Strategies to Support Adoption of Integrated Pest Management (IPM): Evidence from the Rainforest Alliance and Industry Experts

Excessive use and misuse of pesticides is a well-known driver of global biodiversity loss and has negative impacts on human health. To support sustainable, regenerative farming, the Rainforest Alliance calls on farmers in our certification program to adopt Integrated Pest Management (IPM), which involves different cultural and biological practices to monitor and control pests, while minimizing the use of pesticides.

While the benefits of IPM are well established, there is a need to understand which strategies facilitate IPM uptake. Further, supply chain actors—including companies—need to better understand what they can do to support these strategies. This paper draws on research from the Rainforest Alliance and industry experts to investigate such strategies at the farm and market level, and in the enabling policy environment. These interventions are analyzed in order to derive actionable recommendations for supporting IPM and transitioning away from reliance on harmful pesticides.