Empire Strikes Back: The Making and Unmaking of Indonesia's National Integrated Pest Management Program

Indonesia's 11-year national integrated pest management program (IPM) (1989–1999) is considered to be one of the most successful examples of wide scale adoption of IPM principles and practice in a developing country. The program is best known for introducing the innovative farmer field school model of agroecosystem-based experiential learning, which has subsequently been disseminated and adapted to different crops and agricultural systems in countries throughout the world. In the 12 years since the termination of the program in 1999, Indonesia has undergone profound changes as the country enters a new era of democratic reform. Government support for the national IPM program—and the farmer field school model it spawned—has wavered during this period, contributing to a resurgence of the very pesticide-induced resurgent pest problems that led to its establishment in the first place. This article examines the socio-political basis and drivers of Indonesia's retreat from IPM.