Evolving pest management paradigms through information and communication technologies

This review highlights the transformative potential of different information and communication technologies (ICTs) in advancing current pest management approaches in agriculture. Climate change, driven by altered weather factors, is seriously impacting crop growth and is found to act as a major determinant for the stagnation of yields. Dramatic shifts in climatic conditions are also escalating insect pest and disease problems. To address these escalating pest pressures, integrated pest management (IPM) has been widely promoted as a sustainable, multitactical management approach. However, improper pest identification, poor monitoring and a lack of tools for real-time information dissemination remain critical challenges among farmers. These limitations often lead farmers to rely on a single-tactic, chemical-based pest management approach. ICT tools can effectively bridge these gaps and support the modernisation of pest management systems. ICT tools such as remote sensing, geographical information systems (GIS), global positioning systems (GPS), internet of things (IoT) sensors, artificial intelligence (AI) and cloud-based technologies are equipped to provide services for pest identification, monitoring, prediction and management advisory systems. These technologies enable automated pest recognition, real-time data collection, population estimation, early warning and targeted management recommendations. ICTs have the potential to transform existing pest management paradigms and strengthen the adoption of integrated pest management.