What The Public Sector Can Do:

• The overall level of federal funding for pest management research and education should at least double over the next five fiscal years. The portion of funding supporting biointensive IPM should rise from the current 13 percent to at least 75 percent of total pest-management research.
• The U.S. Department of Agriculture and the federal Environmental Protection Agency need to develop improved, scientifically rigorous techniques for measuring aggregate pesticide use, reliance and risks.
• A significant portion of the 1996 Farm Bill's "Fund for Rural America" should be dedicated to broadening the infrastructure needed to move toward biointensive IPM.
• All levels of government should adopt biointensive IPM in operations such as office buildings, parks and public forests.

• The private sector invests significantly more in pest management and pesticide research and development than the public sector does. Most biotechnology R&D has aimed at developing commercially marketable products that enhance reliance on chemical pesticides. The private sector should shift its priorities to emphasize biotechnology that supports and enhances biointensive IPM.
• While some major pesticides and biotechnology companies have been developing products incompatible with biointensive IPM, others have focused on isolating microorganisms and genetic traits that might someday help speed progress along the IPM continuum. Much of that research is being done at small, recently established firms. Comparatively small investments here can exert a great deal of leverage in advancing biointensive IPM methods.
• Surveys have shown that a majority of consumers is interested in buying foods grown using "Earth sustainable" practices like IPM, but that most consumers don't understand the meaning of terms like IPM, "sustainable agriculture" or even "organically grown." To help consumers buy, and food industries sell, more of the environmentally sound foods the public says it wants, innovations in food labeling and point-of-purchase information will need to keep pace with progress in adopting High IPM.

• Consumer purchasing power can advance biointensive IPM both directly, through choices of pest management products and services, and indirectly, through choices of foods and other products produced with biointensive IPM. Mothers and Others for a Liveable Planet, a consumer group, recently convinced supermarkets in several cities to increase their offerings of organic and locally grown foods, and to promote these products. The experiments proved financially successful.
• Consumers seeking do-it-yourself solutions to pest problems buy pest-management products at hardware, garden and grocery stores, and at agricultural supply centers, or they hire pest-management specialists. Unfortunately, much of the information available from these sources is designed to help sell particular products or services. To make effective pest-management decisions, consumers should seek additional sources, including independent pest-management consultants, county extension agents, local and state environmental agencies, books and reports, or databases on the Internet.