The ground-breaking online bioprotection resource for pest management, the CABI BioProtection Portal, advises growers on how to identify, source and correctly apply biocontrol for specific pests and diseases on three continents. Spain now joins Peru, Ghana and Kenya with access to this online portal that hopes to reduce farmers’ reliance on chemical pesticides around the world.
The portal, which is set to become the go-to resource for identifying and sourcing biocontrol products, is beneficial for growers looking to replace chemical pesticides with biological products in order to meet market or export standards, satisfy consumer demands for healthier and safer food and reduce pressures on the environment. The BioProtection Portal will soon be rolled out in local languages to more countries including Brazil and Canada.
‘Globally, an estimated 40 percent of crops is lost to pests and diseases. The widespread use of chemical pesticides to fight crop pests alone is not sustainable either economically or environmentally in the long run, especially when you factor impacts exacerbated by climate change,’ says Dr Ulrich Kuhlmann, Executive Director Global Operations at CABI.
Partner agreement with Koppert
Koppert has collaborated with CABI since 2013. An intergovernmental organization co-owned by 48 countries, CABI was established by a United Nations Treaty-level agreement between its founder member countries. It aims to improve people’s lives worldwide by providing information and applying scientific expertise to solve problems in agriculture and the environment. The BioProtection Portal partner agreement with Koppert was signed last year.
‘We believe it is an important tool to make more people aware of the available biological solutions for pest and disease control as an alternative for chemical pesticides, not only for growers but also policymakers,’ says the Manager of the Crop Team Ornamentals, Johannette Klapwijk.
The innovative portal has been made available by CABI in collaboration with its network of partner biocontrol manufacturers that includes Koppert, Syngenta, e-nema and Oro Agri, with donations from the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Swiss Agency for Development and Cooperation, African Development Bank and the UK Department for International Development.
Find out more about CABI BioProtection Portal here