologies, and policies that are economically, environmentally, and socially acceptable.

It seeks to provide a global umbrella for the plant protection sciences to facilitate and promote the application of the Integrated Pest Management (IPM) approach to a the world's crop and forest ecosystems.

Membership Information: IAPPS has four classes of membership (individual, affiliate, associate, and corporate) which are described here.

The IAPPS Newsletter welcomes news, letters, and other items of interest from individuals and organizations. Address correspondence and information to:

Dr. Manuele Tamo, Editor
IAPPS Newsletter
Biological Control Center for Africa, IITA-Benin
08 B.P. 0932 Tri Postal, Cotonou, Republic of Benin
E-mail: m.tamo@cgiar.org