Biopesticide Regulatory Survey

Several recent publications (1,2) have highlighted the way in which unclear regulations constrain biopesticide implementation.  On one hand, attempts to apply rigid chemical pesticide regulations to biological agents delay implementation and raise the development cost of biopesticide products.  On the other hand, regulations which are too slack, or non-existent, allow sub-standard products to appear on the market, undermining consumer confidence in biopesticides.

In the absence of specific guidelines, regulatory authorities find themselves in a difficult situation.  Although biopesticides are widely recognised as safer than chemical pesticides, they do have the capacity to reproduce, and many of the standard tests for chemical pesticides are irrelevant or difficult to apply.  For instance, standard chemical pesticide registration requires a specific chemical test for the pesticide; the degradation products must be known, and soil persistence determined.  For biological agents, complex characterisation tests are needed for identification; degradation products cannot be defined precisely; and the microbe may be normally present in soil.

World-wide there is an enormously varied approach by authorities to the registration of biopesticides.  In developed countries, the OECD (Organisation of Economic Co-operation and Development), conducted a survey of registration requirements, and this report is published on the internet.  In America, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has designed registration guidelines that are tailored to the unique features of microbial pesticides.  These guidelines are available, and are generally considered to have helped promote the registration of biopesticides in the USA.

IBCD, in collaboration with the CGIAR System-wide program for IPM Beneficial Micro-organisms task force, is conducting a world-wide survey on biopesticide regulations in developing countries.  The survey forms (English, French) are available here or for down-load from the links page.