IBMA - International Bio -control Manufacturers

Association - have held their annu-al conference in Bale-Switzerlandfor 2 years. During three days from19th to 21st of October 2015, 394companies and organisations from47 countries attended ABIM 2015conference in Basel congress center.The event was a big success for B2B

and networking. It also offered ple-nary sessions, with 43 oral presen-tations covering the latest news inmarket development, regulatoryaffairs and novel solutions for plantprotection. Biocontrol developmenthas been constant in the last 10years. Lucius Tamm, member of theboard of directors FIBL, co-organiz-er of ABIM since its inception, enu-

Coinciding with the 20th Anniversary of IBMA, the 10th ABIM Conference has gathered more than 800 participants in Basel last October. Nice celebrations indeed, with a very good mood among delegates! The expected growth of the Biocontrol market ranges between 12 and 15% per year, with companies becoming stronger and many products innovations. M. Loison reports

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Many positive drivers for merated external drivers that havecreated opportunities: residue scan-dal in Almeria, bee colony collapsedisorder, invasive species, reductionof registered chemicals, PPPresidues limits, protection of biodi-versity, spreading of glyphosate-resistant weeds, safety issues, etc.This global context in the past yearshas driven the plant protection sec-tor to evolve and to introduce alter-native biological methods.

AN OPENING TO MAKE REGISTRATION FASTER INEUROPE?“Biocontrol has a positive image.Another positive point for theconsumers is that manufacturers

are often family-owned andhuman-sized.” said Tamm.Anyway, he tempered his opti-mism adding that some risk stillremains for biocontrol businesses:“regulatory framework is not suf-ficiently adapted, for instance tospecific need of BCAs. And also,borderline technologies can affectthe overall image”. But a newhope for Biocontrol product legis-lation takes shape in Europe.“There is a need for change, andDutch presidency of the EU in2016 will support sustainable ini-tiatives” announced Luuk VanDuijin, director at Ctgb in theopening lecture of ABIM 2015.Dutch presidency suggests they

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more with farmers. The impact ofbiocontrol was the themeexplored during a full session ofthe ABIM conference. And itshowed that farmers are todayseeing more clearly what biocon-trol can add to their business.Today in northern Europe, theyhave to deal with strong regula-tion and a small toolbox. Luc

Peeters from Belorta Belgium,which gathers 1,350 growers,made a precise list of benefits bio-control can bring for farmers: reli-able crop protection solutions;technical support to problems;research adapted to farm level;open communication, etc. “Butwhat we need is more fieldresearch and practical solutions

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the Biocontrol marketwill not make registration easier,but surely more specific. Fasterapproval for low-risk pesticidesseems to be one of the prioritiesfor the beginning of 2016 in theEU. Another step was the reporton minor uses in the EU adoptedin 2014 and signed in 2015 withEPP. "There are several proposals,databases and tool boxes avail-able for minor uses." says JeroenMeeussen from EPP. Europe is notthe only part of the world to ques-tion itself. A positive driver for themarket is expected in China,where the biopesticides revision isunderway. China is one of thethree largest agrochemical pro-ducing and import/export coun-tries with more than 30,000 Plantprotection products registered.“The Chinese government is mak-ing an effort to harmonize withOECD regulations, i.e. pesticide

definitions, data requirements,GLP compliance. So China willgradually phase out toxic chemi-cals and establish a withdrawalmechanism for old pesticides. Arevision is underway for biocon-trol products, which represent12% of registered PPP in China“,explains Hanh Chen from TGS. Another issue for the biocontrolindustry is to deliver accurateimage and communication. “Tenyears ago, there was a lack ofplanning and analysis. Today, thesituation has improved but it isimportant to deliver better mes-sages. For instance, by banishingthe term biopesticides, which hasnegative aspects.” said WynGrant, from Warwick University.He points out that English farmershave big needs for biocontrolproducts, and that the industryand distributors should work

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for our farms. My conviction isthat quick wins are already imple-mented for greenhouses. Big winswill be in open air vegetables.”thinks Peteers.

COMPANIES SIZE GROWINGA significant turnaround is thatthere are more big companies onthe biocontrol market. Today fiveof them are selling more than

US$100 million/year of biocontrolproducts according to BillDunham from Dunham&Trimmerconsultants and also an Editor of2BMonthly. At the same time, thesector is still generating new busi-ness creations. “60% ofBiocontrol companies have beenfounded since 1990, in all parts ofthe world. 98% of these compa-nies are privately held” points outDunham. Global biocontrol mar-ket benchmark values increased inthe same manner. From US$100million in 1993, it has reachedUS$2 billion in 2014. And thegrowth is accelerating, with aUS$3 billion expected in 2016 forthe world market”. Dunhamrecalls that 250 different activeprinciples and more than 1,000Bioproducts are used around theworld. The mainactive ingredients,accounting for 50% of total num-ber, is Microbials. Macroganismscome next, representing nearly25%; Pheromones 15% and Plantextracts 10%. In terms of prod-

ucts, bioinsecticides and biofungi-cides are still the major sales.Market growth is expected to con-tinue for the foreseeable future ata rate of +12% to +17% peryear. According to Dunham, themarket drivers will be regulatory,pest resistance, consumerdemand for less chemicalresidues, and sustainability. Hehowever remarks that unexpectedproblems (or unexpected lack ofproblem!) can change the market.The example of corn earworm inBrazil, a quarantine pest and vora-cious feeder, has provoked in themost recent years a growth ofUS$100 million for the local bio-control market. This corn earwormis not controlled by BT crops andchemicals. In continuous croppingand a tropical climate, it has cre-ated a ‘perfect storm’ with biglosses in 2013 in Brazil andopened the door to alternativesolutions. But in 2015, no prob-lem with this pest was recorded!And the market for biocontrolsolutions took a nosedive!Among major Biocontrol compa-nies, the economic analysis isabout the same. “The growth ofthe market will continue at least

for the next 10 years, coming fromNorth America, Europe and alsofrom emerging markets” saysAshish Malik, Global Head ofMarketing of Biologicals for Bayer.“We expect the highest growth in

Europe, which is expected to passthe North American market as thelargest region by 2018.” Bayerruns 4 centers of R&D dedicated

to Biologicals in Europe, Northand South America and hasinvested US$1 billion in thisresearch. Its fields of investigationare wide: Microbials, Biorationals,Macro bials and new technologies.Bayer is also looking at the way ofbetter positioning Biologicals inIPM programmes with an ‘inte-grated approach’. For Bayer,Biologicals will be complementingAgro chemicals. Valent Biosciences(Sumitomo Group) have the samepurpose to combine conventionaland biorational products, with astrategy based on complementarytechnologies. “Our focus goesfrom seed and soil protection topost-harvest products. And ourR&D works on bringing bio -solutions to segments where theyare not yet present.” says DenisTroalen from Valent. Since 2014,the Valent-Sumitomo Group have bought several companies:Pace, MGK and MyccorhizalApplications. Other companies have a differentapproach. The Italian companyValagro, a newcomer to biocon-trol, wants to expand through adeep knowledge of active ingredi-ents coming from their technologyplatform. Valagro has acquired Sri

Biotech Lab India Ltd in March2015, which gives the company awider access to Asia-Pacific mar-kets. “We want to base our strat-egy on these 3 B : biofertilizers,biostimulants and biocontrol.There is a need for increased pro-ductivity for farmers, who are in asituation of yield stagnation.”says Prem Warior - COO ofValagro. Looking ahead, Valagroalso explores fields of “intelligentfertilizers”, nanotechnology, cropdiagnosis, precision agriculture.Partnership and concentration arethe strategic pillars for the biggestcompanies. Andermatt Biocontrol, created inSwitzerland in 1988, is more spe-cialised in biological protection,and was in the early days dedi-cated to organic farming withplant protection solutions basedon baculovirus. But it has nowexpanded with a larger range ofbioinsecticides, to internationalmarkets: Canada, France, Braziland South Africa with a turnoverof CHF 20 million. Since 2010,Andermatt has bought severalbiocontrol companies: Topcat,Sylva Technologies and Abitep.“Partnering is very important. Thedifficulty is that, today, it takeseight years for a product to beregistered, which is too long.”comments Daniel Zingg from

“60% of Biocontrol companieshave been founded since 1990”

BILL DUNHAM, 2BMONTHLY

“Our R&D works on bringingbiosolutions to segments where

they are not yet present”DENIS TROALEN, VALENT BIOSCIENCES

“There is a need for increasedproductivity for farmers, who are in a situation of

yield stagnation”PREM WARRIOR, VALAGRO

“Biocontrol has a positive image”LUCIUS TAMM, FIBL

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Andermatt. Other specialisedBiocontrol companies expand by alarger portfolio: for instanceKoppert has gone fromMacrobials distribution to croppollinisators and microbial prod-ucts. In terms of strategy, thereare clearly 2 types of of actors:companies adding biocontrolportfolio to their chemical PPPand more-specialised companiesfully dedicated to Bio-solutions.

INNOVATIVE NEW PRODUCTS Another positive trend for biocon-trol is that the portfolio is stillexpanding. Discovered by big orsmaller companies, innovativebiocontrol solutions are comingup in all categories. Microbialsrepresent half of Biocontrolagents used in the world and80% in China. At the ABIMConference, the AgBiome compa-ny described a new fungicidebased on pseudomonas bacteria:Howler. It will be launched in theUS market in 2016, with a widerange of applications onpathogens such as Fusarium,Pythium, Rhizoctonia andPhytophtora. The German compa-ny Sourcon Padena also describeda new potato fungicide Proradix,based on pseudomonas bacteria.The interest is a long-lastingaction when this bacteria isapplied to potatoes before plant-ing: it protects the roots and the

crop against phytophtora, reducessilver scab and improves cropquality. Proradix is registered inSwitzerland, northern Europe, andwill soon be developed in otherEuropean countries. Many research programmes onMicrobials should bring new per-spectives, as the focus is not onlyon one strain, but on favorablemicrobial communities for crops.BioConsortia, an R&D Companybased in California and NewZealand and headed by MarcusMeadows Smith, former CEO ofAgraquest which he sold to BayerCropScience, is screening the bestphenotypes taken from differentsoils, in order to create newmicrobial associations reducingcrop stress. In the last 9 months,BioConsortia has alreadyscreened 150 microbial communi-ties. “We see that 5 different soilsgive 5 different microbial commu-nities. We explore this process andoperate like plant breeders, select-

ing superior phenotypes. Then wemake a shift in a microbial com-munity to create new associa-tions, more effective.” explainsSusan Tuner, Director of R&D.Microbial and plant interactions,as they will become gradually bet-ter understood, will certainly pro-vide new perspectives for improv-ing plants health. Different proj-ects were described at ABIMMicrobials session. In Austria, AIT

Health & Environment Depart -ment is investigating Trichodermaspecies. The goal is to know howthese soil fungi can improveplants health by interactionswhich are still not fully explained.In South Korea, ChonbukUniversity is successfully testingthe good potential of Beauveriabassiana against flower thrips. InSwitzerland, Lonza has a know-how in large scale fermentationand works on optimization ofmicrobial strains manufacturing,by reducing cycle time, and moregenerally, on the security of thesupply chain.

NATURAL EXTRACTS AND MACROBIALSIn the Natural extracts sector, twoinnovations were introduced byBayer Biologics and the Israelicompany Botanocap. TheBioinsecticide Requiem formulat-ed by Bayer has received anapproval in Europe in August2015 under the new EU regula-tion 1107/2009. The active ingre-dient -Terpenoid Blend QRD 460-is a blend of 3 natural plant-derived terpens, extracted from awild plant species (Chenopodiumambrosoides). These extracts havea strong knock-down effect, bydifferent modes of action: disrupt-ing insect mobility and respira-tion, and destroying insect pestscuticule. But the compound is safeto bees, IPM fit, with MLR exemp-tion. Requiem provides control ofsucking pests and extends qualityof harvested produce. First regis-trations of Requiem are expectedin some European countriesbefore end of 2016. Marketlaunch in Europe is planned for 2017. Requiem will be devel-oped on citrus, potato, leek and onion crops. “Requiem is an important addition to integrat-ed pest management (IPM) programmes in greenhouse vegetables. It gives a great flexibility to the farmer”, pointsout Gilles Chevallier, GlobalProduct Management Biological

Insecticides at Bayer CropScience.Botanocap is involved in naturalextracts optimization by microen-capsulation. The company has for-mulated another innovation withmicro-encapsulated essential oils.Two formulations will be devel-oped on potatoes to inhibitsprouting- Potatofresh- and on

grapes against botrytis -Botanofresh-. This product couldalso be used as an anti-oxydantagent on vegetables, to inhibitbrowning of harvested lettuce.“We are among the first ones toformulate these micro-capsulesand the delivery system is veryinnovative. It is not only based onencapsulating but also granula-tion”, says Yigal Gezundhait fromBotanoCap.In the Macrobials sector, Koppertand Biobest described their newfields of investigation and limita-tions. Recently, the Nagoya proto-col introduced new rules to collectwild animal species which alsoincludes beneficial insects ornematodes. The solution is now tocollect most native natural ene-mies in each country. “We have toturn to a more-selective breedingof auxiliary insects.” considersTom Groot of Koppert. ForBiobest, the screening on benefi-cials is now more open. Forinstance, it is also turned towards

“We have to turn to a selectivebreeding of auxiliary insects”

TOM, GROOT, KOPPERT

“We expect the highest growthof biocontrol market in Europe”ASHISH MALIK, BAYER CROPSCIENCE

“We also closely look at all the ways to improve delivery

of natural enemies”LISELOT VAN DER VEKEN, BIOBEST

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preventive organisms. “We havefound a few species (e.gSphaerophoria rueppellii) toestablish before the aphids infes-tation, able to prevent the pestinstallation. Early detection of andcombination of IBCA are the keyto effective control of aphids ingreenhouses.” adds Liselot Vander Veken of Biobest. “And wealso closely look at all the ways to improve delivery of natural enemies”.

INAUGURAL BERNARD BLUMAWARD FOR NOVEL BIOCONTROLSOLUTIONS GOES TO US COMPANYVESTARON CORPThe US company VestaronCorporation is the winner of theinaugural Bernard Blum Award.The award ceremony took placeon Monday 19th October in Basel,Switzerland, at the opening cere-mony of the annual ABIMCongress, the largest Biopesticideindustry gathering in the world.The Bernard Blum award was cre-ated by IBMA in memory of theassociation founding fatherBernard Blum whom the awardand trophy is dedicated to in this20th anniversary of the formationof IBMA as an association. DrRobert Kennedy, Chief ScientificOfficer at Vestaron Corp, receivedthe award from the hands of Dr

Willem Ravensberg, President ofIBMA, accompanied by JeanPierre Leymonie, MD of New AgInternational & Editor of 2BMonthly, official partners of theAward. Vestaron Corporation is a leaderin the development and market-ing of safe and effective bioinsec-ticides derived from naturallyoccurring peptides. The companyreceived the award for its Spearproduct line (GS-omega/kappa-Hxtx-Hv1a) a series of bioinsecti-cides derived from spider peptideswith activity on lepidoptera andcoleoptera. The Spear product linealso uses the addition of Bt(Bacillus thuringiensis) to improveperformance as a part of an inte-grated pest management system.There were thirteen entries forthis inaugural award. The judgespanel, headed by Dr Owen Jones,a former President of IBMAresponsible for Global Strategy atSuterra LLC until 2012, now anindependent Consultant at Lisk &Jones in the UK, were unanimousin support of the three shortlistedentries and also on the ranking ofthe top three: In addition to thewinner Vestaron, the companyDCM & De Ceuster (Belgium) wasranked second and Belgium’sBiobest was ranked number third.Inge Hanssen, R&D Manager at

DCM Corporation: “DCMCorporation is honoured thatPMV®-01 was ranked number twofor the inaugural Bernard BlumAward for Novel BiocontrolSolutions. We are very proud ofthis recognition. Our PMV®-01plant vaccine is the result of manyyears of scientific research, whichwas performed in close collabora-tion with the Flemish tomatoindustry, and provides the grow-ers with a biocontrol solution tocombat this damaging viral dis-ease. The PMV®-01 vaccinationstrategy protects tomato plantsfrom severe losses in quality andyield caused by aggressive PepMVinfections.” Thijs De Langhe, market develop-ment PMV®-01 commented: “Theactive substance of PMV®-01 isauthorized under EC regulation1107/2009. DCM Corporation isnow ready for the next steps ofbringing PMV®-01 to the marketboth in- and outside the EU.PMV®-01 was already appliedunder emergency authorisationson more than 1500 ha of toma-toes with excellent results.” Biobest and Lallemand Plant Carewere also pleased that FlyingDoctors with Prestop 4B was onthe shortlisted. Sarah VanBeneden, Product Manager atBiobest, says: ”We’re pleased

with this recognition for ourapproach to sustainable strawber-ry and raspberry production.Flying Doctors bumblebees pro-vide optimal pollination and dis-

tribute Prestop 4B to the flowersto achieve optimum natural pro-tection against grey mold. With this new application tech-nique we can achieve a continu-ous protection of the flowers with a limited amount of product.First introduced in Belgium, we expect the technology to becommercially available in 2016 inthe Netherlands, France andScandinavia” Jean-Marc Sanchez, AreaManager at Lallemand Plant Care,also commented: ”Next to ourflagship product Prestop, thePrestop 4B is based on the samehighly effective active ingredient,the beneficial fungus Gliocladiumcatenulatum. The formulation ofPrestop 4B makes it suitable fordistribution by bumblebees, aunique delivery system to controlflowerborne diseases such as greymold. We are pleased to collabo-rate with Biobest to advance thissustainable technology in berriesand are jointly exploring possiblefurther uses.” �

“Why would anyone spend $300M and wait 10 years for a synthetic, when you could

spend $10M over 5 years for anequivalently effective and yetsafer product platform?”DR ROBERT KENNEDY, VESTARON

JP Leymonie, MD of New Ag International, partner magazine of the B. Blum Award, congratulates Dr Robert Kennedy in the presence of IBMA President W. Ravensberg.