Q: Are these products OMRI certified?

A: At the moment, we are communicating with OMRI to get their list of certified products. We will soon have an OMRI icon next to the products that are OMRI certified. Keep in mind that wont be all of the products, as there are many biologicals that are not OMRI certified. 

 

Q: What is a Semiochemical?

A: Semiochemicals are biochemicals that organisms use to signal each other. In agriculture, we use pheromones - which are semiochemicals - for mating disruption. For more information, visit the Portal's beginners guide to semiochemicals here: https://bioprotectionportal.com/resources/semiochemicals-beginners-guide/

 

Q: Fleur - I found our bioherbicide (Kichawi Kill, Kenya) but it doesn't have the label, product sheet, etc. How can we add that?

A: The Portal displays addiitonal information for a product, including label, factsheet, safety datasheet, only for companies that are partnered with the Portal. If you are interested to join the Portal, we would love to speak with you! Please get in touch via our enquiries form on the website, here: https://bioprotectionportal.com/members/

 

Q: Really is it possible to be applicable for farmers?

A: Yes, the target audience with the Portal is both farmers and advisors. It depends on the country which group is more likely to be using this resource. If you have suggestions for how it could be more applicable to farmers in the US or elsewhere, we would love to hear feedback through our enquiries form on the website: https://bioprotectionportal.com/members/

 

Q: "Thank you for the good presentations. Do all the technologies have to be organically certified to be uploaded on the portal? (Victor from Kenya)"

A: A pleasure! No, the product does not have to be organic certified in order to be on the Portal. The Portal contains many biological products that do not necessarily have organic certification.

 

Q: how would one go about evaluating effiacy of macrobials in an open system - is it population establishment or would one rather look at results holistically? its not being regulated in South Africa at the moment. Its controversial amongst macrobial suppliers

A: This is an interesting question. The CABI BioProtection Portal does not deal with the evalutation of efficacy in the field, but we are aware that this is information that many growers and advisors would like to see. Since it is not my area of expertise, I wont comment in detail. From my experience, I would assume a combination of both, in addition to monitoring for a decrease in the pest species over time.

 

Q: I just downloaded the app from the QR code and I don't see United States as an option for "country", to be able to view offline.

A:  We are currently working on uploading our US data to the Portal APP. The US is searchable on the website browser, however, for the app, it is a work in progress due to the large number of US products and state-differences. Getting the US on the app is a focus for us this year. Apologies that this was not clarified during the presentation. 

 

Q: "Thanks on such session, How one company working in Pakistan can get biological products as have big market but need some effective products against white fly Bemisia Tabaci, Pink Bollworm and Aphids Regards Akmal"

A: Hi Akmal, it is a pleasure. It is an exciting time for bioprotection in Pakistan as the first policy allowing biopesticide use was approved Feb 1st. Before now, there were not any registered biopesticides on the market. In the future, once regulatory arrangements are settled and the market picks up, we aim to get Pakistan on the Portal to provide more information on the pests of concern that you mention. To stay up to date, feel free to sign up to our monthly newsletter: https://marketing.cabi.org/l/732633/2023-06-06/47ccgf

 

Q: Does CABI allow users to search products by EPA label applications for example seed treatment, foliar etc.

A: Currently, no, products are not searchable by label details other than crop and pest. 

 

Q: Similar to the regulations around MRLs, are there regulations that govern the use of biologicals in the importation or exportation of products from country to country?

A: Yes, regulations are present for the import and export of agricultural products between countries. Some regulations are general requirements, and others depend on the country of import/export. As this is not our area of specialization at the Portal, I cannot comment in detail. 

 

Q: Ok, if needed use entmophagenic fungi how make available for farmers to manage a particular insect pest, after the pest is destroyed then our Bio agents also- dead and if pest is again happen needed to apply again the Bio agents so what about cost benefit of using them?

A: Hi Lemi, thanks for the question. The purpose of a biocontrol agent is not to kill off the pest species completely, but to keep it below a certain economic threshold. You can think of it as having owls and mice in an area. Just because you have owls, doesnt mean all the mice will be caught, but they will be kept at a lower level compared to if they had no natural predator in the system. When mice levels are low, the owl can feed on other species to stay alive. It is the same idea with macrobials and pest populations in an agricultural system. Population numbers are dynamic, and fluctuate, but netiher group becomes completely killed off, mimicing natural circumstances. Hope that makes sense, if not, email us at [email protected].

 

Q: when trying to download the bioprotection app on an iphone, the US is not a country option

A: This is correct. We are currently working on uploading our US data to the Portal APP. The US is searchable on the website browser, however, for the app, it is a work in progress due to the large number of US products and state-differences. Getting the US on the app is a focus for us this year. Apologies that this was not clarified during the presentation. 

 

Q: "First, I would link to thank CABI for launching the portal in Egypt this week. In some countries, such as Egypt, macrobials, such as predators are not required to be registered. Is there a way to capture this sigment of the market?"

A: Thanks, we are excited about this too! Good question, and one that we face often when encountering a country that does not register macrobials. Currently, we have macrobials listed on the Portal only for our partners, who provide us with a list of their products. Otherwise the time investment to initially find macrobial products and then update them regularely (without a list to consult), becomes too resource-intensive.