International projects
Stepping-up IPM decision support for crop protection
Organisations (1)
Abstract
The ‘IPM Decisions’ project proposed here will accelerate impact from farm Decision Support Systems (DSS) for IPM, as advocated in the Sustainable Use Directive. The impact of DSS in crop protection has been constrained by regional and sectoral fragmentation of actors, inadequate testing of DSS and quantification of their benefits, DSS addressing single pests whilst farmer decisions need to account for multiple pests, and DSS which are insufficiently risk-averse. We will address these constraints and enable innovation by creating a ‘one stop shop’ delivering DSS, data, tools and resources through a pan-European online Platform and an ‘IPM Decisions Network’. The latter forming a community of users and stakeholders. Users will be farmers and advisers, and applied research or industry organisations that deliver or develop DSS. Each type of user will access the Platform via a tailored Dashboard, specific to their requirements. The project consortium brings together multi-actor participants from research, crop protection industry, ICT, meteorological services, policy, farming, advisory and extension organisations. Participants in IPM Decisions are also participants in relevant European projects and networks, enabling efficient engagement and impact. The focus will be on delivering DSS for key pests of major outdoor crops. Integrating key examples of contrasting DSS on the Platform will address urgent needs and demonstrate that the Platform has the functionality required for wide impact. Longevity of the Platform and Dashboards beyond the life of the project will be aided by minimizing the resources required to maintain and update the system, and a realistic business plan. Software, scientific publications and research data will be open access. IPM Decisions addresses all the requirements of part A of SFS-06-2018-2020. The outcomes from this project will support the EU wide demonstration farm network to be established under part B of the call.
