With growing societal demand for sustainable agriculture and food production, biopesticides offer promising alternatives to conventional pesticides.
They have many potential advantages: they are often less toxic to non-target organisms and the environment; they break down more quickly in the environment, reducing the potential for residues; and they can also target specific pests, weeds or diseases more precisely, reducing the need for larger-spectrum pesticides.
To unlock their potential, the EU must ensure that biopesticides are rapidly brought to the EU marketplace. Today, biopesticides face regulatory challenges in the EU due to data requirements and standardisation in testing methods that delay their approval and commercialisation.
Adapting the EU’s regulatory framework will be essential to maximise the adoption of this type of safe and sustainable crop protection solutions for EU farmers.