Harmonizing Rules in 6 East African Nations

China’s NewPesticide Rules

Trade Summit Southeast Asia

Discover companies throughout the value chain that are challenging agriculture’s status quo. Story begins on p. 8.

www.AgriBusinessGlobal.com | November 2017 5

Contents Cover Design by Paul Skowronski

Volume 31 • Number 6 November/December 2017

Agrichemicals

8 Ag Disruptors to WatchFour companies challenging the status quo in 2018 and beyond.

Agrichemicals

14 A Healthy Asian Market Key to Crop Protection’s Future SuccessAgriBusiness Global’s Southeast Asia Trade

Summit brings buyers and sellers together in

Jakarta.

Crop Protection

16 U.S. the Leading Crop Protection Market — For NowBrazil limited by currency movement, credit

availability, and pricing pressure, which

dampen the higher potential of this market.

Biocontrols

20 Despite Growth, Old Perceptions Inhibit BiopesticidesThe biocontrol market could one day match

synthetics, but skepticism continues to limit

widespread adoption.

Plant Health

24 U.S. Growers Cautiously Optimistic on BiostimulantsLong-awaited regulatory guidelines and a

growing body of research will help promote

wider use.

Plant Health

28 East African Nations Move to Harmonize Fertilizer RegsPolicy to address taxation, subsidies, farm

input support, market liberalization, access

to credit, and the import and storage of

large volumes of fertilizers.

China

30 China’s New Rules Change How Pesticides Are Brought to MarketRule changes designed to encourage

companies to bring more innovative and

environmental-friendly products.

6 World Watch 33 Ad Index 34 From the Editor

ADVANCING THE GLOBAL CROP PROTECTION AND PLANT HEALTH INDUSTRIES

World Watch

6 November 2017

AGB: Can you please describe what the past year has been like in the agchem business in Argentina?

This is a strange year.Locally, there are important areas that are flooded. Still,

the ones that are healthy have good output and healthy crops.The most important things that are happening (affecting

Argentina) are mainly in China, where the production of active ingredients and formulated products is not as smooth as it was in the past.

It is really difficult to predict what will happen in 2018 in China since the government can be very active.

AGB: How dramatically has Argentina’s improving tax environment changed the agchem marketplace?

Argentina used to have a 35% export tax on agricultural outputs.

One of the electoral promises of Eng. Mauricio Macri was that if he was elected as president, he would decrease the export duties of soybean by 5% per year, and cancel the export duties of the other cereals and crops.

Since farmers have to pay less taxes, they are using more fertilizers, more modern agrichemicals, and renewing their machinery, etc. We are in a virtuous circle.

AGB: What other factors drive Argentina’s agchem market, such as regulatory changes on formulated products?

The main changes in the agchem market are indeed linked to formulated products.

There are new regulations for which the registration holder of the formulated product is responsible including product

traceability and the recovery and recycling of all plastic packaging. Brazilian law is different because it requires all the parts of the chain to be equally responsible, while here, only the registration holder is liable.

On the positive side, there is a lot of investment in newer formulations, and also in mixtures for specific diseases and crops. In part, this is forced by both the lack of innovation and by the multinational companies, who are closing many R&D centers with all the consolidation they are going through.

AGB: What are your thoughts on issues and trends affecting the wider Argentina agchem environment?

By the beginning of the 20th century, and also in the period between the two World Wars, Argentina was considered the “barn of the world.” President Macri wants to change this concept. He wants us to become “the supermarket of the world.”

Eng. Macri always wants to add more value to the products that we produce and export, so instead of exporting crops, he supports policies to industrialize them and to export food which has higher added value.

Precision agriculture is a trend that is growing significantly, by adding more area with more technology via satellites, but also via simpler techniques like the more efficient use of fertilizers. More crops will change from the old, extensive production system to a newer one with a much more modern agronomic approach.

— Jackie Pucci(Editor’s Note: For the full interview visit agribusinessglobal.com)

Chempro’s Diego Taube Discusses Regulatory, Tax Changes in Argentina

Kenya to Start National Performance Trials for Bt CottonThe National Biosafety Authority of Kenya has approved the field trial of Bt cotton (MON 15985 event).Source: Crop Biotech Update published by ISAAA

“The demand of Europeans is to have confidence in the experts who enlighten us. Our recent debates on glyphosate and endocrine disruptors show the need for a more transparent, independent, European scientific assessment of better funded research that identifies risks and proposes alternatives. This is essential. Today we have political debates that sometimes seek to take the place of scientific debate. It is science that must shed light on dangers, but then, independently and transparently, indicate the scientifically demonstrated alternatives.”— Emmanuel Macron, President of France, speaking about Common Agricultural Policy

8 November 2017

Cover Story | Disruptors

BY JACKIE PUCCISENIOR EDITOR

India has some 120 million growers and a predominantly generic agrichemical market. A strong and efficient distri-bution network is essential for crop protection.

Yet, the country’s industry has been plagued by problems arising out of supply chain inefficiencies, a lack of transparency, spurious products, and inadequate infrastructure, which result in post-harvest losses estimated at INR 45,000

crore ($7 billion) every year, according to a Tata Strategic Management Group/FICCI report.

This also makes it difficult for agrichemical companies to reach the farmers to promote their products and educate them about their usage and benefits. Indian farmers deal with layers upon layers of agents, dealers, and distributors to get to the farm inputs they want to buy.

www.AgriBusinessGlobal.com November 2017 9

Enter a Rising Start-Up Called AgroStar

The Pune-headquartered firm, found-ed in 2012, skips all the layers and goes straight to the farmer via their cellphone.

As the motto splashed on its homepage goes: “Our mission is to simplify the agribusiness experience for farmers in rural India.”

The Accel-backed start-up raised $10 million in Series B funding earlier in 2017 and currently operates in the three states of Maharashtra, Gujarat, and Rajasthan with a staff of over 200 people.

Commenting on the investment, Prashanth Prakash, Partner, Accel India, said: “There is a huge scope to implement technology to solve the inherent prob-lems faced by farmers in India. In a mo-bile-first country like India, AgroStar has clearly demonstrated that farmers in India are ready to adapt the latest in technology that can make their lives simpler and im-prove their productivity.”

Co-founder and CEO Mr. Shardul Sheth and co-founder and Director

Sitanshu Sheth break down the process: • A farmer expresses his interest to

transact with AgroStar either through a missed call on a toll-free number or through the company’s Android app.

• AgroStar’s intelligent, predictive dialer connects qualified customer relations executive with the farmer. The executive understands his query and provides him with personalized agronomy and product solutions based on his crop cycle and places an order on behalf of the customer with the aid of a smart CRM.

• Products are dispatched from the cen-tral warehouse through one of the de-livery channels viz. India Post, local entrepreneurial logistics partners or through field sales executives and are delivered at farmer’s doorstep.

“Farmer interest has been growing multi-factor every year. The business has been growing 2x to 2.5x in the last three

years through continuous innovations in farmer engagement, product range, and last-mile delivery. More than 1.4 million farmers have been serviced with over 4 lakh farmers transacting on platform,” the Sheth brothers tell AgriBusiness Global.

The company aims to spread through-out India within the next two years. Partners include more than 160 brands, including multinationals such as DuPont Pioneer, Dow, and BASF to provide raw materials, seeds, fertilizers, and other inputs. There is a continuous effort to on-board more relevant brands and expand the portfolio to cover more crops and agri-products across the states, the broth-ers add.

The key challenges, the Sheths say, include convincing less literate farmers to trust an alternate channel of commerce and ensuring timely last-mile delivery. The current platform, too, is not yet perfected. Delivery speed can still be improved, and logistics challenges still stand in the way of speedy deliveries of bulk products, according to the Sheths.

India’s AgroStar takes on the country’s multi-layered, highly fragmented crop protection and fertilizer market.

The Sheth Brothers

10 November 2017

Cover Story | Disruptors

CropCoat, the signature product of San Jose, California start-up Crop Enhancement, doesn’t quite fit into any of the typical crop protection categories.

In fact, it works like no other that the ag market has seen before, according to CEO Kevin Chen.

While it’s sprayed on like a typical chem-ical, it’s unlike any pesticide. Instead, Crop-Coat acts as a shield, forming a non-toxic, microscopic film that modifies plant surfaces including the leaves, stems, fruit, and seeds to improve their resistance to pests and disease and decrease the need for harmful pesticides.

Insect and pathogen resistance develop-ment is a non-issue (no, really). It is also fully compatible with conventional and biological products, and can fit into any IPM regime.

Founded in 2011 by renowned serial entre-preneur and surface scientist Dr. David Soane, he handed over the reins to Chen, a materials science PhD himself, in 2015. Crop Enhance-ment went through fits and starts and then hit on a pain point, like any good start-up.

“We were introduced to a prominent, mul-tinational food company that told us that they had a particular issue,” he says, one which has dogged the entire chocolate industry for the last 10 years: huge cacao yield losses in Indo-nesia due to the cocoa pod borer.

“David thought if we could find a way to prevent this pest from boring into cocoa pods, we could provide a solution,” Chen explains.

Current insecticides being used are not very effective due to resistance. “If we could create another layer of ‘skin’ and protect the pod from the insect boring into the center of the pod, it would be one way of deterring that action and preserving the pod. That’s the gen-esis of the CropCoat concept.”

Another benefit that makes the product attractive to the tropics is its persistence. Rain washes off chemicals, forcing a grower to re-apply — a problem CropCoat doesn’t face. In Indonesia, a grower might spray cacao up to 20 times a year with traditional pesticides, essentially going out to spray every two weeks. “We can cut that back dramatically — a grower can spray only four times a year instead of 20,” Chen says.

A key factor not to be underestimated that is driving the need for innovation is end consumers, who are increasingly demanding higher levels of social and environmental responsibility throughout the supply chain. Food companies are responding, and in turn are able to sell product to the consumer at a higher price, thereby enhancing their brand. Cacao is frequently grown by smallholders who farm less than two hectares. “Farm in-come is very low, so finding ways to improve that by saving them time and raising the price at which they can sell their harvest are all things the industry wants to do to support the supply chain,” he says.

A Unique Approach to Crop Protection

Crop Enhancement CEO Kevin Chen

Mahamaya Lifesciences Pvt. Ltd.337-338, 3rd Floor, Spaze I Tech Park, Sector-49,

Sohna Road, Gurugram-122001, INDIA Telephone : +91 124 - 4301988/4371988

www.mahamayalifesciences.cominfo@mahamayalifesciences.com

MAHAMAYA LIFESCIENCES

An ISO 9001:2008 certified company

Shaping Agriworld for better growth... Ultimate solution for crop protection

OUR PRODUCTS FOR CROP PROTECTIONAND PEST CONTROL

HOUSEHOLD PESTICIDE : FIPRONIL 0.05% G

HERBICIDESPendimethalin 50% ECPretilachlor 50% ECParaquat Dichloride 24% SL Glyphosate 41 % SL Propanil 48% EC

INSECTICIDESAcetamiprid 20% SPBuprofezin 25% SCEmamectin Benzoate 5% SG, 1.9% EC Imidacloprid 70% WG, 17.8% SL, 30.5% SCAlphacypermethrin 10% ECLambdacyhalothrin 5% SC, 5% ECCypermethrin 10% EC, 25% ECFipronil 5% SC, 80% WG, 0.3% GrThiamethoxam 30% FS, 70% WS, 25% WGChlorpyriphos 50% + Cypermethrin 5% EC

FUNGICIDESHexaconazole 5 % SCSulphur 80% WPSulphur 80 % WDGMancozeb 80% WPMetalaxyl 8% + Mancozeb 60% WP

AGROCHEMICAL TECHNICALSAcetamiprid Buprofezin Cartap Hydrochloride Emamectin Benzoate Imidacloprid Pretilachlor Paraquat Dichloride Glyphosate Bispyribac Sodium Lufenuron Oxyfluorfen Pyraclostrobin Pymetrozine

BIOSTIMULANTS & SEAWEED EXTRACT

www.AgriBusinessGlobal.com November 2017 11

Disruptors | Cover Story

U.S., China NextCropCoat has expanded applications

over the past couple of years beyond South-east Asia to crops like coffee, citrus, and blueberries. The focus, Chen says, will re-main on high-value, specialty crops.

Next up? China, where consumers are notoriously mistrustful of food companies and governmental regulatory agencies — note the tainted milk scandal of 2008 and this year’s plastic seaweed snack scare that caused the seaweed industry to lose mil-lions (no matter that the latter was proved to be fake news) — and that aren’t leaving the public consciousness anytime soon. A product like CropCoat can, for example, give Chinese citrus growers a solution that allows them to mitigate pesticide use to appease consumers, as well as meet the Ministry of Agriculture’s “zero-growth” pesticide usage by 2020 plan.

Big goals these are, but Crop Enhance-ment boasts the financial backing to bring them to fruition. It has top ag venture-capi-tal firms behind it including Spruce Capital and 1955 Capital, whose partners have deep experience and broad connections in Asia.

“Crop Enhancement is a great example of a company that can address two key challenges in the developing world: in-creasing food production and fostering the development of sustainable agricultural practices,” says Andrew Chung, founder and managing partner at 1955 Capital. “We’re eager to help introduce Crop En-hancement’s technologies to key partners in Greater China.”

“We are very fortunate to have a sup-portive and active board who wants to see this succeed,” says Chen, who has brought on board a roster chock-full of talent. Chen himself brings 15 years of experience in materials-centric technology companies spanning renewable energy, semiconductor devices, and telecom networking, including his most recent stint as a chief marketing officer and general manager at Applied Materials.

“When we talk to potential partners, they often tell us, ‘We haven’t seen some-thing like this, so let’s try it.’ On the one hand it’s great that we get a lot of interest, but on the other hand we know that we have a lot to prove,” Chen says. Not surprising for a disruptor.

Gold Farm: India’s ‘Uber’ for Farm Equipment

“Gold Farm is completely disrupting the way the ecosystem works and in the process, enhanc-ing farm level productivity,” says Abhilash Thirupathy, cofounder of Mahindra & Mahindra-backed Gold Farm, the so-called “Uber for farm equipment.”

Thirupathy’s second start-up, he took up this latest opportunity due to the sheer challenge of it and the potential to make a real-world impact. “I take my work as one of ensuring food security for the world,” he says.

Gold Farm provides a solution to one of the notorious challenges in Indian agriculture: small landholding. Growers simply cannot afford mechanization equipment and implements, leading to inefficiencies. Over the last two decades, India’s service industry has developed significantly, propelling a large-scale migration of labor from agriculture to services.

“This has reduced agri-labor and also driven up cost of agri-labor – a double whammy for farmers in India. This is where we are trying to plug in and provide mechanization equipment in a standardized fashion on a rental basis to Indian farmers,” Thirupathy says.

12 November 2017

Cover Story | Disruptors

The ‘Amazon of Agriculture’ Continues to Threaten Big Ag RetailersBY MATTHEW GRASSIFIELD EDITOR, CROPLIFE®MAGAZINE

The current state of U.S. ag chemical distribution cannot be fully assessed without taking stock of its biggest potential threat — Farmers Business Network (FBN).

Launched out of Silicon Valley in 2014 as a farmer-focused, agronomic data aggregation play, in January of 2016 the company leveraged its acreage network in a spin-off effort — FBN Direct — that sent shockwaves through the ag retail industry.

Offering two- to four-day delivery windows for products, or same-day pickup from one of its 11 warehouses flung throughout the Corn Belt, Upper and Lower Midwest, as well as out in California and Montana, Direct intends to pursue direct-to-farmer sales relationships in crop protection and seed, equipment and technology, even crop consulting.

Or basically, if the traditional brick-and-mortar ag retailer offers it, FBN is probably looking to disrupt it. The aspect of FBN Direct that resonates the most with today’s commodity market-driven grower remains: a stated commitment to low, fair and transparent pricing across the country.

Co-founder and VP of Product Charles Baron offered a quick update on where things are currently with Direct.

“We’ve seen phenomenal growth here in the last year and a half,” Baron says. “Price transparency has proven to be a very popular feature for our farmers, and we’ve now published 6,000 product data pages online that are public and not restricted to FBN members. We’ve dramatically expanded the number of products we’re carrying — we now have over 1,200 SKUs accessible — and our farmer credit program is enabling a much earlier credit decision. We’re making the online farmer shopping experience faster and smarter.”

One area that FBN has seemingly beaten traditional ag retail at is marketing. It’s tough to deny that FBN’s anti-Big Ag marketing is simple, effective, and it resonates with a portion of American farmers that have been hammered by commodity market volatility, with virtually no price relief from the manufacturing channel.

“Whether it’s rebates or bundling or special discounts, all of these tactics contribute to the overall lack of transparency in the market, and they certainly can confuse and frustrate farmers. I’d say the vast majority of FBN users are very frustrated by (rebates),” Baron argues. “We’re providing transparency. Our members know that the price is the price.” •

14 November 2017

BY DAN JACOBSEDITOR

Southeast Asia is arguably one of the most critical markets ensuring the success of the crop inputs business.

Whether it’s raw materials or manufactur-ing, the region dominates discussions about the future of the industry.

That’s just one reason AgriBusiness Global is returning to Jakarta, Indonesia 5-6 December 2017 to host a regional trade summit, an extension of the event held in Las Vegas, Nevada earlier in the year.

The Indonesian agrichemical market is estimated to grow at a compound annual growth rate of 9.2% from 2017 to 2022. The market value in 2013 was Rp 800 billion ($58.4 million), and is tracking to rise to Rp 1,176 billion ($85.86 million) by 2018.

For perspective, the average annual growth rate for the past five years has been 1.5% according to Bob Fairclough, Kleff-mann Group, who spoke at the Las Vegas event in August.

The Jakarta summit brings together delegates from the region to gain access to this accelerating market with key learnings on environmental and regulatory consid-erations, as well as the impacts of steep re-search and development costs, and complex transport and infrastructure challenges.

EducationIn addition to bringing buyers and sellers

together, the program includes a series of educational sessions.

Healthy Asian Crop Protection Market Key to Industry’s Future SuccessAgriBusiness Global’s Southeast Asia Trade Summit brings buyers and sellers together in Jakarta this December.

AgriBusinessGLOBAL

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Trade Summit

AgriBusinessGLOBAL

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EVENT PREVIEW

The Trade Summit South-east Asia will be held at JS Luwansa Hotel & Con-vention Center in Jakarta, Indonesia 5-6 December. Visit tradesummit.com to learn more and register.

(Above and left) The Trade Summits hosted by Agri-Business Global bring together the buyers and sellers of crop protection products and offer them an opportunity to learn from industry experts.

www.AgriBusinessGlobal.com November 2017 15

Day One Day one begins with a Regulatory

Report focusing on the current state of the country’s crop protection industry. Indonesia could play a critical role in the health of the region’s crop protection market. This presentation will cover what rule changes could be coming in the next several years and the implications they could have on the market.

Following that presentation, AgriBusiness Global will provide a look at Mega Mergers: The M&A Impact on the Agrichemical and Fertilizer Markets: Crop protection headlines are dominated by merger and acquisitions. Seemingly almost daily, new developments promise changes and opportunities that could influence the industry for decades. This presentation will offer an overview of the recent round of M&A activity, the implications of these mega mergers, explore what the industry will look like in 2018, and the role the next tier of companies will have

in crop protection.  Day one’s educational sessions end

with a look at Regulatory Harmonization in SE Asia: With regulatory harmonization, Southeast Asian countries would be able to work together more closely, share resources, and lower the costs of pesticide registration. Dr. Piyatida (Tung) Pukclai, Regional Business Development Director (Asia-Pacific), Dr. Knoell Consult Thai Co. Ltd, will present an overview of registration requirements in several Southeast Asia countries, focusing on the level of harmonization and how companies can work within the regulatory system in order to stay competitive in the international marketplace, improve trade, and protect their populations and the environment from poor quality and highly hazardous pesticides. 

Day one ends on a more relaxed note with a business networking reception sponsored by AgriBusiness Global.

Day TwoDay two’s educational sessions begin

with a China Supply & Manufacturing Update: China is the largest manufacturer of crop protection products on the planet. When environmental and regulatory rules change there, it impacts the world. The session will provide an update on the state of Chinese supply and production and ex-plain the implications for the industry.

The second session on day two will cover one of the fastest growing segments in crop protection.

Biostimulants on a Fast Track:   The biostimulant and plant health market is one of the fastest-growing sectors in ag-riculture. Their return on investment and ease of use is rapidly driving farmer adop-tion. Our expert will examine which crops and applications make the most sense in Southeast Asia, and their compatibility with crop protection and other input prod-ucts through the distribution. •

Contact Dan: djacobs@meistermedia.com

16 November 2017

Crop Protection – USA Retains Number-One Market PositionEx-Manufacturer level using average year exchange rates

BY DR. BOB FAIRCLOUGHKLEFFMANN GROUP

IN NOMINAL TERMS, the global mar-ket for crop protection chemicals further declined to $53.1 billion in harvest

year 2016 as measured at the ex-company level and using average year exchange rates throughout. This represents the sec-ond year of decline in the global market. The rate of decline, however, has slowed with the big drop of some 9.8% in 2015 as compared to 2014 coming down to a more modest decline of some 2.6% in 2016 as compared to 2015.

A recovery from this now low base of just over $53 billion should be more readily achieved. The question remains — to what extent growth returned in 2017.

As in the previous year, no region es-caped the global pressures on the market, although in contrast to 2015 no region saw

an overall drop in market value of greater than a few percentage points. In general the market was a lot “flatter” with declines seen across the board as markets stabilized from the previous years’ decline. There were, of course, a few notable exceptions of growth: Russia, Japan, India, and Argen-tina.

The U.S. fell “into the bucket” of small to moderate decline, broadly in line with the overall global market decline. Once again when measured at ex-company level and on a harvest-year basis, the U.S. market fell from just over $8 billion to just over $7.8 billion, or in other words, a decline of a fraction over 2%. Despite this decline, the U.S. retained for the second year running its position as the leading global crop protec-tion market in terms of sales. A decline of some 4.8% in the Brazilian market (ex-com-pany level and using average year exchange rates) meant that the gap between these two

leading markets widened from under $100 million in 2015 to close to $300 million in 2016.

Whilst the difference in value of some $300 million (about the size of the market in Uruguay) is not earth-shattering, it does indicate the different fortunes of the world’s largest two markets. Of course, the “devil is in the details” (currency movement being once again the biggest devil here), and there are different ways to paint quite a different story. One such way is to look at the two markets in terms of area treated. If we compare the cumulative acres of product used on the ground, then Brazil continues to grow with in 2016 over 1.1 billion hectares (Super Developed Area) treated. The U.S. by comparison remained essentially the same in 2015 with a little over 500 million hectares treated; by those calculations, it was under half of that of Brazil. For now, however, Brazil continues to suffer from

U.S. Remains the Leading Crop Protection Market — For Now

Agrichemicals | USA

USA Brazil China Japan Argentina France India

$ Bi

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s US

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Global Crop Protection Sales

$53.125Billion

18 November 2017

Agrichemicals | USA

ongoing challenges including currency movement, credit availability, and pricing pressure, which dampen the intrinsically higher potential of this market.

Compared to other sectors in the industry, a decline of 2% in the value of the U.S. crop protection market was extremely modest. Taking the latest USDA ERS estimates the U.S. net farm income — a key indicator of U.S. farm well-being — stood at $61.5 billion in 2016 as compared to $81.4 billion in 2015, a substantial decline of some 24%. Whilst not strictly comparable, in that the livestock sector fared the worst, it is an indication that the crop protection sector performed relatively well under such an environment. Although subject to revision the current ERS study puts the U.S. net farm income in 2017 at $63.4 billion in 2017, up 3% from 2016. The forecast rise in 2017, closely linked to commodity prices, comes after three consecutive years of decline from the 2013 record high of $123.8 billion, and could indicate the first “green shoots” of an

improving U.S. farm economy.The 2% decline in the U.S. market

was not universally felt in the different product groups of herbicides, insecticides, and fungicides.

FungicidesFungicides, which had been the

shining star in the U.S. market in 2015 (where the weather patterns favored the use of fungicides) shrunk such that the market was a little over $1.1 billion as compared to $1.2 billion in 2015. Despite the decline experienced in 2016 the sector is, however, poised for growth as co-formulations with the relatively new SDHIs continue to “prove” themselves. Whilst fungicides remained the “easy option” to cut from the spray program in 2016, even a small improvement in the commodity price situation favors the use of the higher value SDHIs in a market that remains dominated by single active ingredient-based products mainly based on triazoles or strobilurin chemistry.

HerbicidesHerbicides, by far the largest sector

within the U.S. market, saw somewhat of a reversal of fortunes in 2016 as compared to 2015, growing all-be-it modestly some 1.5% to reach $4.6 billion. The dominant herbicide markets of maize and soybean both drove this market forward as grow-ers increasingly moved to greater use of residuals and pre-emergence products. In soybeans, glyphosate-based products still dominate, but the soybean “residual” pre-mixes based on sulfentrazone, chloran-sulam, and chlorimuron, to name but a few, are gaining a larger part of the cake.

New technologies from 2017, with for example some 20 million acres of Xtend (dicamba-tolerant) soybeans already plant-ed, are changing that dynamic once again somewhat. The subject of much debate, current “teething” problems with dicamba drift one way or another will impact on the acceptance of that technology, the compet-itive Enlist (2,4-D) technology and on late pipeline developments such as those based on HPPD-inhibiting herbicides.

InsecticidesInsecticides also saw a decline in 2016

dropping some 6% to $1.8 billion. Here the decline was felt across virtually all crop groups with the exception of cotton, which improved largely on the back of increasing planted areas. In addition, the sector — still dominated by older generic organophos-phate and pyrethroid chemistries such as dicrotophos and bifenthrin — is benefiting from formulations based on newer active substances including spiromesifen and flupyradifurone.

Kleffmann’s amis®AgriGlobe database of farmer surveys and product use information drives much of the company’s “top level” analysis. Now in its fifth year and hosted on the company’s software platform Kleffmann4you, the database segments product use by geography, crop types, active ingredients and seed varieties.

BY TOM CRAINCONTRIBUTOR

T here are more than 60 companies offering more than 1,400 biopesticide products, creating a powerful wave

that will continue to build — and for good reasons.

In 2015 alone, the estimated market for biopesticides worldwide was estimated to be $2.7 billion. Even though biopesticides are currently less than 5% of the global crop protection market, the estimated growth is conservatively projected at 14% to 17% annually reaching $4.1 billion in 2018. This makes it the fastest-growing market segment in crop protection world-wide.

Bill Dunham, consultant for Dun-hamTrimmer, a marketing firm focused exclusively on the global biological and

natural product plant protection and plant health market sector, predicts that in less than three decades, the market revenue convergence of biopesticides with synthetic pesticides will come to fruition.

Latin America, including Brazil, Argen-tina, and Mexico, leads the growth in bio-pesticides. DunhamTrimmer’s market re-

search shows the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) for Latin America from 2012-2018 sitting at 27.9% with the next closest markets of North America, Europe, and Asia hovering between 18% and 19%.

“The Latin American market is also enjoying the most investment with major corporations setting up subsidiaries there,” says Dunham. “The countries most supportive are the ones that have a large developing middle class — Argentina, Chile, Mexico. In developing countries where people are challenged in meeting basic sustenance, biopesticides are not as important.”

Pam Marrone, CEO of Marrone Bio Innovations, explains that Asia and Eu-rope are particularly receptive markets for biopesticides due to strict regulations on residues.

“As more countries become concerned

globally about the effect of residues and adopt greater restrictions accordingly, we see a great opportunity for expanding our market share as an industry,” she says.

But, according to Dunham, the leading factor propelling biopesticide sales is really consumer concerns about pesticide resi-dues. Supporting his theory is a recent Con-

sumer Reports survey that found pesticides to be a leading cause of concern among food health issues for 85% of Americans.

Overcoming ReluctanceThe upside to biopesticide use is

well known throughout the industry, including minimal impact on non-target organisms, reduced development of resistance, organically-approved status for organic growers and consumers’ health considerations, yet there is still a great reluctance for their use, especially among row crop growers as well as high-value specialty crops managers.

“One charge frequently leveled at biopesticide products is that they are too expensive,” says Timothy Damico, Executive VP, NAFTA at Certis USA. Like conventional pesticides, some biocontrols do cost more to use per acre. But when

biopesticides can solve a problem in the field, the products become cost-effective. For example, here’s a real world scenario of biopesticides: Growers are willing to purchase a low-load copper product that is twice the price of a traditional copper

fungicide to solve re-entry interval and crop phytotoxicity challenges.

Another leading charge is farmers’ risk aversion with respect to new, untested crop protection technologies. Because conven-tional pesticides have been the mainstay of crop protection for more than 50 years, there is a wealth of experience that gives

Despite Growth, Old Perceptions Inhibit Adoption of BiopesticidesThe biopesticide wave is on target to catch the synthetic, but skepticism among growers continues to wash over the crop protection market.

20 November 2017

Biocontrols | Row Crops

“The Latin American market is also enjoying the most investment with major corporations setting up subsidiaries there.”–Bill Dunham, DunhamTrimmer

22 November 2017

Biocontrols | Row Crops

farmers and growers confidence in their effectiveness. STK Stockton, an Israel-based company that develops and mar-

kets botanical-based solutions for food protection, finds a fair share of farmers reluctant to using its biologicals.

“We find the main reasons for that are the perceptions of such products as being less effective, and at the same time, more ex-pensive, which is usually not true,” says STK Stockton CEO Guy Elitzur. “The work that we do in the field showing great level of efficacy in conventional programs together with the cutting-edge science we are bringing from our R&D base in Israel, assists us in accelerating the adoption process and bringing more farmers to use our products.”

“Plant pathogens and pests would need to undergo immense physical, biochemical, physiological, and genetic changes to develop resistance to biopesticides,” explains Matthew S. Krause, Ph.D., BioWorks Product Development Manager, Plant Disease Management. “Therefore, the loss of effective biopesticides due to development of resistant pests and plant pathogens is highly unlikely.”

Embedded SkepticismMarrone explains that biopesticides companies have greater

hurdles to overcome in terms of educating their growers and distributors. “Our industry still battles embedded skepticism about biopesticides, and it’s incumbent upon us to aggressively and continuously educate our potential customers about the benefits of our products,” she says. “Biopesticides are now performing on par with their chemical counterparts and also enhance programs (better yields and quality) when integrated in, yet that’s a message that is not always conveyed strongly enough. We also have to work hard to support and supplement our distribution networks.”

STK Stockton finds that bringing biopesticide products like its flagship Timorex Gold into any market is a long and complicated education and training process. This plant extract-based biofungicide is used by farmers in over 30 countries, including the US, China, Spain, Australia and all throughout Latin America for about 15 different fruits and vegetables, coffee, rice and more.

One such tactic more palatable to crop growers’ risk aversion is product hybridization. STK Stockton is one such pesticide company introducing hybrid products combining biopesticides with the traditional. Earlier this year, it introduced its first hybrid fungicide, Regev, with initial distribution in Latin America.

STK Stockton finds that row crop farmers are facing real challenges with resistance to some of their pesticide chemicals’ active ingredients. “The grower can use the biopesticide very easily, just like his other traditional synthetic pesticides,” explains Elitzur. “Many row crop farmers are familiar with the known chemicals’ AIs, feeling more comfortable with a product that combines a known AI together with an innovative biological one. The hybrid product can be used flexibly in various places over a conventional spraying program, thereby lowering the general chemical load and managing resistance challenges.”

Elitzur looks into his crystal ball a few decades from now: “When the biopesticides and synthetic pesticides markets converge in a little more than three decades, perpetuity is defined as the need for ‘perpetual production of food.’ The need for perpetuity in the food chain is a mainstay in sustainable agriculture programs. Ensuring perpetuity in the years to come will require ‘bridge solutions,’ enabling growers to move from a toxic pesticides system to a healthier, zero residue, biological-based system.” •

Tom Crain is a Cleveland, Ohio-based freelance writer. Contact him at tcrain1@gmail.com.

“It’s incumbent upon us to aggressively and continuously educate our potential customers about the benefits of our products.”– Pam Marrone, CEO, Marrone Bio Innovations

BY BOB SANDRICKCONTRIBUTOR

Across the globe, farmers growing corn, wheat, soybeans and other row crops are increasingly using

biostimulants in their efforts to increase yields — and makers of biostimulant products hope farmers will catch on.

Signs are positive. In April, for example, Monsanto and Novozymes announced the test of a new inoculant on Monsanto’s corn hybrid seeds sold in the U.S.

There are challenges. Biostimulants work differently than traditional crop in-puts. A product that works for one farmer might not help another.

The USDA has recruited The Ohio State University and the University of Tennessee to test certain biostimulant products, to teach farmers how to evaluate products, and share that information with the industry.

“We’re trying to cut through the noise and arrive at some consistently applicable practices, tools, and guidelines that growers can use when evaluating biostimulant material,” says OSU Professor Dr. Matt Kleinhenz, who is leading the USDA study.

Biostimulants also lack regulation. The EPA is drafting long-promised guidelines that manufacturers hope will more clearly define biostimulants, distinguish them from biofertilizers and biopesticides, and bring legitimacy and acceptance.

“There is a lot of snake oil in the biostimulant arena,” says Justin Smith, executive vice president of sales and field services for Huma Gro, the agricultural division of Bio Huma Netics, in Gilbert, Arizona. “A new regulatory framework would weed out companies doing that.”

Good ExperiencesDavid Beaudreau, Jr., executive director

of U.S. Biostimulant Coalition, a nonprofit that addresses regulatory and legislative issues related to biostimulants, says bio-stimulant adoption rates for corn, soybean, wheat, and cotton in the American Midwest have risen over the past five years.

According to a 2013 study by Market-sandMarkets, a global research firm, the amount of land containing row crops treat-ed with biostimulants was expected to grow globally from 6.52 million hectares in 2011 to 12.745 million hectares in 2018, and in North America from 1.31 million hectares to 2.56 million hectares.

“It’s a matter of time before biostim-ulants come into more widespread use,” Beaudreau says. “The industry has been able to demonstrate the products work, and they work well.”

Marcus Meadows-Smith, CEO of Bio-Consortia Inc. in Davis, California, says his firm develops biostimulants using solid science. It grows plants in different soil types and under various stresses, including lack of water. Then the company identi-fies high-performing plants and isolates

microbes that help them overcome adversi-ty and thrive generation after generation.

Since it was founded three years ago, Meadows-Smith says, BioConsortia has tested biostimulants on pasture, corn, and several other crops in New Zealand, and realized yield increases in the 5% to 7% range. BioConsortia is now testing on corn, soybean, and sorghum in the Midwest.

Carlos Kee, research agronomist with Agricultural Sciences Inc. in Dallas, says his company produces biostimulant products from nonliving plant extracts. The products have been used on corn, wheat, and soybeans in South America. Kee believes biostimulants are just beginning to gain popularity in the U.S.

“A lot of people felt that if biostimulants didn’t bump yield up significantly, it wasn’t worth spending on them,” Kee says. “That’s a narrow look. If you can improve plant and soil health, you might not increase yield this year, but you’re saving yield down the road.”

Caution RemainsA collection of peer-reviewed academic

articles, provided by Biostimulant Coa-lition, finds biostimulants help plants re-

U.S. Growers Cautiously Optimistic About BiostimulantsLong-awaited regulatory guidelines along with growing research will help promote wider use.

24 November 2017

USA Report | Biostimulants

Mike Bellefeuille of Alpha Synectics Laboratory, a division of Bio Huma Netics, gathers results/data from a plant growth experiment conducted in a growth chamber.

26 November 2017

USA Report| Biostimulants

spond better to stress, prevent soil erosion, decontaminate soil and water, and improve yields. However, in some cases, research was done in labs, not in fields.

A study in Amman, Jordan determined that biostimulants applied to wheat crops from 1999-2003 in Saudi Arabia produced significant yield increases. A 2007 look at biostimulants used on turfgrass and rye-grass, presented by Crop Science Society of America, came up with positive results but

nevertheless recommended caution when using certain biostimulants.

A January article published by Frontiers in Plant Science recommends additional study into biostimulants, adding that “com-mercial entities” will likely lead the way. The article says future studies and advance-ments wouldn’t happen if biostimulants were “not considered legitimate.”

Allen Philo, vice president of fertilizer sales and operations at BioStar Systems

LLC in Overland Park, Kansas, is skeptical of biostimulants. Although his company specializes in fertilizer products, Philo gives lectures on soil biology and crop fertility. He spoke at the 2017 Midwest Organic and Sustainable Education Service conference.

Philo says some biostimulants — like cytokinins, which strengthen roots — have been well-researched and proven effective. In other cases, the same class of biostim-ulants that promote root health can kill a plant. The difficulty is finding the right dosages, which come in parts per billion.

“To try to get the right measure over an entire field could be a problem,” Philo says. “There have been suc-cesses, but there have been failures, too.

“Biostimulants are never a replacement for good, solid agronomy.”

Meadows-Smith knows some biostimulant companies fail to field-test products thoroughly in various soils.

“That’s where the next generation of biostimulants will have a big impact, as far as increased efficiency and yields,” Mead-ows-Smith says. “Already there are compa-nies out there with products, and you will see more with better formulations.”

Empowering FarmersIn the study conducted by the USDA,

which started last year and will end in Au-gust 2019, researchers will work exclusively with organic farmers to test the effective-ness of just six or seven microbe-contain-ing biostimulants on tomatoes, butternut squash, lettuce, spinach, and carrots. The methods farmers learn to evaluate bio-stimulants can carry over to conventional growers and other types of crops and bio-stimulants, Kleinhenz says.

Further, the USDA study aims to form a network of farmers, manufacturers, sci-entists, educators, and consultant who will share information they glean about various biostimulant products.

Kee says government research will show that biostimulants can benefit row crops.

Meanwhile, Smith says the long-awaited EPA guidelines will guarantee that prod-ucts have been reviewed, certified, and legally registered. •

Sandrick is an Ohio-based freelance writer. Contact him at rsandrick@yahoo.com

Allen Philo, Biostar Systems LLC

www.AgriBusinessGlobal.com November 2017 27

28 November 2017

BY SHEM OIRERECONTRIBUTOR

Eastern Africa countries are working to harmonize the region’s fertilizer market, a move that could improve

not only demand for the farm inputs but also production, supply, and distribution that lead to better yields.

Although countries such as Kenya, Ethiopia, and Uganda are fine-tuning their respective draft policies on fertilizer, a team made up of representatives from East African Community (EAC) Partner States is also working on a joint fertilizer policy to govern the regional market that is cur-rently dominated by Ethiopia, Kenya, and Tanzania. Those countries have a market size of 789,250 metric tons, 563,362 mt, and 246,754 mt respectively, according to figures by the African Fertilizer and Agri-business Partnership (AFAP).

The EAC fertilizer draft policy, when ap-

proved, is expected to address issues such as taxation, subsidies, farm input support, liberalization of the market and the role of the private sector, access to credit, and the import and storage of large volumes of fer-tilizers for distribution to farmers.

In addition, the EAC Partner States — Kenya, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Burundi, and South Sudan — have proposed the establishment of the Fertilizer Management Authority to coordinate the market and ensure fair play and fertilizer quality controls according to a previous statement by the Arusha, Tanzania-based regional organization.

Currently, each country, despite the huge strides towards economic integration, have different fertilizer acts and laws that govern the marketing, distribution, storage, and pricing of farm inputs.

In addition, the EAC partner states hope to have common fertilizer standards spell-ing out fertilizer grades, mark labeling,

fertilizer classification, packaging, content formulation, handling, and storage.

The push for a harmonized Eastern Af-rica fertilizer market comes at a time when governments in the region, in partnership with the private sector, are coming up with strategies to increase fertilizer usage, ensure the farm input is accessible at an affordable cost for increased farm yields and improved farm earnings, especially for small-scale farmers.

Other sub-Saharan fertilizer markets could impact the Eastern Africa market because of the cross-cutting regional eco-nomic integration initiatives such as the Common Market for Eastern and Southern Africa (Comesa). Those countries include South Africa with an estimated market size of 1,814,369 metric tons, Nigeria (907,185), Zambia (397,346), Zimbabwe (369,224), and Malawi (308,142).

“In sub-Saharan Africa markets, adoption and consumption of fertilizers

Eastern African Nations Move to Harmonize Fertilizer Regulations

Policy addresses taxation, subsidies, farm input support, market liberalization, access to credit, and the import and storage of large volumes of fertilizers.

Plant Health | Fertilizer

www.AgriBusinessGlobal.com November 2017 29

by country is complex and driven by a range of issues, including shallow markets/poor market linkages, poor distribution, small farm sizes and poorly targeted interventions,” says Pierre Brunache, Jr., Chief Agribusiness Officer, AFAP.

Despite challenges facing the Eastern Africa fertilizer market, production is expected to surge with the recent opening of a blending plant in Kenya by Toyota Tsusho Fertilizer Africa Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Japan’s Toyota Tsusho Corp. with capacity of 150,000 tons/year at peak operation.

The project, which was developed with the support of AFAP, International Fertilizer Development Center and the Eldoret-based Moi University, is expected to reduce Ken-ya’s 600,000 tons of fertilizer imports and overall cost of the product.

In Eastern Africa, only Minjingu Mines & Fertilizer Ltd in Tanzania, which has a granulizer plant for converting heneficiated rock phosphate into 30,000 tons of ready-to-use fertilizer every year, is the only manufacturer that utilizes locally generated raw material.

But a number of other projects are under consideration including NPK plant in Ethi-opia, Urea Plants in Tanzania and Mozam-bique, and a Single Super Phosphate Triple Super Phosphate plant in Uganda.

“Each country has a different fertilizer market structure that has grown from their respective history and governance,” said Brunache. “For example, centralized gov-ernments like Ethiopia, control most of the fertilizer activities, from purchase to distri-bution and research and extension.”

Exciting DynamicsKenya is one of the open fertilizer mar-

kets in Eastern Africa where “the market has been characterized by importers, deal-ing directly with international traders or manufacturers and arranging the importa-tion of commodity products,” according to Brunache.

“Historically the African (except South Africa) fertilizer market has been a com-modity market with limited investments,” says Brunache.

However, there have been many exciting dynamics playing out in the Africa fertil-izer market recently that promise to trigger

change for the benefit of farmers, suppliers and even producers.

First, Brunache says there is now “an appreciation that a more balanced approach to fertilization is needed in order to improve the return on investment of farmers.”

He said a recent survey in Ethiopia showed that yield increments of between 20% to 30% were realized when nutrient deficiencies are corrected, mainly with trace elements.

Secondly, the current fertilizer oversupply at the global level is forcing multinationals “to play a larger role in fertilizer develop-ment in the last continental market (Africa) that is undeveloped and continues to have food security issues.”

Thirdly, as countries in the region grow their economies and demand for fertilizers grow either for import substitution of food crops or for export crops, the interest in do-mestic manufacture of fertilizers will grow, according to Brunache.

“These changes demand an understand-ing of issues of products, business and investment, which are all challenges as markets grow in their efficiency and com-petitiveness,” he said.

Currently, inorganic fertilizers play a sig-nificant role and dominate the region’s mar-ket, according to AFAP’s Paul Makepeace.

“Organic fertilizers are widely used where available and are not used for alterna-tive needs,” he said, adding that these fertil-izers have smaller volume of nutrients need-ed for crops compared to inorganic ones.

“But there are currently not enough nutrients, in terms of volume and nutrient

density, to replace the amount removed from fields for other needs such as fire, cattle feed and roofing,” he said.

Although each country in Eastern Africa has a unique supply chain structure, organi-zations such as AFAP are supporting initia-tives that could help bridge the gap between the public and private sector for improved supply and distribution of fertilizer.

AFAP, according to Makepeace, “un-derstands the fertilizer sector well and can effectively contribute to the structuring of fertilizer related policy and regulatory issues that ensure efficient delivery of policy.”

“This can happen at a manufacturing level, encouraging the development of better products, better supply options, partnership options, agronomic support that improves farmer return on investment,” he said.

AFAP is providing financial and techni-cal support for various fertilizer uptake ini-tiatives such as the “Hub and Spoke” distri-bution models. Under this arrangement, the regional agro-dealers “hub” are picked and facilitated to set up local storage capacity. They are then linked to smaller agro-dealers or “spoke” to ease access to fertilizers by small-scale farmers.

The agro-dealers are involved in identify-ing potential markets for the farm produce before the planting season and provide extension services to the farmers to ensure increased production, through effective application of fertilizer and practicing rec-ommended agricultural practices learned through farm demonstrations.

“At harvest time, the market-driven agro-dealers assist the farmers with han-dling and storage, hence acting not only as input suppliers during the pre-production period, but also as output aggregator, utiliz-ing their warehouse storage at post-harvest level,” said Makepeace.

Despite the progress made in ensuring ac-cess and effective use of fertilizer in Eastern Africa, and ongoing market harmonization efforts by governments in the region, in partnership with the private sector, should give priority to immediate challenges such as access to affordable credit, transport bot-tlenecks, farmer training, affordability and timely availability of fertilizer. •

Shem Oirere is a freelance writer based in Kenya. Contact Shem at oirereo@yahoo.

“Each country has a different fertilizer market structure that has grown from their respective history and governance.”–Pierre Brunache, Jr., Chief Agribusiness Officer, AFAP

BY BO YANG, JOSE CARVALHO AND XIAOHUA HEDR. KNOELL CONSULT SHANGHAI CO., LTD

China Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) has been implementing considerable changes regarding the use of

agricultural pesticides, particularly in the field of environmental safety and defining the protection goals for risk assessment of pesticides.

The new Chinese regulations on the Management of Pesticides (State Council Decree No.677) entered into force on June 1, 2017 with a main supporting guidance

document released soon after, on Aug. 1, the Pesticide Registration Management Measures (MOA Order [2017] No.3). This guidance document brings about major changes for registrants: a) by introducing risk assessment approaches to assess the environmental safety of pesticides ahead of approval decisions; 2) encouraging companies to bring to the Chinese market more innovative and environmentally friendly products.

Another pertinent document, Data Requirements for Pesticide Registration, was released on Sept. 29, 2017 (MOA an-nouncement No.2569; entering into force on Nov. 1, 2017), laying down the four

types of pesticide registration that will re-quire an Environmental Risk Assessment (ERA report):

1) First registration for new formulated products (including chemical pesticides, bio-chemical pesticides, microbial pesti-cides, botanical pesticides, and pesticides for non-crop use; 2) eRgistration to add new uses to products already approved, i.e., label expansion for an existing product; 3) Registration to change the application method of a product; 4) Registration to change the application/dose rate.

ICAMA (Institute for the Control of Agrochemicals, Ministry of Agriculture, China) started the research work leading

China’s New Pesticide Rules Change How Products Are Brought to MarketRule changes designed to encourage companies to bring more innovative and environmentally friendly products.

30 November 2017

Crop Protection | Registration

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32 November 2017

Crop Protection | Registration

to the new regulations and guidance docu-ments back in 2008, in a cooperative project between China and The Netherlands on Pesticide Environmental Risk Assessment. To date, seven protection goals are defined in the technical guidance on Environmental Risk Assessment, including aquatic eco-system (fish, daphnia, and aquatic plants), birds, honeybees, silkworms, groundwater,

non-target arthropods (parasitic and pred-atory), and soil organisms (earthworm and soil microorganisms).

The risk characterization for each pro-tection goal will be expressed as a Risk Quotient (RQ), calculated by dividing the Predicted Environmental Concentration (PEC) by a Predicted No Effect Concentra-tion (PNEC).

Similar to Europe, the new China ERA will follow a tiered approach in order to minimize costs but also to encourage the use of low-risk products. Only if ERA fails at Tier I assessment, would further lab/field data be required for a higher-tier assessment.

For Tier I assessment, three environ-mental fate and exposure models were developed to simulate PEC values for the environmental compartments: surface water, groundwater, and soil. The TOP-RICE is a groundwater and surface water exposure model for paddy field in South China; Chi-naPEARL predicts the groundwater concen-trations for dryland north of Yangtze River; and the third model PRAESS, developed by Nanjing Institute of Environmental Sci-ences, simulates the PEC values in all three compartments for both dryland and paddy field. The models are still being refined, as technical issues still arise when running the models for some applications, particularly when assessing microbial pesticides or non-crop uses of chemical pesticides. In addition, more exposure scenarios are needed to mod-el the fate of chemical pesticides, to allow for covering more crops/applications, thus reflecting the diversity of China agriculture practices and use pattern of products. This is a work in progress.

Options for higher-tier assessment are also under development. The Chinese authorities are engaged in developing guidance to support higher-tier risk assessment and its implementation for registration purposes. Guidance documents should be expected in the near future providing guidance to conduct laboratory chronic studies, semi-field and field studies on birds and honeybees, and environmental fate field studies. The goal of such effort by the Chinese authorities is to make environmental risk assessment more comprehensive, transparent and realistic.

In summary, the new approach to Environmental Risk Assessment of pesticides is likely to catalyze ongoing changes in the Chinese agchem market. This year we have seen a considerable number of regulatory documents being released, some currently under commenting phase, and much more are expected to see the light in the coming months. •

For further information or details on China Environment Risk Assessment please contact knoell in China (Dr. Xiaohua He, xhe@knoell.com, +86 21 6199 2001)

34 November 2017

From The Editor

Embracing the Disruptive Forces Changing the Industry

The tools of crop protection continue to evolve. Researchers build on the discover-ies of the past developing new formulations

and discovering new active ingredients to deliver safer, more effective solutions.

The business has changed in other ways, as well. We’ve seen the onset of seed traits, biological controls, Integrated Pest Management, genetically modified crops, among others. Those who fail to adopt the changes are often left behind with fewer options to sell their products.

Change is often incremental and slowly adopt-ed, which makes changes easier to absorb. Rarely do wholesale game changers come along.

It seems just such a time has come along. A new crop of upstarts has evolved to take on

the status quo. These “disruptors” as we’re calling them have developed new approaches that chal-lenge the standard models.

Our cover story highlights four companies challenging the traditional business models.

First is AgroStar, the Indian company that brings technology directly to farmers who use their smartphones to order products. Don’t think

this is some passing fad. The company has raised $10 million in a second round of financing earlier this year.

In the U.S. many are familiar with FBN (Farm-ers Business Network), which launched in 2014. The so-called “Amazon of Agriculture” has been successfully marketing itself to growers, much to the dismay of many in the industry.

Not all the innovation comes in the form of sup-ply chain disruption.

CropCoat offers a unique approach to crop pro-tection, a product that when it’s sprayed on plants’ leaves, stems, fruit, and seeds, forms a film that acts as a shield to help the plant resist pests and disease.

In additon to AgroStar, India has a second

disruptor, Gold Farm, which has been nicknamed “Uber for farm equipment.” The model allows small landholders to share expensive equipment they could not otherwise afford.

Being innovative doesn’t guarantee success. Inertia is a powerful force that limits how widely, or even if, a solution is adopted. Just because your product creates value, does not mean you can capture market share. The road to success is paved with brilliant ideas that failed for any number of reasons. But the early returns on these disruptors are pretty positive.

Keeping up with the latest innovations isn’t easy. It’s often hard to know if a new product or service will sail and which ones will sink. And even when a successful product comes along, it’s sure to be replaced by something slicker. Those of us of a certain age remember when Sony’s music player, the Walkman, was all the rage. Then came Apple’s iPod, a portable stereo in everyone’s pockets. The smartphone has since replaced that. What’s next? Whether it’s electronics or crop protection, it’s hard to know what the next disruptor is going to be.

That’s one reason to join us at the events we host around the world. There you can meet with the innovators themselves and ask them questions directly. It’s also a place to meet the buyers and sellers with whom you do business.

Our next event, Trade Summit Southeast Asia, takes place 5-6 December in Jakarta, Indonesia.

Meet the companies and service providers working to innovate the industry, get an update on M&A activity, and learn how changes to environ-mental regulations and harmonization could affect supply and demand around the world. •

“These disruptors have developed new approaches that challenge the standard models.”

Where in the WorldSee the AgriBusiness Global staff at the Trade Summit Southeast Asia 5-6 December in Jakarta, Indonesia.

djacobs@meistermedia.com