Abstract
The research of Integrated Pest Management in Bangladesh was carried out by the World Bank in the summer of 2003. Structured questionnaires were used to collect information on conventional and IPM farming techniques, pesticide use and practices, applicator precautions and damage-averting behavior, health effects and environmental impacts. The survey was designed and supervised by the World Bank team, and conducted by the Development Policy Group in Bangladesh. To minimize reporting bias, the survey was conducted under the agreement that the team would not reveal the identity of the farmers surveyed or the respondents who participated. To provide greater depth, 126 randomly selected rice farmers (102 land owners + 24 land owners cum field workers), who currently use IPM were also interviewed. An IPM farmer is identified as practicing any of the following methods: organic production; biological control; smoke; light traps; rotation of crops; manual clearing; and enemy plants to control pest attacks. Conventional farmers use none of these methods.
IPM farmers in districts with significant IPM participation were surveyed: Rajshahi and Rangpur in the Rajshahi division (Northwest), Comilla in Chittagong division (East), Jessore in Khulna division (West), and Kishoreganj in Dhaka division (North).
