HIGHLIGHTS ON INTEGRATED PRODUCTION SYSTEM: CURRENT RESEARCH AND PROPOSAL FOR THE FUTURE

In Europe, social, political, and economical pressure is making IPS a cornerstone of agricultural policy and market competitiveness (Sansavini, 1997). The same evolution is discernible throughout the world. Intensive management of horticultural crops is now an irreversible trend in Europe and other parts of the world (e.g., in China). And IPS is the scientific answer to combine intensification and low environmental impact practices. Therefore, IPS, seeking to encourage high technology grounded on scientific advances, has been the necessary innovation of European agriculture in the 1980s (Sansavini, 1990). Its premises have now been adopted world-wide (e.g., the Korean report), and research will be even more focused on in the future (e.g., the Norwegian report). The needs for IPS research in Horticulture is now recognised world-wide since all over the world, and particularly in DCs, horticultural crops are often considered to be actually or potentially a better source of rural income than other crops. In Taiwan the production value for fruit, vegetable and ornamental crops was 2.06, 1.29 and 0.3 billion US dollars, accounting for respectively 33.5, 20.9 and 4.9% of the total crop production value. In Sri Lanka, a total of 0.2 M hectares of horticultural crops produces almost the same rupee value as the total rice crop cultivated on about 0.8 M hectares, illustrating furthermore the high income generating potential of these crops. Another important task in horticultural area in DCs is to defend the supply base of essential items in the peoples' diet (such as hot pepper, garlic and onion in Korea, leafy vegetables in Sri Lanka, vegetables in China), and that of major income sources of horticultural farmers (such as mandarin oranges and apple in Korea, green chilli, rambutan and avocado in Sri Lanka). Another objective is to develop new items for export market. For example, the total export value of fresh fruits and vegetables has increased in Sri Lanka from Rs. 48 million in 1983 to Rs. 377 million in 1996.

However, Horticulture is a high-risk business that demands professional expertise based on the synthesis and results of well-grounded research (Sansavini, 1997), to meet market requirements along with economic objectives. Therefore, current research programmes essentially aim to save production cost and labor and to enhance the crop quality, and growers' income.

Although the multidisciplinary research field open by this extending interest in IPS obviously requires system analysis methodology (Rossing and Heong, 1997) combining biotechnical, pest, disease and economical modeling, advisory services for agriculture have traditionally based their tests of technological innovations upon factorial experiments repeated in space and time.

Download Adobe Acrobat Reader (free software to read PDF files)