As governments seek to reduce reliance on high‑risk chemical pesticides and promote more sustainable agriculture, biocontrol and bioprotection products are playing an increasingly important role. However, scaling their use depends on strong, trusted regulatory systems that support safe innovation while protecting human and environmental health.
Understanding how bioprotection products are developed, tested, and approved is essential for policymakers, regulators, and research institutions. Equally important is ensuring that approved products are visible, trusted, and used correctly in practice. The CABI BioProtection Portal supports this process by acting as a digital companion to national regulatory and innovation systems.
Why robust regulatory systems matter for bioprotection innovation
Bioprotection products (including biological control agents and biopesticides) are subject to rigorous development and approval processes, beginning with laboratory research and progressing through formulation, field trials, and regulatory evaluation. These processes ensure that products are effective against target pests while posing low risk to users, consumers, non‑target organisms, and the environment.
For governments, these processes represent both technical steps and policy tools. Well-designed regulatory pathways safeguard farmers and consumers, build trust in biological alternatives, and create conditions for innovation by providing clear, predictable rules.
Clear approval pathways help biocontrol move from niche use to mainstream adoption, supporting national strategies on integrated pest management (IPM), pesticide risk reduction, and environmental protection.
The CABI BioProtection Portal as a regulatory companion
While regulation governs which bioprotection products can be used, access to clear and trusted information influences product uptake in the field. The Portalsupports national sustainability strategies by:
Supporting regulatory alignment
Information on registered bioprotection products can be very difficult to find, and where it is available, the type of information and level of detail provided varies greatly across countries. In some cases, bioprotection products are not distinguished from conventional chemical pesticides. Furthermore, in some countries the information is only available on request to specific government sub-departments, which are not obviously indicated. This makes it difficult for regulators, researchers, manufacturers, distributors, farmers, and advisory service providers to understand what is available both in their own country and in neighboring markets.
The strength and benefits of the Portal from a regulatory and policy perspective come from its provision of harmonised, structured and current information on bioprotection products registered for specific crops and pests, by country, in local languages and English. Importantly, this is not just beneficial to farmers and advisors but also regulators and research institutions who require visibility to information on product registration and use to allow them to compare approaches, identify gaps, and explore opportunities for harmonising approvals or accelerating registration.
In Chile, the National Institute for Agricultural Research (INIA) uses the Portal as a reference to assess what solutions already exist both nationally and internationally for pest problems that farmers in Chile are facing.
Meanwhile, agrologists at the British Colombia Institute of Agrologists in Canada use it to support their work on developing registration strategies.
This model highlights how the Portal can strengthen the regulatory–research–farmer interface without increasing administrative complexity.
Strengthening trust in biologicals
Access to verified, science‑based information, builds confidence among farmers, advisors, and input suppliers that biocontrol products are credible, regulated options.
For example, Brazil has emerged as a global leader in biological crop protection, supported by government policies that encourage bio‑inputs as part of sustainable agriculture strategies. CABI partners in Brazil have shared how the Portal supports this environment by helping users navigate approved products, understand appropriate use, and adopt biological solutions with confidence. In doing so, they help ensure that the government’s goals translate into consistent practice across large and diverse farming systems.
How this supports governments and policymakers
Strengthening regulatory systems and innovation pathways for biocontrol requires more than legislation alone. It requires tools that connect regulation, research, industry, and practice.
Through integration of tools such as the Portal into sustainability strategies, governments:
- streamline pest management regulation,
- foster domestic and regional biocontrol innovation by improving visibility of existing solutions,
- provide farmers and advisors with transparent ecosystems of verified products,
- and reinforce consistency between policy intent, regulatory frameworks, and on‑farm practice.
In doing so, biocontrol becomes not just an approved alternative, but a reliable, regulated pillar of sustainable agriculture, supported by systems that enable innovation while maintaining high standards of safety and trust.
Learn more
- Explore how bioprotection products are developed and approved on the CABI BioProtection Portal: https://bioprotectionportal.com/resources/lab-to-field-developing-bioprotection-products/
- Discover how national institutions use digital tools to support sustainable crop protection: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLA6tUPK41nmjerQFV2GGM_7Qb87gqCFPJ
