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Building on Support for Biocontrol

The new European Commissioners have been confirmed. Biocontrol received cross-party support during the hearings, and we expect biocontrol to play an important role in areas such as the Biotech Act and industrial prosperity as well as the Vision for Food and Agriculture.

We are therefore taking this opportunity to remind the European Commission of the steps needed to accelerate the use of biocontrol:

IBMA asks

  • An EU- wide definition of biocontrol
  • Short term actions to amend EU Regulation 1107/2009 including provisional authorisation, extended registration periods and label extensions
  • New regulatory framework for biocontrol

By accelerating authorisation, the industry will be able to provide innovative biocontrol tools to farmers faster so that there are more products available in the farmer’s toolbox to combat pests and diseases.

Building on Support for Biocontrol

As part of our strategy to capitalize on support for biocontrol, we have co-signed a letter addressed to the European Commission with CropLife Europe, amongst others, including some but not all our requests for action. It is a starting point for the much-needed legislative framework.

Joint asks

  • Enable and increase dedicated resources and expertise for evaluation of biological plant protection products.
  • Better implementation of EC Regulation 1107/2009 such as facilitating an efficient and pragmatic approach for the implementation of mutual recognition for biological plant protection products.
  • Adoption of a future-proof definition for biological plant protection products at EU level to facilitate the identification of those products by all actors.

IBMA asks are much more ambitious than these joint asks which represent a shared position with other crop protection industry organisations. Where possible, IBMA is keen to seek and support common positions to align and maximise the voices of support for biocontrol.

Next Steps

The European Commission’s work programme should be finalised in January 2025, and we expect the routes to accelerate biocontrol to be clearly defined within this European Parliament.