Biopesticides and Conventional Pesticides: Comparative Review of Mechanism of Action and Future Perspectives

Abstract

Pesticides are substances or chemicals employed in the control of pests. The rate of food losses in the world especially in third world countries continues to be on an upward scale. These losses are often caused by the damaging and destructive activities of pests during cultivation, harvest and post-harvest activities including drying and storage. To curtail the huge problems these pests, pose to farmers and other players in the agricultural food chain, researchers have over the years developed different types and forms of pesticides and more efforts are still ongoing in the quest to develop more pesticides especially of natural origin. There is a general belief that pesticides of natural origin are safer to non-target species than the synthetic pesticides. While this may be expected given the fact that many synthetic pesticides are made from unhealthy chemicals and heavy metals and are non-biodegradable resulting in accumulation of residues in food and water, it is still a subject of serious debate among researchers. Also, lack of government support, incentives and poor regulatory policies especially for biopesticides, are part of the challenges facing the development of natural pesticides. This review is aimed at unravelling the characteristics of the two major classes of pesticides: synthetic and natural pesticides with a view to advising on which is safer for human health and the environment and the way forward for farmers and other stakeholders in the agricultural sector.