Brussels, Belgium, 12 November 2026: The Sustainable Pesticide Management Framework (SPMF) is delivering lasting change to support productive agriculture. CropLife International’s $13 million flagship program supports sustainable pesticide management, with an emphasis on low and middle income countries across the Global South.
The latest Sustainable Pesticide Management Framework (SPMF) annual report comes as governments and stakeholders prepare for the first International Conference of the Global Framework on Chemicals (IC1), focused on tracking progress, accelerating action and investing for impact. The SPMF demonstrates how these global ambitions can be translated into practical, measurable, and sustained action in agriculture.
Tracking progress: SPMF programs are strengthening pesticide risk management and building the knowledge and professional capacity needed for responsible pesticide use. In Kenya, more than 17,000 community leaders, including farmers, health volunteers, and producer groups have been trained over the last five years. The SPMF is on course to train 30,000 agriculture extension workers on Integrated Pest Management (IPM) in Indonesia. By building local capacity and strengthening stewardship, these programs are helping translate sustainable pesticide management into practice, with measurable results.
Accelerating action: The SPMF is identifying practical solutions that can be tested, adapted and scaled. In Latin America, more than 50 demonstration plots are testing biological solutions and practices supporting soil and pollinator health. In Southeast Asia, a regional biopesticides project has been launched with various countries conducting similar demonstration plots for common crops and pests in the region to accelerate research and knowledge sharing. Demonstrating approaches under local farming conditions gives farmers the opportunity to see how new practices work in the field, helping build the confidence and knowledge needed to support wider uptake.
Investing for impact: The SPMF demonstrates the value of investing not only in individual activities, but also in the people, institutions, regulatory capacity and partnerships needed to sustain progress. Investing in local leadership and tailoring the programs for national circumstances is helping successful approaches become embedded within national systems and continue beyond individual projects. For example, in Morocco, 3,500 agriculture extension officers in all key provinces have been trained, who have in turn trained more than 340,000 farmers over the last four years. This cascading effect shows the power of the SPMF project in delivering widespread, actionable results on the ground.
Commenting on the SPMF Annual Report, and ahead of the Global Framework on Chemicals conference, CropLife International President and CEO Emily Rees said “As agriculture faces growing pressures from climate change, evolving pests and diseases, and increasing demands on food systems, effective, science-based and sustainable pesticide management has never been more important. The progress we are seeing demonstrates what is possible when public and private partners combine expertise with strong local leadership and a common purpose. The results on the ground tell the story on the progress we are making towards our vision for a more holistic approach to pesticide management. The strongest measure of success is what happens after a project ends: when its approaches become embedded in national systems and continue to deliver tangible, lasting results. As the Global Framework on Chemicals moves into implementation, the SPMF provides practical evidence of how collaboration, innovation and investment can translate global commitments into measurable progress.”
The SPMF will continue to share lessons across participating countries and support successful approaches as they move from demonstration to sustained implementation.
