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POLICY AND PRACTICE REVIEWS article

Front. Sustain. Food Syst.

Sec. Agro-Food Safety

Volume 9 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fsufs.2025.1522526

An Overview of Biopesticide Regulatory Frameworks in Selected Countries in Southern Africa

Provisionally accepted
Kahsay Tadesse Mawcha Kahsay Tadesse Mawcha 1,2*Dorothy Kyampaire Dorothy Kyampaire 3Chrian Marciale Chrian Marciale 4Stella Simiyu-Wafukho Stella Simiyu-Wafukho 5,6Chifundo Chinyama Chifundo Chinyama 7Olubukola Oluranti Babalola Olubukola Oluranti Babalola 8Grace Kinyanjui Grace Kinyanjui 2,9Dennis Ndolo Dennis Ndolo 2
  • 1 Plant Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia
  • 2 International Centre for Genetic Engineering and Biotechnology (ICGEB), Cape Town, South Africa
  • 3 High Court of Uganda, Uganda, Uganda, Uganda
  • 4 Tanzania Plant Health and Pesticides Authority, Arusha, Tanzania
  • 5 Università Cattolica del Sacro Cuore, del Sacro Cuore, Italy
  • 6 CropLife Africa Middle East., Kenya, Kenya
  • 7 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Lilongwe, Malawi
  • 8 Food Security and Safety Focus Area, School of Biological Sciences, Faculty of Natural and Agricultural Sciences, North West University, Mmabatho, South Africa
  • 9 Department of Biological Sciences, University of Embu, Embu, Kenya

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Biopesticides are pest control products derived from beneficial microbes and botanical extracts.They are increasingly important as a key element in many pest management programs. The growing interest in biopesticides reflects the increasing global demand for more sustainable agricultural practices. Flexible policies and regulations are crucial to encourage responsible innovation and ensure the availability of effective and sustainable pest control products, including biopesticides, to support this shift. This review of biopesticide regulatory systems in six Southern African countries was done through desktop reviews of relevant legal documents and in-person interviews. Key factors to be considered in developing guidelines for biopesticide registration are addressed. Furthermore, this review examines the legislative processes in six Southern African nations: Botswana, Mozambique, South Africa, Tanzania, Zambia, and Zimbabwe. While sharing some commonalities, each country's legislative framework reflects unique constitutional and procedural characteristics. The study details the stages of bill passage, from initial drafting and introduction to presidential assent, highlighting variations in parliamentary structures, public participation, and the role of subsidiary legislation. Across these nations, the constitution serves as the supreme law, guiding the powers and procedures of their respective parliaments. The analysis underscores the importance of understanding these legislative processes for effective governance and law-making within the region, emphasizing the interplay between constitutional provisions, parliamentary practices, and executive authority in shaping national legislation. Additionally, the review identifies challenges that could hinder developing a regionally harmonized regulatory process for biopesticides. It ultimately makes recommendations for regulatory changes and legal steps that countries should take to integrate provisions of the harmonized guidelines into their national regulatory processes.

    Keywords: agrochemical registration, decision-making, Food Safety, harmonization, Pest Control, Phytosanitary

    Received: 04 Nov 2024; Accepted: 06 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Mawcha, Kyampaire, Marciale, Simiyu-Wafukho, Chinyama, Babalola, Kinyanjui and Ndolo. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Kahsay Tadesse Mawcha, Plant Sciences, Aksum University, Aksum, Ethiopia

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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