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Welcome to REBECA


Biological control agents (BCAs)

Micro-organisms provide a huge potential to control plant pests and diseases. Besides they can enhance plant health and promote plant growth. To avoid the use of potential human pathogens in plant protection, micro-organisms need to undergo a comprehensive risk assessment and industry submits extensive dossiers on their safety. This procedure is based on rules originally developed for synthetic pesticides. Although the EU directive has been adapted to better meet the requirements of micro-organisms, registration still is time consuming and capital intensive, keeping safer plant protection products off the market.


Due to the lack of regulation in most EU member states the useof insects, mites and nematodes in plant protection is a great success in European agriculture and horticulture with an annual turnover surpassing 150 million €. However, there is a growing concern about the possible effect of exotic antagonists on the environment. This concern resulted in the establishment of national regulation in some EU member states potentially limiting the further promotion of these animals in biological control.


Sex pheromonesare natural odour signals produced by female insects to attract males. When used in "mating disruption" or "mass trapping" to obtain plant protection these chemical substances must be registered. Should these substances be subject to regulation? To encourage the development of new environmentally friendly products for sustainable agriculture, OECD has elaborated reduced data requirements for these products, which now should be translated into regulation practice in EU member states.


Insect baculoviruses are safe to vertebrates and highly host specific. For that reason they serve as expression systems in pharmaceutical industry to produce vaccines. To use them as biological control agents they have to undergo a costly registration procedure at EU and national level. Are the risks of baculoviruses exaggerated?


Many plant extracts are used in food, cosmetics and medicine. When used as plant protection agents, they have to undergo EU registration. REBECA will assess whether low risk products can be exempted from registration following rules of directive 91/414.


Better access to BCAs outside EU. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is in charge of biocontrol agent regulation in the USA. To register biocontrol agents the EPA needs on average 2 years. In Europe registration of the same products lasted almost 7 years. National registration has to follow. REBECA will search for measures to accelerate the registration process.


REBECA is an EU policy support action to review possible risks of biocontrol agents, compare regulation in the EU and the USA and to propose alternative, less bureaucratic and more efficient regulation procedures maintaining the same level of safety for human health and the environment but accelerating market access and lowering registration costs.