Biopesticide Demonstration Program

BDP has awarded more than 70 grants, totaling $1.2 million, to growers and researchers across the country. These awards have made a positive influence on the future of pest control and pesticide use among growers of specialty crops and minor corps (defined as crops in the United States of 300,000 acres or less)

Established in 2003, the Biopesticide Demonstration Program (BDP) is a pesticide risk reduction partnership program coordinated by EPA. Jointly funded and administered by EPA and U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Interregional Project No. 4 (IR-4), BDP aims to reduce barriers to increased adoption of biopesticides nationally by funding field demonstrations of effective biopesticides within Integrated Pest Management (IPM) systems. The program serves as a "real-time" laboratory for growers across the country to assess new and innovative biopesticides across a wide variety of agricultural applications. BDP Grants will fund up to $25,000 of project costs. The project period of performance is limited to one year from the award date.

What are Biopesticides?

Biopesticides are derived from natural materials such as animals, plants, bacteria, and minerals. They target specific pests and generally pose little or no risk to humans or the environment. Biopesticides can be used to significantly reduce reliance on higher-risk pesticides and are most effective when used as a component of an IPM program.

Biopesticides Fact Sheet (print version, 2 pp, 1.4MB)

Who Can Apply for a BDP Grant?
Teams comprised of organizations representing the biopesticide industry, grower and land grant university communities are invited to submit proposals. Biopesticide and conventional pesticide companies are urged to cooperate in developing proposals to demonstrate biologically-intensive IPM systems.

What Types of Projects Do BDP Grants Support?
BDP seeks to achieve the following goals:

Increase awareness and provide information on effective options for integrating biologically based technologies into existing farming techniques
Promote the use of novel combinations of biopesticides to ensure the health and safety of our communities and improve farm production

Applicable projects support BDP in achieving these goals.

What Do BDP Partnerships Seek to Accomplish?
Beyond its grants program, BDP seeks to increase market penetration of biopesticides by facilitating direct communication with growers and institutions and by sponsoring grower-to-grower training within commodity organizations. In addition, through the Biopesticide Technology Transfer Initiative, EPA provides resources to encourage the transfer of biopesticides that have been shown - through BDP Grants or other means - to be effective and economically viable.