Biopesticides Beyond the Hype: A checklist to develop a locally-led, agroecologically-rooted biopesticide sector

The rapid expansion of the biopesticide market offers a pivotal opening for sustainable agriculture in the Global South, where environmental pressures, regulatory shifts, and consumer demand for healthier food systems are accelerating interest in biological inputs. While biopesticides are often promoted as inherently safer and more “nature-based,” their development is unfolding within political–economic landscapes marked by power imbalances, corporate concentration, and persistent environmental injustices. Without deliberate alignment with agroecological principles, the sector risks reproducing the structural lock-ins of the synthetic pesticide industry—ranging from input dependency and uniform product portfolios to the marginalization of small-scale producers and context-specific knowledge.This poster draws on a new policy checklist designed to guide countries in developing decentralised, nationally rooted biopesticide sectors that contribute to equitable and ecologically grounded agricultural transitions. It outlines four major threats facing current trajectories: (1) the uncritical substitution of chemical inputs with “greener” ones, rather than pursuing systemic agroecological change; (2) increasing corporate concentration that sidelines SMEs, farmers, and indigenous knowledge systems; (3) narrowing innovation pathways that lead to product uniformity and reduced ecological fit; and (4) weak regulatory frameworks that risk legitimising biopesticides as sustainable while failing to ensure safety, justice, and genuine contribution to resilient food systems.In response, this checklist proposes a guiding framework built around four action areas to support policy makers, agroecological advocacy actors and agricultural entrepreneurs on how to develop the biopesticide sector. The framework emphasises participatory innovation ecosystems, local enterprise development (particularly for youth and SMEs), context-adapted regulation, and investment models that strengthen biodiversity, autonomy, and farmer agency. By situating biopesticides within broader agroecological and nature-based strategies, the approach reframes them not simply as alternative inputs, but as potential levers for just ecological transitions. This vision positions African countries to chart a development pathway that enhances ecosystem health while advancing consumers and farmers ability to produce, purchase and consume safe food.