Presented by Teklehaimanot Haileselassie at the Regional Experts Workshop on Development, Regulation and Use of Bio-pesticides in East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, 22–23 May 2014

1. Review of the current status of the
development, regulation and use of
biopesticides in Ethiopia
Teklehaimanot Haileselassie
Regional Experts Workshop on Development, Regulation and Use of
Bio-pesticides in East Africa, Nairobi, Kenya, 22–23 May 2014

2. Background
Main reasons for low agricultural production is the severe damage
caused by various types of plant pests such as insects, mites,
diseases, weeds and vertebrate pests like rodents and birds.
Average crop loss due to these pests during the pre-harvest period
is estimated at 30% or even higher in Ethiopia, depending upon
pest severity and extent & success of plant protection measures
applied.

3. Background cont’d
Crop protection has relied heavily on synthetic chemical
pesticides
Availability is declining as a result of new legislation and the
evolution of resistance in pest populations.
As a result biopesticides are coming as alternative pest
management tactics.
They have proven potential for pest management and they
are being used across the world.
However, adoption and commercialization of bio-pesticide
in the region has been very slow, especially in Ethiopia

4. Rationale
The use of synthetic pesticides raises concerns to human health
and the environment
Bio-pesticides are believed to be environmentally safe, non-toxic
to humans and animals and are less susceptible to resistance
Research has been carried out on the exploration, identification
and screening of local and introduced bio-control agents against
diseases and pests
Despite demonstrations of effectiveness under field conditions,
the biopesticides developed locally are not yet commercialized
Even the adoption & use of those available elsewhere is very low

5. Objectives
Main Objective
Review the policies, regulations and standards (including
registration processes and requirements) for bio-pesticides,
and to identify key actors and incentives and/or disincentives
affecting the adoption of bio-pesticides in the country
Sppecific objectives
 Identify the relevant regulatory agencies for bio-pesticides
management
Review government policies governing the process of
registration
Investigate what the private sector and civil societies are
doing to promote biopesticides, etc.

6. Methods
Literature Review on General issues related to biopesticides
Review of the Pesticide Registration and Control
Proclamation No. 674/2010 (including regulations and
decrees before it) and other related policies from other
sectors
Key Informant Interview and Focused Group Discussion with
relevant regulatory agencies, researchers, private sector,
etc.
Field Visits

7. Overview of IPM/Biopesticide Development in
Ethiopia
A vast volume of research has been carried out on the
exploration, identification and screening of local and
introduced biocontrol agents for the control of crop
diseases, insect pests and weeds in Ethiopia
It was done at agricultural research centers, mainly,
Ambo Plant Protection Research Center, and
universities such as Jimma and Addis Ababa University

8. Overview of Biopesticide…..
The most promising biopesticides based on indigenous
microbes are Beavaria bassiana and Metarihizium
anisiphole for the control of locusts, grasshoppers and
storage pests
Some progress has been made in developing the
storage, formulation and application technologies for
these biopesticides.
Trichoderma viridae has been found to be effective
against root rot disease of faba bean while Bacillus
thurigiensis was efficient in controlling diamondback
moth on cabbage from under field conditions

9. Overview of Biopesticide…..
Various studies have been conducted also on development of
botanicals, for example to control stem borer in maize and sorghum
The plants include: Azadirachta indica, Chrysanthemum sp., Allium
sativum, Capsicum Annum var. pubescence, Phytoloacca
dodecandra, Hagenia abyssinica, Croton machrostachyus, Milletia
ferruginea, Girardinia diversiflora and Culpurinia
Nembecidine was tested at melkassa, Meiso and Welenchiti and
compared with karate 5% and neem powder, where it was found it
effectively controlled stem borer
Literature shows that the work is continuing at research centers and
universities through MSc and PhD research

10. Overview of Biopesticide…..
Despite demonstrations of effectiveness under field
conditions, biopesticides/botanicals developed locally are not
yet commercialized
The main reasons appear to be lack of expertise in the
crucial stages of product development and inadequate
technical capacity of public institutions to efficiently manage
the production process

11. Biopesticides currently in use in Ethiopia
Growing conditions for roses are perfect in the Ethiopian Highlands
Commercial flower production in Ethiopia Started in the mid 1980s
by the state owned farms, namely Upper Awash Agro-Industry
Enterprise and Horticulture Development Enterprise ( around 150 ha)
Since shift of the industry from state to private ownership, the sector
is expanding at a faster rate
Ethiopia is earning substantial amount of foreign currency that is
exceeding 250 million USD/yr
Flowers are among the most sensitive commodities to diseases and
insect pests, but research on flower protection in Ethiopia is almost at
its infant stage

12. Biopesticides currently in use …..
However, there was no pesticides registered for flower pests
following the formal registration process in Ethiopia, hence
pesticide availability and regulation was not so effective
considering the urgency of this problem
 Ethiopian Government made an interim arrangement for flower
growers to import pesticides and other chemicals required for their
own farms without restriction
Flower growers importing different kinds of pesticides for use in
routine pest control activities

13. Biopesticides currently in use …..
As a result the growing culture of rose flowers in Ethiopia is faced a
serious plant protection challenge as pesticides account 25% of the
total expenditure
Serious concern was also raised on their environmental and human
health impacts
As a result of these developments there was growing interest in the
growers to reduce their dependence on pesticides
They saw also the urgent need for an alternative to reduce the use of
heavy chemicals in order to create a competitive market advantage
The use of biopesticides/IPM came in to picture due to initiatives by
the growers, environmentalists, and other stakeholders, e.g. Ethiopia
Netherlands Horticulture Partnership Program & EHPEA

14. List of companies that used IPM Technologies (Source EHDA, 2012)

18. Beauveria
Bio-Power
Paecilomyces
Priority
Metarhizium
Bio-Magic
Verticillium
Bio-Catch
Stanes Bio-
Nematon
Liquid formulation
Entomopathogens in insect pest Management
Carrier Based

19. Bio-Insecticides in Pest management
Stage of
Management
Product trade
Name
Active
ingredient
Nature Formulation
type
Use
Pest
management
Bio – Power Beauveria
bassiana
Entomopath
ogenic fungi
WP 1.15%
Liquid 1.5%
To control
Lepidopteran pests
like boll worm etc.
Bio – Catch Verticillium
lecanii
Entomopath
ogenic fungi
WP 1.15%
Liquid 1.5%
To control sucking
pests
Bio – Magic Metarhizium
anisopliae
Entomopath
ogenic fungi
WP 1.15%
Liquid 1.5%
To control Beetles,
Grubs, Bugs and
hoppers
Priority Paecilomyces
Fumosoroseus
Entomopath
ogenic fungi
WP 1.15%
Liquid 1.5%
To control all mite
species
Bio-Nematon Paecilomyces
lilacinus
Entomopath
ogenic fungi
WP 1.15%
Liquid 1.5%
To control plant
parasitic nematode
species

20. Kaleb Services Farmers House PLC
Green Miracle - A chemical used as anti-stress (water
conservation)
Neemicidine – It is an insecticide Imported for commercial
purposes. The customers are flower farms, cotton farms,
Citrus growers such as Upper Awash Horticultural Farm and
Vegetable farms
Bio-Magic (Metarhizium anisopliae). –biopesticides against
thrips and mealybug,

21. Biopesticides on process for permit
No. Biocontrol agent Applicant Purpose Efficacy test
1 Broadband Golden Rose Agro
Farms
Hawassa University
2 Enthomopathogenic fungus,
Daman (Beauveria bassiana)
Golden Rose Agro
Farms
Biocontrol of
diamondback moth
(Plutellla xylostella)
Melkassa Agri. Research center
under field conditions at
Melkassa & Wonji
3 Anti-fungal agent
(Paeallomuyces lilacinus)
Jittu Horticulture Plc Biocontrol of Nematodes Not yet started
4 Enthomopathogenic fungus
(Verticillia lecanii)
Panacea
International Agro
Industries Plc
Biocontrol for pea aphid Holetta Agricultural Center, on
dry harvest field at Holetta and
Adadi
5 Anti-fungal agent
(Psuedomonas fluorescens)
Panacea
International Agro
Industries Plc
Biocontrol for powdery
mildew (Unicinula
nectar)in grape vine
Debre Zeit Agri. Research
Center, under field conditions
at Debre Zeit

22. 6
Anti-fungal agent
(Psuedomonas
fluorescens)
Panacea
International
Agro Industries
Plc
Biocontrol for
powdery mildew
(Plasmopara
viticola )in grape
vine
Debre Zeit Agri. Research
Center, under field conditions at
Debre Zeit
7
Anti-fungal agent
Sanjeevni (Trichoderma
viride)
Panacea
International
Agro Industries
Plc
Biocontrol for
damping of and wilt
disease (Fusarium
spp., Rhizoctonia and
Pythium spp.) in
tomato
Melkassa Agri. Research Center,
under field conditions at Melkassa
8
Enthomopathogenic
fungal agent, Kalichakra
(Metahrizium anisoplae)
Panacea
International
Agro Industries
Plc
Biocontrol for
Subterranean termites
Bako National Maize Research
Coordinating Center, at Bako and
Welega under field conditions

23. Regulatory Frameworks for registration & use of
pesticides in Ethiopia
 Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) is the empowered body to carry out pesticide
registration and control
 the Plant Health Regulatory Directorate (PHRD) of the ministry is responsible
for implementing the regulatory service.
 Objectives of Registration and Control of Pesticides is o allow the use of :
 Relatively safe
 Locally effective
 Good quality pesticide
 To minimize the adverse effects of pesticides to humans ,animals, plants and
the environment

24. Overall goals are to acquire
Clean environment
Safe food- consumer protection and to meet the
quality standards commanded in international
trade.
Healthy citizenry
Promote agricultural export trade

25. Regulatory Frameworks ….
The first pesticide regulation was a single article included
in the Plant Protection Decree No 56 of 1971 (article 5)
According to this Decree the Ministry of Agriculture was
given the mandate to control the importation ,production
and sale of pesticides in the country
This Decree lacked the necessary details which include:
 Does not over the main principles enshrined in the IPPC
 Dealt mainly with the powers accorded to the Minister
 Penal provisions were too small to deter the violation of the
Decree

26. Regulatory Frameworks ….
Pesticide Registration and Control Special Decree no 20/1990
was issued in September 1990 and has been implemented
between 1996 and 24th August 2010
According to this Decree, prohibition, authorization of
registration, certification (renewal and cancellation included),
packaging, labelling, storage, and disposal are provided for
pesticides.
Still this Decree lacked several important details, for example
 There was a gap in delineating the mandate of pesticide control;
 It failed to address issues indicated in other internationally concluded
agreements

27. Regulatory Frameworks ….
New pesticide Registration and Control Proclamation No 674/2010 was
enacted on 25th August 2010
Why new proclamation?
To conduct the registration and control of all types of pesticides under one
legislative control through MoA
To incorporate all relevant definitions in connection to pesticide legislation
To include internationally accepted definition of a “Pesticide” so that
problems in legal enforcement would not occur as the result of coining
different definitions for one term “pesticide”
To clearly specify the role of federal and regional organs
To include more strong and clear provisions with regard to offences and
penalties
To give more power to pesticide inspectors and to specify their role in detail,
etc

28. Regulatory Frameworks ….
In Ethiopia, there was no formal registration of bio-pesticides
Proclamation No. 674/2010 has now empowered the
Ministry to register and control biopesticides
However, the various provisions of this framework law need
to be worked out in more detail so that a registration system
that will allow the rapid and efficient registration of useful
effective bio-pesticide products is in place in the country.
The Ministry of Agriculture of Ethiopia has therefore been
preparing a new Pesticide Registration and Control
Regulation with the aim to operationalize the Proclamation.

29. Regulatory Frameworks ….
 In relation to this, a project entitled “Biopesticide Registration
System Development Project” funded by the ninth round of
applications to the Quick Start Program (QSP) trust fund of the
Strategic Approach to International Chemicals Management
(SAICM) of the United Nation Environment Program is underway.
 The project is a two year program which started in August 2012 and
initiated to perform the following activities:

30. Regulatory Frameworks ….
Development of data requirements for the registration of bio-
pesticides
 Capacity building for bio-pesticide dossier evaluation
Capacity building on efficacy testing of bio-pesticides and the
evaluation of efficacy data.
Development of a regulation for the registration and control of
bio-pesticides
Development of procedures for the introduction of macrobial
pest control

31. Regulatory Frameworks ….
Activities that were performed since the inception of the above project
are:
capacity building on efficacy testing of biopesticides and evaluation
of the data
training of researchers and pesticide dossier evaluators on efficacy
testing and data evaluation
A manual for efficacy testing and evaluation of biopesticides has
been prepared.
In addition to this, draft Pesticide Registration and Control
Regulation have been prepared with the Ethiopian Pesticide Risk
Reduction Program

32. Regulatory Frameworks ….
The draft regulation is underway to be submitted for the Council of
Ministers. The draft Regulation covers all stages of the pesticide life cycle
in Ethiopia and regulates chemical pesticides as well as bio-pesticides.
 It defines the rights and responsibilities of stakeholders for pesticide
import, distribution and use, both at the federal and the decentralized levels.
It is structured around the following main aspects:
 pesticide registration;
 competence assurance certificates (for certain pesticide-related activities);
 general rules to regulate pesticides activities during the pesticide life cycle (e.g.
import and export, distribution and sales, use and application, packaging and
labelling, storage, transportation, disposal);
 pesticide quality control, and various administrative provisions.

33. Regulatory Frameworks ….
Yet Preparation of directives and guidelines in not done
Some of the directives and guidelines to be prepared are
the following:
 Compelling reasons for importations of pesticides that has not
been registered
 Preconditions for allowing temporary registration
 Pesticide transportation
 Pesticide disposal
 Methods and information on pesticide analysis
 Several guidelines on chemical and biopesticide registration

34. General provisions related to the regulatory function of plant
protection
 The constitution of the FDRE Procl 1/1995
o Articles 44 (1) reads as “All persons have the right to clean and
healthy environment
o Article 92 (1) states “ The Government shall endeavor to ensure
that all Ethiopians live in clean and healthy environment”
o Article 92(4) states that “The Government and citizens shall
have the duty to protect the environment
 Criminal Code of the FDRE (Proclamation No.. 414/2004
o Article 516 – propagation of an agricultural or forest parasite
o Article 520 – management of hazardous wastes and other
materials
o Article 521 – Acts contrary to EIA (Proclamation No. 299/2003)

35. International Policy Frameworks related to crop
protection
Policy Instruments
o UNEP London Guidelines for the exchange of information
on chemicals in International Trade.
o FAO international code of conduct for the distribution and
use of pesticides
o ILO 1990 convention on safety of chemicals at the work
place (No. 170)
o The Montreal Protocol on substances that deplete the
Ozone Layer

36. International Policy…
o Various conventions adopted under the auspices of the UN:
 IPPC - Ethiopia ratified it on 20th June 1997 and the current
revised version on 25th August 2005
 The Rotterdam Convention on Prior Informed Consent (PIC)
procedures- it was ratified an made part of the law by
promulgating Proclamation no. 278/2002
 The Stockholm Convention on POPs was ratified through
Proclamation 279/2002
 The Basel convention was ratified through Proclamation No.
356/2003
 The Bamako Convention- similar convention to the Basel,
ratified through Proclamation No. 355/2003

37. Role of the private sector and civil society
Private
 Kaleb Services Farmers House Plc
 Shaer Ethiopia Plc
 Real IPM
 Koppert Biological Systems
Civil Society
 Plant Protection Society of Ethiopia (PPSE)
 Institute of Sustainable Development (ISD)
 Pesticide Action Nexsus- Ethiopia (PAN-Ethiopia)
 Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association

38. Role of the private sector …
Plant Protection Society of Ethiopia (PSSE)
 It closely works with EIAR and other stakeholders in all aspects
of plant protection
 Advocates for IPM options including biopesticides and
biocontrol agents
 Involved in research activities on development of biopesticides
from local isolates
 Published books entitled “Increasing Crop Production through
Improved Plant Protection (Volume I and II) on 20 years of
research activities throughout the country on plant protection.
 Publishes a reputable journal called Pest Management Jounal of
Ethiopia.

39. Role of the private sector …
Ethiopian Horticulture Producers and Exporters Association
(EHPEA)
 It runs several projects that support horticulture development
 Ethio-Dutch Program for Horticulture Development (2013-2016)
 The project has four components:
Business development and investment promotion
Support emerging commercial horticulture producers
Capacity building of respective stakeholders in respective value
chain
Integrated Pest Management (IPM)
 Produced EHPEA Code of Practice for Sustainable Flower Production

40. Limitations and challenges for Biopesticides Development and
use in Ethiopia
Despite substantial needs and interest especially around the flower farms
in Biological Pest Control Agents (BPCA), wide scale adoption is
hindered mainly due to the absence of a bio-pesticide registration system
in the country and promising results have remained experimental
Efficacy test has to be done in six sites as a result fee paid for researchers
is very high. In addition, researchers are highly taxed (35%).
It is difficult to promote Bio-pesticides the reason being farmers cannot
see their impact immediately. For this reason, there is a tendency by
farmers to go for the conventional chemicals.
Biopesticides are treated like any other hazardous and chemicals
suppliers not allowed to bring them by cargo

41. Limitations and challenges…
Development of pesticide resistance
There is no chain process for the sale of botanicals
Shortage of hard currency for import of biopesticides hence they are not
brought when they are needed most
The list of permitted biopesticides is very little and not profitable for
importers
Absence of accredited laboratory facilities and capacity to manage
biosafety related issue for proper implementation of policy instruments
There are some companies that are not following formal procedures to
import their products due to absence of strict control resulting in unfair
business competition

42. Recommendations
The draft regulation and subsequent directives and guidelines should
be completed
On farm trial have shown that biological control along with other
control methods is an effective tool to control major pests in the
flower industry. Thus it should be up scaled in terms of acreage and
crops.
Natural enemies can be collected from local sources as we have huge
biodiversity because of the diverse agro-ecological settings in the
country
Investors who are interested in manufacture of biopesticides should
be equally incentivized with provision of land, tax holidays, loans,
duty free import of machineries, etc. as the flower farms

43. Recommendations
Universities and research centers should closely work with the
private sector in the development of biopesticides/biocontrol
agents from indigenous and introduced microbial products as
economically and environmentally better alternatives to
chemical pesticides.
Intensive field trials are required to see the efficacy of the
biopesticides imported under the Ethiopian conditions
Diversify the current bilateral cooperation in the area of
biopesticide development and use through training of graduate
students