Insect Pest Control

Our sub-Programme assists national agricultural authorities and regional organizations in the implementation across provincial, national or regional boundaries, of environmentally-friendly and sustainable methods to control or eradicate major insect pests of crops, as well as insects of veterinary importance, through the application of nuclear-based and related technologies. In doing so, we support Member Countries' efforts to reduce pesticide use and their negative impacts on food and the environment, to preserve biological diversity and contribute to the introduction of profitable and sustainable agricultural systems in developing countries. We also facilitate trade in food and agricultural commodities through assistance with the establishment of pest-free areas and by promoting the application of harmonized quarantine regulations and other Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures (SPS).

Present activities focus on:

• areawide integration of the Sterile Insect Technique (SIT) and F1 Sterility Technique with other methods against such key pests as tsetse, screwworms, tephritid fruit flies and major Lepidopteran pests
• development of improved systems of mass-rearing, genetic sexing, quality control, aerial release, and field monitoring for more cost-effective implementation of the above techniques against key insect pests
• research on alternative uses of nuclear techniques to facilitate the application of and trade in biological control organisms, as well as, the application of molecular biology for the development of modified strains of insects for future pest control applications.
• establishment of guidelines through the preparation of standard operation procedures and increase of international awareness of SIT and areawide IPM through symposia, conferences, training courses, video productions and publication of articles and books.

Our activities are implemented through Research Networks, Technical Co-operation Projects and Training Courses, in close collaboration with two FAO Divisions, namely Plant Production and Protection (AGP) and Animal Production and Health (AGA). We operate our own research oriented Entomology Laboratory (for more information please refere to our last Annual Report - 2005) at the FAO/IAEA Agriculture and Biotechnology Laboratory at Seibersdorf, and promote information sharing by convening scientific and technical meetings of national and international experts, international symposia and regional seminars, and disseminating the results of our activities through various types of publications including newsletters, public information materials and manuals.