This edition of FONTAGRO’s Science Café focused on biological pest control. Gloria Patricia Barrera Cubillos, a researcher at the Colombian Agricultural Research Corporation (AGROSAVIA) and leader of the FONTAGRO project “Leveraging biological products to build climate resilience”.

Barrera explained that imbalances in agroecosystems and the loss of biodiversity open the door to pests that can destroy anywhere from 40% to 100% of a crop. Biopesticides made from insect-killing (entomopathogenic) fungi, bacteria, and viruses offer a safer alternative: they are less toxic, break down easily, and make it less likely that pests will develop resistance. Barrera highlighted microorganisms such as Beauveria, Metarhizium, and Trichoderma, which, in addition to controlling pests and diseases, promote plant growth, help plants tolerate drought and salinity, help clean up contaminated soils, and can even reduce nitrous oxide emissions.

As a practical example, Barrera presented an integrated pest management approach for greenhouse tomatoes. In Colombia, these systems receive around 25 insecticide applications per growing cycle to control pests such as the tomato leafminer and whitefly. Using Trichoderma from the seedling stage, along with biopesticides based on Beauveria bassiana, Bacillus thuringiensis, and granulovirus, makes it possible to reduce chemical use without sacrificing effectiveness.

The talk drew on the guide “Microorganism-Based Strategies for Pest Control,” published by AGROSAVIA in 2025, which distills the institution’s experience in this field in plain language for farmers. That experience informs the FONTAGRO project Barrera leads, which uses beneficial fungi from the native biodiversity of Colombia and Argentina to boost corn production, cut agrochemical use, and make the crop more resilient to climate variability.