The importance of insect pests as constraints to food production in the tropics and the role of multiple pest resistance as 1 component in mitigating the world’s food crisis are discussed. The status of breeding and the extent of commercial use of insect-resistant edible beans, cassava, groundnut, maize, millet, sorghum, chickpea, pigeonpea, wheat, and rice are reviewed as based on the literature and correspondence with scientists at the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) centers. Where information is available, the present and potential economic benefit of growing multiple pest-resistant food crop varieties is described. Of the various food crops, multiple pest resistance in rice has had the greatest impact. Conventional welfare analysis is used to describe the societal gains from the development and use of multiple pest resistance. Research to determine the economic and social rates of return to technical change from growing multiple-pest-resistant varieties is needed to be able to inform research managers and donors who make pivotal decisions regarding the financing of agricultural research.