The paper explores the social dimension of pest management and argues that understanding users' perspectives and facilitating user participation can contribute to more effective pest management R&D.Pest problems involve not only technical but also social issues since the field impact of pest management innovations is highly dependent on local communities' social structure, collective representation and meaningful social action. Users' perspectives and participation are particularly critical when the characteristics of insect pests or diseases are such that collective decisions and actions are essential for successful management.The paper focuses on rootcrop agriculture to illustrate the application of user participatory approaches to pest management R&D. Empirical cases drawn from UPWARD projects in various Asian countries describe how researchers work with users in undertaking problem diagnosis, action research and local R&D management. The paper ends by summarizing the key lessons learned_ and how these would compare with the experiences of the community-based bacterial wilt management project in Nepal.

The paper explores the social dimension of pest management and argues that understanding users' perspectives and facilitating user participation can contribute to more effective pest management R&D.Pest problems involve not only technical but also social issues since the field impact of pest management innovations is highly dependent on local communities' social structure, collective representation and meaningful social action. Users' perspectives and participation are particularly critical when the characteristics of insect pests or diseases are such that collective decisions and actions are essential for successful management.The paper focuses on rootcrop agriculture to illustrate the application of user participatory approaches to pest management R&D. Empirical cases drawn from UPWARD projects in various Asian countries describe how researchers work with users in undertaking problem diagnosis, action research and local R&D management. The paper ends by summarizing the key lessons learned_ and how these would compare with the experiences of the community-based bacterial wilt management project in Nepal.