A Research Study on Sustainable Pest Management (fwd)

Kevin Gamble (kgamble)
Tue, 1 Jun 1993 10:13:39 -0400 (EDT)

Date: Fri, 28 May 93 07:19:05+050
From: "Prof. Anil Gupta" <anilg@iimahd.ernet.in>

I am enclosing an announcement of a doctoral research proposal by my student
Astad Pastakia on Grounded Theory on Innovation for sutainable pest
management. I will appreciate if the network members could kindly forward
any references, ideas and reactions to me. Astad's study will benefit a
great deal from your comments. Thanks

If you could send any papers or other published material, please do so
care of my address: Prof Anil K. Gupta, Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad 380015, India.



Abstract

Grounded Theory on Innovation for Sustainable Pest Management
at Grassroots Level - with Implications for Policy


With growing international and domestic pressure from
environmental movements, governments are being forced to rethink
policies from the view -point of sustainable development.
Innovators at the grassroots level have have been too impatient
to wait for changes to come from above. Faced with local
environmental threats and challenges they have responded in the
best tradition of human creativity, with location specific
initiatives and innovations. Some of these have taken the form
of movements. If policy-makers are to incorporate the micro
perspective of these innovators into macro-policy for
sustainability they will need to take a close look at these
experiences. While there is some documentation, not much is known
about the processes that such innovators go through. Context
specific theories about the process of innovation for
sustainability would prove invaluable in the formation of
policies for sustainable development. This thesis proposes to
evolve one such theory of innovation in the specific context of
pest management in agriculture, grounding it in the experience of
grassroot innovators. A case study methodology would be used. The
initial theoretical categories for sampling are :(i) approaches
to problem -solving (reductionist, holistic and reductiono-
holistic) (ii) innovator groups ( user innovators vs. non-user
innovators) and (iii) cultural context ( low energy consuming vs.
high energy consuming countries).