Ex - ante Evaluation of IPM Research and Outreach for Thrips in Kenya

The International Center of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), is proposing the institution of Integrated Pest Management (IPM) for the control of crop pests, cost reduction and compliance to Maximum Residue Levels (MRLs) to boost exports from the developing nations. Is IPM the solution to the pests that lead to high crop losses? Which components of IPM work? Resources are scarce but with multiple uses. Investors are interested in return on investment for priority setting and resource allocation. What is the potential economic impact of the technology? How can this be estimated? In which economic theory is this study underpinned? From this intervention, who gains and who losses? After how many years will benefits be realized? Is the technology Pareto efficient? Since economic evaluation is a predictive tool, it is difficult to determine accurately what a technology's benefits and costs will be in the future. Future values are difficult to predict and there will always be some uncertainty about the analysis results. How does the study take care of risk? To unpack these and more issues around economic evaluation of technological advancement, grab your copy of this book now!

Autorentext

The author is a Socio-economic Consultant focusing on the potential economic impact of projects to aid in priority setting and resource allocation amid a wide range of research and development approaches. She works for the International Centre of Insect Physiology and Ecology (icipe), Kenya and SNV, Kenya.