Positioning of Biopesticides in Thailand

Thailand is one of the ASEAN countries that intensively uses synthetic pesticides in agriculture. Frequently, Thai farmers misuse these pesticides, leading to the contamination of agricultural products with toxic residues. Because of these problems, the government, through the Pesticides Reduction Program, has made a national policy to produce “Hygienic Food and Agricultural Products ” both for internal consumption and export. The government strongly encourages the use of biopesticides in control strategies. This resulted in the registration of three Bt varieties i.e., var. kurstaki, var. aizawai and var. israelensis, and application technology was developed for them. The results show that Bt provides remarkably effective control of many species of Spodoptera and some other economically important insect pests. Records show that the use of Bt varies from year to year. It is reported that from 2003 – 2005 use of Bt in Thailand doubled, from 80 to 160 tons. However, the total Bt use is still low (less than 1%), compared to synthetic pesticides, due to the slow action of Bt in causing pest mortality. The Hygienic Food and Agriculture Policy promotes the use of Bt in Integrated Pest Management program for vegetables, including: asparagus, okra, baby corn, cruciferous crops, chili and some other “spicy ” vegetables. This has lead to increased Bt production in Thailand, and at least five local private companies each produce about 20 tons of Bt a year, while the rest is imported