The integrated pest management (IPM) programmes run by the FAO seek to train farmers on how to take independent, well-informed crop production and management decisions, achieved primarily through participatory, season-long field schools. This study examines the social impact of IPM field schools in Mali during the 1999-2000 seasons, as well as considering their influence on improving technical knowledge, changing farming attitudes and behaviour and in simulating increased collective self-help action.

The participants were mainly farmers, extension personnel and agricultural researchers from all over Africa, also representatives of donor agencies and agro-chemical industry. The farmers' interests dominated the conference, which concentrated on insect pests. Themes : 1. Pests as a constraint in crop and livestock production. 2. Extension systems as mechanisms for technology transfer. 3. The role of IPM specialists and social scientists in generating technologies for the farming community in Africa. 4. International cooperation and IPM in Africa

In Africa women farmers are generally responsible for pest management activities. Research has shown that the technological needs and priorities of women farmers differ from those of men, but their specific needs are rarely addressed in the research and development of agricultural technology. Women's access to new technologies is seriously undermined owing to the failure of extension systems to establish contacts with women farmers. The book discusses the gender-related, socio-economic factors that influence the creation, adoption and effective implementation of IPM technologies.