Raw Group Memory from Breakout Sessions and Summary Action Steps
Goal:
To help biocontrol play a more important role in pest management through generating ideas for new approaches to commercialization.
Objectives:
Identify potential opportunities.
Gain a sense of how to develop enterprises to implement and deliver biological control.
Recommend new directions for research and technology transfer.
Identify roles and potential partnerships for academia, government, growers, and industry.
First Breakout
Black Team (M. Johnson, Leader)
Blue Team (L. Le Beck, Leader)
Green Team (H. Browning, Leader)
Orange Team (M. Benson, Leader)
Red Team (G. Hamilton, Leader)
Yellow Team (J. Lashomb, Leader)
Second Breakout
Black Team (M. Johnson, Leader)
Blue Team (L. Le Beck, Leader)
Green Team (H. Browning, Leader)
Orange Team (M. Benson, Leader)
Red Team (G. Hamilton, Leader)
Yellow Team (J. Lashomb, Leader)
Action Steps
(L. Meagher, Facilitator)
For Rutgers Organizing Committee:
- Circulate draft from sessions.
- Prepare working document.
- Disseminate document strategically.
For ESCOP-WGBC:
- Follow up Workshop(s) with broader participation – even antagonists, non-traditional players, The Ag Consultant, National Alliance of Independent Crop Consultants, IPM.
- Advocate streamlined regulations.
- Recruit a Gates, Streep, Paul Newman, Michael Jordan, Gore to provide visibility.
- Conduct national assessments of technologies and technology needs.
For Government:
- Simplify and Streamline Regulatory Framework esp. EPA, APHIS (comments).
- Establish dialogue with regulation agencies, congress, Agriculture Committee.
- Spread word about current activities of the agencies.
- Target SBIR availability to biological control.
- Set FRA targets/priorities, Environmental Stewardship grants, etc..
- Include insustainable Ag Research and Education (USAP and EPA).
- Provide basic research funding.
- FQPA – fed agencies must use IPM.
- FARM Bill – NRI could have a biological control component.
- Pass IPM resolutions at local levels of government.
- Encourage preferential treatment for countries that use biological control.
For Universities:
- Hire biocontrol specialists.
- Build Partnerships.
- Fund more positions.
- Incorporate business/impact/legal/entrepreneurial training into science graduate programs.
- Have external assessment conducted of university - industry – clients public relationship/information flow.
- Utilize CSRES Regional projects.
- Increase availability of information.
- Shift Extension advice toward biological control, e.g. Master Gardener programs.
- Prioritize objectives for biological control.
- Establish Biological Control Working Group at state level, e.g. to improve communication.
- Educate public(s).
- Piggy back/leverage other meetings/organizations.
For Private Sector:
- Publish books, magazines, user friendly manual.
- Fund R&D and implementation of biological control (user groups, grower groups),
- Place information kiosks in grocery stores, hardware/gardening stores (working with university).
- Work with sales organization demanding biological control, "marketing",
- Define feasible markets and fund related research.
- Influence decision-making.
- Increase consumer awareness.
- Consider a "self-regulation" of quality, e.g. International Biological Control Manufacturers Association certification of quality (Europe).
For Growers:
- Identify needs.
- Insist on being involved substantially and genuinely.
- Encourage universities to provide more accessible information, e.g. short course on accessing information.
- Encourage and participate in the development of biological control Website and utilize a central database in the Internet, with hyper-links, dialogue capacity (e.g., Nematode database).
For "Other":
- Become part of K-12 education.
- TV.
- Target children (e.g. Magic Schoolbus science videos, games, books).
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