Ecological pest control fortifies agricultural growth in Asia-Pacific economies

The Green Revolution is credited with alleviating famine, mitigating poverty and driving aggregate economic growth since the 1960s. In Asia, high-input technology packages secured a tripling of rice output, with germplasm improvements providing benefits beyond US$ 4.3 billion/year. Here, we unveil the magnitude and macro-economic relevance of parallel nature-based contributions to productivity growth in non-rice crops over 1918-2018 (covering 23 different Asia-Pacific geopolitical entities). We empirically demonstrate how biological control resolved invasive pest threats in multiple agricultural commodities, ensuring annually-accruing (on-farm) benefits of US$ 14.6-19.5 billion/year. Scientifically-guided biological control of 43 exotic invertebrate pests permitted 73-100% yield-loss recovery in critical food, feed and fiber crops including banana, breadfruit, cassava and coconut. Biological control thereby promoted rural growth and prosperity even in marginal, poorly-endowed, non-rice ...