Historically, agricultural growth and increases in agricultural productivity have been a prerequisite for sustained economic growth and development. Today agriculture remains an important if not dominant part of most developing countries' economies, and is the most likely source of significant economic growth and reduction in poverty. Moreover, agriculture - and related rural enterprise - is a livelihood strategy for hundreds of millions of the world's poorest people and can have a major impact on the environment. Well-managed, agriculture can enhance livelihoods, conserve soil and water resources, preserve trees and biodiversity, and contribute to the locking of carbon. Badly-managed, it can lead to food insecurity, environmental degradation and pollution, depletion of natural resources, contaminated food, and poor nutrition and health.
In developing countries, more than a quarter of potential food and fibre crop yield is routinely lost to pests, weeds and diseases. It is increasingly apparent that minimizing the damage caused by these organisms in a sustainable manner is not something that can be achieved in isolation from the whole farming system in which the crops are produced. Among the challenges are:

	The development of integrated crop management (ICM) systems for pests, diseases and weeds, which are environmentally sustainable and socio-economically appropriate
	Countering the misuse and overuse of synthetic chemical pesticides, promoting their safe disposal, and developing pest management systems based on newer safer chemicals
	Developing alternative pest-control technologies based, for example, on insect pathogens, insect pheromones and plant allelochemicals
	Using participatory approaches for the development and extension of integrated crop management technologies and strategies.