Advancing Biocontrol In Australian Agriculture: Opportunities and Regulatory Pathways

Australia’s agrifood sector is under growing pressure to adapt crop protection systems in response to resistance, residue requirements and rising expectations for sustainability. Biological control products — spanning microbials, metabolites, RNA-based approaches and endosymbiont technologies — are advancing internationally and offer opportunities to complement Australia’s crop protection toolkit. However, their successful adoption requires addressing several regulatory, technical, market and behavioural barriers. Workshop 1 of the Pathways to Biocontrol series brought together more than 57 participants from industry, research, RDCs, growers and government agencies to map these barriers and establish a shared foundation for future system improvements.