David Cary, executive director of IBMA (International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association), will present today in the Subgroup of the Working Group on Biopesticides Pesticides of the OECD the Report of the Biocontrol Survey of IBMA that confirms that the biocontrol business is growing, thanks to a large majority of innovative SMEs and companies dedicated to biological control, as well as multinationals oriented to change. Regrettably, regulation remains a barrier to obtaining all the innovations available in the farmers' toolbox.

As David Cary emphasizes: "The IBMA survey clearly shows that we have a growing business, where all sectors are growing at double-digit growth rates, the European market is diverse and the sales of biological control products reflect the diversity of our membership and the goal promoted integrated pest management using a multitude of different tools ''.

The growth in the European market for biological control was similar, with average growth figures of 20% per year. It was 22.8% in 2013-14 and 14% in 2014-15. However, during the period studied, biological inputs not regulated in agriculture, that is, macrobial and biostimulants, have grown at a similar rate from a larger starting platform and continue to represent a significant part of the market: 53.9% in 2013, 50.1% in 2014 and 49.9% in 2015 of the total European market.

Willem Ravensberg, president of IBMA states: "This suggests that existing regulatory systems and procedures in the EU may be curbing the entry of biological control products into the market, particularly when considering that macrobials, which have been restricted to date to protected agricultural markets. "

Therefore, IBMA requires legislation that must be adequate to provide ecological plant protection solutions to European producers. It must ensure that producers have access to the most up-to-date biocontrol tools through a regulatory system that evaluates the tools according to the requirements and data procedures that are appropriate and proportional to the risk that these substances and active products represent for human health and the environment.