The project seeking registration for a new-to-New Zealand bioinsecticide has produced a roadmap illustrating the steps it is currently following through the regulatory pathway.
A Lighter Touch, together with Vegetables New Zealand and Key Industries Ltd, is taking the bioinsecticide for the control of diamondback moth (DBM) through the regulatory pathway with the goal of mapping the complexity of biopesticide approval regulations.
The project’s primary aim is to produce a case study providing guidance to industry on how to navigate the regulatory pathway in a faster and more cost-effective manner. It has the additional benefits of demonstrating integration of biopesticides into crop protection programmes and supporting pesticide resistance management.
Diamondback moth caterpillar.
The project officially began in March 2024, although with many months of scoping behind it, and has now reached the stage of having received approval under the Hazardous Substances and New Organisms Act (HSNO) to import the product for testing in a secure containment facility.
In the interests of sharing what has been learnt to date, the project team has developed a flow diagram outlining the process they are following through the regulatory system.
It illustrates at a high level the various steps the project has navigated so far (the green arrows). What is not as visible is the detailed activity behind each step and the wide range of people, organisations and expertise required to complete each of those steps.
Flow diagram illustrating steps the project is currently following through the regulatory pathway.
The steps the project has completed involve providing evidence to determine whether the active ingredient (a virus) in the biopesticide is new to New Zealand or not. Laboratory testing of DBM larvae collected in New Zealand has failed so far to detect the presence of the active ingredient in the wild, meaning it must follow the ‘New Organism’ regulatory pathway.
Having now obtained the HSNO containment approval, the biological active ingredient in the biopesticide is allowed to be imported as a “New Organism” under containment for host range testing against both DBM and possible non-target hosts in New Zealand. This work will be done in a secure, purpose-built facility by Bioeconomy Science Institute, Plant & Food Research Group.
The process to date has seen the project team brief the New Organisms team at the Environmental Protection Authority on their application, as well as NZ Food Safety (NZFS), which is responsible for Agricultural Compounds and Veterinary Medicines (ACVMs).
In terms of next steps, specialist providers have been contracted to undertake DNA testing and containment work on both the target and off-target species. The containment work results will determine if an application is made for general release approval which will be needed for field testing. The preparatory stages for field testing have started, such as developing the protocol, and selecting sites and contractors.
The lack of biopesticide registrations in New Zealand was identified when A Lighter Touch was formed as a key missing ingredient needed to achieve the goal of supporting growers to move from agrichemical reliance to more sustainable crop protection. The biopesticide case study is one of several pieces of work ALT has undertaken to facilitate improvement of the regulatory pathway, with the aim to provide growers with easier and more timely access to new tools and solutions.
The project has the additional benefit of seeking registration for another crop protection tool for a priority pest with high resistance risk, dwindling control options in NZ, and the potential to worsen as New Zealand’s climate warms.
Read more:
August 2025: Bioinsecticide project gets HSNO containment approval
Download:
October 2025: Biopesticide regulatory pathway project flow diagram.
