Biopesticides

PLANT BIOLOGY AND BIOTECHNOLOGY / Biotic and Abiotic Stress

Research Interests

Bioproducts; Biofertilisers; Regulation; Capacity development; Smallholder agriculture; Food security.

Description

As agriculture faces increasing pressure to produce more food while reducing its environmental footprint and adapting to climate change, bioproducts (including biopesticides, biofertilisers, and biostimulants) are increasingly recognised as important tools for advancing sustainable and climate-resilient agriculture while contributing to improved food security. They harness living organisms, naturally occurring substances, or their derivatives to improve crop productivity, enhance soil and plant health, increase climate resilience, and reduce reliance on conventional agricultural inputs. However, despite significant advances in their development, their commercialisation and adoption remain limited. Wider adoption is constrained by a combination of scientific, technical, regulatory, and market barriers. These include concerns about product consistency and field performance; regulatory systems that remain largely designed for conventional inputs; fragmented data ecosystems and limited access to the evidence required for product evaluation and registration; technical challenges related to production scale, formulation, quality assurance, and cost; and low awareness, limited market confidence, and slow farmer uptake.

The Biopesticides Group was established to promote innovation and capacity development across the biopesticide value chain. As the scientific, regulatory, data, and commercialisation challenges are shared across biopesticides, biofertilisers, and biostimulants, the Group supports innovation, regulation, and adoption across the broader bioproducts ecosystem. Its activities span strengthening the science, policy, regulation, and data systems that support the development, testing, registration, commercialisation, and responsible use of bioproducts.

Specifically, the Group:

• Develops, validates, and promotes innovative bioproduct-based approaches that enhance market access, strengthen regulatory compliance, and support the responsible adoption of bioproducts.
• Promotes regulatory harmonisation to streamline product evaluation and registration across jurisdictions, thereby reducing time-to-market and regulatory costs.
• Promotes the sharing and use of scientific, regulatory, and market information to strengthen evidence-based decision-making.
• Facilitates knowledge exchange and collaboration among researchers, regulators, industry, extension services, farmer organisations, and other stakeholders across the bioproducts value chain.
• Builds technical and institutional capacity to strengthen informed regulatory decision-making, extension services, and the responsible use of bioproducts.

The Group works in partnership with researchers, regulators, industry, extension services, farmer organisations, and development partners, bridging the gap between scientific innovation, regulatory systems, and practical application. Through these partnerships, it contributes to a more enabling environment for bioproduct innovation, regulatory efficiency, market development, and wider farmer uptake, supporting the responsible adoption of bioproducts, particularly among smallholder farmers.

Reference documents

Recent Publications