Key factors affecting IPM are key social, ecological, economic and political components and processes and how they interact. Earlier, the importance of trying to understand the full dimensions of pest problems before we seek solutions was emphasised. The problems posed by rice pests and the ways of reducing these problems can be viewed as components in a hierarchy of nested systems, ranging from international and national systems down to systems at the level of the village, farm, paddy and hill. When considering the genetic features of rice pests, for example, and the potential for pesticide resistant strains to move from one area to another, the large scale migration of pests on climatic fronts has to be viewed in the context of an international system. However, to appreciate details of predator/prey interactions, that can affect the level of insect pest attack, it is processes operating at the level of the paddy or the hill that are more relevant and need to be investigated. Thus, when undertaking research into pest problems and when designing recommendations for management, factors in a number of these systems may need to be considered.
However, in practice, it is impossible to investigate or account for all of the factors that might influence the development of pests and diseases, the damage they cause, or their management. We must necessarily simplify. However, by simplifying, surely we might miss important features of the problem? While this is clearly a possibility, the important premise that underlies the simplification process is that the causes of pest problems, and the opportunities for resolving them, lie in a few key components and processes.
Thus, in trying to specify the broad dimensions of pest problems, we need to simplify in the right way to identify the key components and processes, and not to end up with a distorted simplification of the problem. There are various techniques we can use to try to keep the simplification process relevant and on-track, including descriptive systems analysis techniques, farmer surveys and focus groups. However, it is strongly recommended that key stakeholder participation is included as an integral part of this simplification process.