Apart from complementing conventional pest control strategies, they enhance agricultural production, food quality, and incomes and help mitigate residue-related trade challenges
Biopesticides are increasingly gaining traction in food production systems due to food safety concerns, as chemical pesticides are affecting food safety, the environment and human health. Biopesticides are made from natural ingredients such as animals, plants, bacteria, and certain minerals. They offer effective pest management while minimising harm to beneficial insects, animals, and the environment. There is a growing demand from consumers and industry to explore phytosanitary alternatives that are less harmful. Apart from complementing conventional pest control strategies, they enhance agricultural production, food quality, and incomes and help mitigate residue-related trade challenges.
The factors that are driving the growth of the market for biopesticides include the demand for organic food across North America as well as strengthened awareness of environmental safety in the Asia-Pacific region.
Biopesticides play an important role in the safety of the food and agriculture trade. Biopesticides are categorised into microbial pesticides (like bacteria, fungi, and viruses), biochemical pesticides (natural substances that interfere with pests' biochemical processes), and plant-incorporated protectants (PIPs) derived from genetically modified plants. They have lower toxicity levels for humans and non-target organisms and degrade more quickly than synthetic pesticides. Farmers are advised to apply biopesticides to control late-season pests. This increases yields, reduces crop damage, and with low or no chemical residue levels, enhances safe trade.
Besides human health, pesticide residues impede cross-global trade, despite the recognition of various governments efforts to reduce pesticide residues. As defined by the European Food Safety Authority (EFSA), pesticide MRLs are the “maximum amount of pesticide residue allowed in food.” National regulatory bodies/international organisations set pesticide MRLs critical for ensuring the use of pesticides in agriculture does not result in harmful concentrations of residues in food. Most of the standards and regulations that guide standards and procedures, including those of quarantine, biosafety, and biosecurity, are often under the purview of the Sanitary and Phytosanitary (SPS) Agreement of the World Trade Organisation (WTO). However, countries are limited by weak regulatory mechanisms.
There is a need for governments to support appropriate registration mechanisms for biopesticides by enabling the right policy environment.
Realising its need is not enough. It requires the government’s commitment to change policies and sustainable business models to strengthen research and development, registration, and promotion of biopesticides. To make biopesticides available, commercialisation of production is required through public-private partnerships. It means investing in training, engineering/technology and improving the capacities of regulatory bodies. Countries in Asia-Pacific have the potential to harness the advantages of biopesticides, such as cost-effectiveness and export opportunities.
The government business model should consider the cost-benefit analysis for farmers. Farmers make decisions about adopting new technologies, such as biopesticides, by comparing the costs and benefits, particularly the profits from biopesticides versus harmful chemical pesticides. At the farmer’s level, APAARI advocates for customised training, awareness of biopesticides, field demonstrations, field collaborations, engaging researchers, and linkages with sellers. Farmers need to be convinced to mainstream biopesticides into good agriculture practices.
According to Global Market Insights, Inc., the biopesticides market size exceeded USD 2.5 billion in 2021 and is estimated to grow at over 11 percent compound annual growth rate (CAGR) from 2022 to 2030.
The biopesticide market is anticipated to grow to $3.3 billion by 2026, and countries like China and India are predicted to offer exceptional chances for the development of biopesticides. APAARI’s interventions are a work in progress. APAARI is working with the Standards Trade Development Facility (STDF) and the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) to engage government bodies, research institutions, farmer organisations, and private players in enhancing the technical and operational abilities of countries in the Asia-Pacific region in areas such as generating MRL data, producing biopesticides, and harmonising biopesticide regulations. However, it is important to incorporate the promotion of biopesticides into the current policy ecosystem in the Asia-Pacific region.
There is a huge scope for introducing biopesticide development as a key innovation in national strategies and an urgent need to establish (where non-existent), upgrade, and simplify existing regulatory guidelines and regulations in line with international conventions and protocols and monitor their effectiveness. Countries need to upgrade their existing infrastructure, including research, laboratory, and testing facilities, in line with international standards, along with comprehensive communication strategies to engage farmers and consumers to influence behaviour. We need to design specific campaigns to bridge gaps between scientific knowledge, evidence emerging from field experiences, and consumption behaviour.
As part of the collaborative effort, the project conducted 18 residue mitigation studies showing that biopesticides resulted in 2 percent to 50 percent lower pesticide residues on crops compared to conventional pesticide treatments.
The governments must support research and development, manufacturing, and market business models that are win-win for farmers, businesses, and consumers. To promote the adoption of biopesticides for crop cultivation and to boost trade prospects post-project completion, APAARI initiated the Asia Biopesticide Community of Practice, a platform that facilitates collaboration among governments, industry players, academia, and other stakeholders. It continues to work with STDF project partner countries to monitor the utilisation of biopesticides, advocate for necessary resources, including their availability, and encourage the private sector to manufacture them in developing countries.
(Dr. Ravi Khetarpal is Executive Director, Asia-Pacific Association of Agricultural Research Institutions, Bangkok)