Podcast sobre sustentabilidade: Ananda Scherner, da Agrobiomics, discute o futuro dos bioestimulantes de molécula única.
24 de setembro de 2026 Neste episódio do podcast sobre sustentabilidade, por Agronegócio Global, Ananda Scherner, CEO of Agrobiomics, delves into single-molecule biostimulants, what the field validation process entails, and what’s ahead for the category.
*Esta é uma transcrição editada e parcial.
ABG: Historically, biostimulants have struggled with credibility. Why do you think that happened?
Ananda Scherner: In my opinion, biostimulant products have been challenged from the onset by the absence of a couple of things, such as a clear product definition, a harmonized regulatory framework, [and] well-defined product claims.
This has resulted in a very fragmented market. So, we end up in a position [where] no one has a clear view into what biostimulants are, how they work, and the benefits that they deliver. Unfortunately, that resulted in many products also entering the market with limited understanding on how they perform.
This has created a lot of skepticism around biostimulants, and growers, ultimately, have a hard time seeing biostimulants as a core agronomic tool today.
ABG: How can single molecule biostimulants deliver more consistent performance, more consistent results across different crops, geographies, soil types, and weather conditions than conventional biostimulant products?
COMO: One of the major advantages of single molecule biostimulants is that we know exactly what we are working with. We have a clear identity of the compound, purity, and concentration that remains constant from batch to batch.
That is quite different than the first generation of biostimulants, such as plant extracts or protein hydrolysates, where composition can vary depending on raw materials, harvest condition, and processing methods.
ABG: We’ve talked a lot about consistent performance, so how can some of this consistent performance, in turn, help increase grower adoption?
COMO: With the current context of climate change and high seasonal variabilities, growers today are not only managing their crops to achieve the highest average yield; they are managing risk pretty much every single day.
So, a product that delivers excellent results one year but disappoints in the next, without really any insights on why it didn’t really work, is really difficult to justify today, even if the long-term average of this product is actually positive.
This is especially true for biostimulants, which [are often] the last product into the cropping system … and probably the first one that they remove when the margins are becoming tighter.
Our hope is that by bringing consistency, we can really shift biostimulants being perceived as a technology that can deliver a potential bonus to the season to [becoming] a tool that can help growers protect all the investments that they already have done in the cropping system, such as the seeds, the fertilizer, and the crop protection inputs.
ABG: What proof points would you say are most effective in convincing growers to try and continue using the products?
COMO: Growers only trust results that they can relate to. So, for example, a local trial is by far more persuasive than trials that are conducted hundreds of miles away.
Second … they need to make sure that this consistency also happens across environments because the conditions in a particular region can also change from season to season.
Third, economic outcomes are critical for farmers. So, farmers think in terms of yield, return of investment, and risk reduction. So, translating performance into economical value is often more powerful than discussing complex biological measurements or anything very fancy that your product would do for the plants.
Finally, simplicity matters a lot. A product needs to be easy to integrate into the existing practices of a farmer without requiring any additional labor, equipment, or operational changes.
ABG: [Moving forward], what do you think the future of the category looks like?
COMO: I think we are already seeing a growing interest in the industry, especially for more defined biological solutions, including single molecule biostimulants.
As the industry matures, there is an increasing demand for consistency and stronger scientific evidence. The single biomolecule naturally supports these objectives because they are easy to characterize, validate, and position.
That doesn’t mean that other types of biostimulants will disappear. They will still have a very important role to play, but I believe the market will look into differentiated solutions that can add precision into the cropping systems.
Ultimately, I see biostimulants transitioning from an optional input to a strategic agronomical tool that will be integrated in pretty much all cropping systems.
ABG: Wrapping up here, for other companies who might be in the process of launching this type of product, what advice do you have for them?
COMO: Invest in understanding your value proposition and your unique selling points before scaling up.
With the pace that we live today, it is really tempting for us to move quickly toward commercialization … but spending the time on understanding the biology, validating the mode of action, generating robust field data, and having a really clear path to the right product economics really pays off.
I would also encourage companies to be realistic on how they position their technology. Credibility is the most valuable asset in this industry, and unfortunately for biostimulants, we start from the point that we need to restore it.
Finally, keep focus on solving real agricultural problems.
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