Objective:
To assess priorities for an Integrated Pest Management Program for Horticultural Crops in the Azores, Portugal, and develop a joint collaboration program between the Regional Government of the Azores' (RGA) Plant Protection Service, and USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) and The Ohio State University (OSU) under the 1995 Agreement on Cooperation and Defense between Portugal and the United States.

Approach:
Under the 1995 Agreement on Cooperation and Defense between Portugal and the United States, the Office of International Research Programs (OIRP) in USDA's Agricultural Research Service (ARS) at the request of Department of Defense's (DOD) US Joint Forces Command (USJFCOM), and now, US European Command, administers the Cooperative Initiatives Program with the Azores. Through this agreement, OSU and OIRP maintain regular contact with the Government of Portugal and the Regional Government of the Azores (RGA), as well as with multiple U.S. public and private sector agencies to identify and provide resources, contacts and expertise for the cooperative program. This program will follow on to discussions held in May 2003, and will include further development of mutual areas of interest, development of a common agenda, and technical exchanges of information and experts to implement this program. OSU has already established trilateral linkages with the RGA's Plant Protection Service and ARS, providing a good basis to further the cooperation in various aspects of integrated pest management for horticultural crops under the agreement.