Today, the Africa-Middle East region stands at a crossroads. It must confront the growing threats to food security posed by climate change, the rising pressures from pests and diseases, while also meeting the demands of a rapidly expanding population and enhancing its competitiveness in the global export market by producing food with fewer residues to satisfy the growing demand of conscious global consumers.
Compounding these challenges is the reality of the limited—and in many cases, dwindling—resources available to farmers. To navigate these complex issues, it is essential to equip farmers with tools that enable sustainable agricultural production: growing more food using fewer resources and minimising environmental impact. Biopesticides (BioPPPs) agents are one of the solutions that can deliver various benefits when effectively integrated into integrated pest management (IPM) programs. These are defined as pest management agents derived from natural sources, encompassing naturally occurring substances, beneficial organisms, and Biopesticide agents fall into four main categories with their unique
and novel modes of action, including:
1.Macrobials, including nature’s predators.
2.Microbials, which are based on microorganisms, including but not limited to bacteria, fungi, protozoans, viruses, and related.
3.Semiochemicals, such as pheromones and volatiles.
4.Biochemicals, including natural products, botanicals or plant extracts, peptides/proteins based substances, dsRNA, others
novel technologies.
They have complementary modes of action to conventional pesticides, which supports resistance management. When integrated with conventional pesticides, biopesticides synergistically enhance crop yields, extend application timings, and support effective resistance management strategies for farmers. They also contribute to reducing pesticide residues on crops, especially if applied closer to harvest, thereby improving consumer safety, and supporting the growth of export opportunities for local farmers, ultimately boosting rural incomes. Additionally, they present reduced environmental risks while remaining relatively safe to applicators. synthetic compounds either naturally occurring or synthesised, provided they are structurally similar and functionally identical to their naturally occurring
counterparts.
