• Experts address the present and future situation of integrated pest management during a technical seminar held at CIHEAM Zaragoza in the framework of the European IPMWORKS project

21 March 2024.- Advisors, technicians, scientists and researchers in the plant health sector have participated in a technical seminar on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in the framework of the European IPMWORKS project from 19 to 20 March at CIHEAM Zaragoza.

One of the main conclusions of this technical forum has been the affirmation of IPM as a key strategy to achieve sustainable agriculture. As Joaquín Balduque, IPMWORKS project manager points out, "This seminar has made it clear that integrated pest management is a robust approach to crop protection that can guarantee farm profitability as well as environmental sustainability ".

The current situation of IPM; the risks and challenges posed by this strategy for plant health in forthcoming years; the range of management techniques available to control pests, diseases and weeds; and farm profitability are just some of the topics addressed by the experts during the technical seminar.

Emilio Betrán (CSCV) & Ángel Jiménez (COIAANPV)

Valentín Almansa (MAPA)

Ramzi Belkhodja (CIHEAM Zaragoza), Juan José Barriuso (Univ. Zaragoza) & Alun Jones (CIHEAM Zaragoza)

The event included a round table discussion on the present and future situation of IPM, chaired by Alun Jones, Head of Projects at CIHEAM Zaragoza, with the following panellists:

• Valentín Almansa, Director General for Health in Agriculture and Food Production and Animal Welfare, Spanish Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food;
• Emilio Betrán, Director of the Plant Health and Certification Centre of the Government of Aragon;
• Juan José Barriuso, Tenure lecturer of the Department of Agricultural Science and the Natural Environment of the University of Zaragoza;
• Ángel Jiménez, Dean of the Official College of Agricultural Engineers of Aragon, Navarre and the Basque Country; and
• Ramzi Belkhodja, Coordinator of the Area of Plant Production, Health and Breeding of CIHEAM Zaragoza.

INTEGRATED PEST MANAGEMENT, A GLOBAL APPROACH

IPM is a global approach to pest control in agriculture and provides an alternative to conventional crop protection techniques, in an effort to prevent excessive use of plant protection products. The main objective is to apply long-term control strategies that combine biological, cultural and chemical methods to bring pathogen population levels down to tolerable levels, so that pests do not exceed the economic damage threshold.

The European project IPMWORKS seeks to demonstrate that IPM, recognised in the European Green Deal as a key strategy to achieve sustainable agriculture and protect the environment, can lead to a lower level of dependence on plant protection products, better pest control, cost reduction, and increased profitability.

One of CIHEAM Zaragoza’s objectives is to extrapolate the results of the project that concludes in September 2024, to non-European countries. Ramzi Belkhodja, coordinator of the Area of Plant Production, Health and Breeding at CIHEAM Zaragoza talks about these objectives, “As an organisation engaged in international cooperation in agriculture and food, we will work to demonstrate that IPM is a strategy that works at international level, and encourage application of the project results in southern Mediterranean countries such as Tunisia, Morocco or Algeria”.

The seminar concluded with a technical visit to BIOSANZ, a pioneer organic agriculture business situated in Epila, Aragon, where participants saw, first-hand, examples of IPM in action.

Visit to a fruit orchard equipped with a hail net

Group photo of the technical visit

Identification of pests during the technical visit