Developing Quarantine Facilities in India

Classical biological control, by its very nature, involves the introduction of biological control agents (BCAs) into areas outside their native range. The process of introduction includes a number of key safety issues, principally host specificity, contaminants and potential hazards to human health. Another key issue is the quality of the introduced material and how good genetic stock can be maintained.

It was to address these issues that the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) provided funds through the National Agricultural Technology Project (NATP) for a workshop on quarantine procedures and facilities for BCAs, followed by a consultancy (conducted by CABI Bioscience) to finalize the specifications and infrastructure required for new quarantine facilities. The outputs have been collated in a publication*, which will also be a useful resource for other countries considering such a facility.

Quarantine techniques for BCAs were developed during the workshop and through recommendations arising from a visit to the proposed site and discussions. Papers in the proceedings include an overview of protocols and regulations worldwide, and how these apply to the principles and operation of quarantine facilities, followed by a summary of previous classical biological control attempts in India. A series of papers provides a synthesis of a variety of topics (guidelines, protocols, procedures, techniques, containment facilities) relating to the assessment in quarantine of various types of BCA (fungal, arthropod parasitoids and predators, pathogens of arthropods and nematodes, entomopathogenic nematodes, arthropods for weed control, weed pathogens, genetically modified organisms). Case studies on the classical biological control of Mikania micrantha and Cryptostegia grandiflora using rust pathogens make special reference to quarantine issues. This section ends with the recommendations of the workshop.

Details of the quarantine facilities for BCAs were developed during the subsequent consultancy. This section begins with an outline of the facilities' purpose, followed by detailed recommendations for their construction, equipping and operation, together with plans, showing how they were modified to meet requirements. The final plans for the quarantine building at the Project Directorate of Biological Control, Bangalore are appended. Portions of the Government of India legislation relevant to the import and release of BCAs are also included.

*Ramani, S., Bhumannavar, B.S. & Rabindra, R.J. (2004) Quarantine procedures and facilities for biological control agents. Proceedings of the ICAR-CABI Workshop and Consultancy on Development of Quarantine Techniques for Biological Control Agents. Technical Document No. 54, Project Directorate of Biological Control, ICAR, Bangalore, India, 149 pp.

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Biopesticide Registration in Kenya

The proceedings have been published of a workshop*, held in Kenya in November 2003, to discuss ways of formulating protocols that would facilitate amendment of the relevant legislation and thus enable fast registration of biopesticides, as a key step towards facilitating widespread use of this pest control alternative.

The workshop was held in response to challenges presented to the horticultural industry by changes in European Union (EU) legislation regarding pesticide residues, which affects many ACP (African, Caribbean and Pacific) and other countries. Harmonization of maximum residue levels (MRLs) permitted in agricultural produce imported into EU countries has led, in the absence of data, to MRLs for most of the conventional older pesticides being set at the limit of detection. As detection techniques have improved this functionally means a zero level in many cases, and severely restricts or even prohibits the use of these products on crops intended for export to the EU. However, strict sanitary and phytosanitary standards prohibit the presence of many pests and acceptable crop damage is also severely limited. In Kenya as in many countries, IPM is seen as the key to overcoming the paradox of export horticultural crops needing to be both pesticide residue free and pest free for the EU market. Papers in the proceedings are organized under four themes:

• Demand from the horticultural industry : This section begins with overviews of the flower and the vegetable and fruit industries in Kenya, outlining threats from the legislative changes and what is needed from biopesticide registration. These are followed by an introduction to commercial opportunities for biopesticides. The section ends with papers on implementing IPM and the role of regulatory authorities in facilitating it, and how neem-based pesticides demonstrate the need for appropriate biopesticide registration requirements.
• Contribution of research in Africa. The first paper provides an overview of types of biological control agents and their use. Next is a detailed discussion of baculoviruses and bacteria and their usefulness in biological control (including some already registered in Kenya), together with registration requirements and suggestions for increasing their use. The final paper considers 'Green Muscle' in a case study on the development, registration and commercialization of a biopesticide.
• Registration in Africa : The first paper summarizes the properties of pyrethrum, and makes proposals about registration requirements for botanical pesticides. In the next paper Trichogramma is used as a case study on regulating quality in mass-produced macrobials, with detailed recommendations on regulatory guidelines for Kenya. This is followed by papers outlining the Kenyan regulations on the importation of biological control agents, the registration procedures for pesticides in Kenya, and the proposed guidelines for registration of biopesticides in Kenya. The section ends with a report on the Pan-Africa Workshop on Biopesticide Registration, and includes the harmonized guidelines it developed.
• Registration in the rest of the world : This section contains contributions about development and registration of biopesticides in India and Thailand, Europe and OECD (Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development) countries, and Cuba. These countries have considerable, but differing, experience with biopesticides. The Cuba paper includes annexes listing the information that must be supplied at various stages in biopesticide development, registration, importing, exporting and manufacturing.

Annexes to the publication contain current Kenyan application forms for registration of microbial, macrobial and biochemical pest control products.

The EurepGAP (Global Partnership for Safe and Sustainable Agriculture) standards came into force in January 2005, making the publication of these proceedings timely, and of interest to those in the horticultural sectors of many countries besides Kenya.

*Wabule, M.N., Ngaruiya, P.N., Kimmins, F.K. & Silverside, P.J. (2004) Registration for biocontrol agents in Kenya. Proceedings, Pest Control Products Board/Kenya Agricultural Research Institute/Department for International Development Crop Protection Programme Workshop, Nakuru, Kenya. 14-16 May 2003. KARI/PCPB, Nairobi, Kenya and Natural Resources International Ltd, Aylesford, UK. 230 pp. ISBN 0 9546452 2 7

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