The growing biopesticide market represents a pivotal opportunity for sustainable agriculture in the Global South. Rising environmental awareness, regulatory pressures on synthetic pesticides, and consumer demand for healthier food systems are driving innovation, investment, and regulatory adaptation in the sector.

However, without careful alignment to agroecological principles, the biopesticide industry risks repeating structural and ecological pitfalls seen in the synthetic pesticide sector—such as corporate concentration, input dependency, lack of contextual adaptation, product uniformity and the persistence of pest management systems disconnected from ecosystem-based pest regulation. This might lead to reducing biopesticides to a “green substitute” rather than a catalyst for systemic change.

This guidance brief envisions biopesticides not merely as technological substitutes, but as complementary tools within integrated pest management and as catalysts to foster locally- driven, decentralized, and contextually relevant innovation. An agroecologically-rooted approach emphasizes local innovation, equity, and ecological integrity—empowering small and medium- sized enterprises, farmers, and research actors to co-create solutions adapted to local contexts.

Key recommendations:

1. Promote national and territorial bioinput strategies. Build local biopesticide value chains through market incentives, social entrepreneurship, and public procurement policies, and link these strategies to broader agroecological transition plans, Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), and national sustainability goals.

2. Design differentiated and progressive regulatory pathways. Create differentiated registration or approval procedures depending on the risks and complexity of the biopesticide, and scale of its use.

3. Develop context-specific transition pathways. Tailor biopesticide and pest management solutions to farmers’ realities and stages of transition. Identify priority regions where replacing highly hazardous pesticides can have the greatest impact.

4. Invest in local capacity and infrastructure. Support small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in formulation, biomanufacturing, and quality control. Guarantee access to funding and markets for emerging local actors.

5. Ensure biopesticides are developed and deployed as complementary tools. Embed biopesticides within integrated pest management and agroecological systems, supporting biodiversity, ecosystem services, and soil and water health rather than functioning as stand-alone substitutes for synthetic pesticides.