Economics and adoption of conservation biological control

Improving the conditions for natural enemies through conservation biological control (CBC) in agricultural landscapes has the potential to be economically beneficial, but economic assessments of CBC programs are rarely conducted. In this paper, we discuss how to complete an economic assessment of CBC. We also ask what the research and development (R&D) requirements are for CBC and the likelihood of that R&D being funded. We examine the factors that may influence uptake of CBC amongst farmers and consider what policies or strategies might be introduced to increase the incentive to adopt CBC. Relative advantage of CBC over other production systems, trialability (ease of informal field experimentation and learning before adoption) of CBC and the social dynamics of CBC development and extension are key factors influencing adoption. The most important social factors are the social learning processes to support agroecological practices, and the configuration of economic incentives to reward farmers for undertaking the transition to conservation biological control. By itself, neither social pressure to reduce insecticide use nor sophisticated scientific research guarantees expanded implementation of CBC. (C) 2008 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.