Ask the Experts
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As you face challenges in the crop protection, biologicals, and plant health markets, AgriBusiness Global DIRECT gets your questions answered from industry leaders. Here experts answer a few questions from the AgriBusiness Global community.
Gustavo Gonella
Regional Marketing Manager for Latin America
Acadian Plant Health
ABG: What are some of the hinderances to biostimulant adoption in South America?
GG: Regulatory uncertainty is one. The biostimulant industry is still navigating through regulatory uncertainties, as definitions, classifications, and labeling requirements vary. This lack of uniformity can create challenges for manufacturers in ensuring compliance and clarity for end users.
Market fragmentation is another. The biostimulant market is characterized by a multitude of products with varying compositions and efficacy. This fragmentation poses challenges for farmers in selecting the most suitable products for their specific needs, hindering widespread adoption.
Lastly, cost considerations is a big issue. Some biostimulant products can be perceived as relatively expensive compared to conventional agricultural inputs. Convincing farmers of the long-term economic benefits and return on investment may be a challenge, especially in regions with tight profit margins.
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Marcus Meadows-Smith
CEO
BioConsortia
ABG: Are you experiencing support from the Brazilian government in regard to increasing access to fertilizers for growers?
MMS: Brazilian growers saw the cost of fertilizer going up, because of the war and supply issues in 2022-2023. But even when fertilizer prices are low, I still think growers are wondering if there is a more cost-effective, sustainable way? And to be honest, we check all the boxes to be more sustainable and delivering ammonia for plant growth where and when it’s needed through the growing system. We are seeing a lot of support from growers, fertilizer companies, governments, and from NGOs. Synthetic nitrogen fertilizer represents somewhere between 2% to 4% of all global greenhouse gases. These microbial solutions are going to be transformational and beneficial to the environment. They’ll be easy to use for the grower and deliver what they need for plant growth and yield increase.
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Thomas Laurent
Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer
Micropep
ABG: How are European growers dealing with restrictions on banned chemicals?
TL: We’re running trials for potato and grapes in Europe and checked in with the growers. There’s a big pressure in Europe for growers to avoid using key chemicals that have been banned. Because of an increase in diseases coming from the impact of the climate, farmers are left without many options.
They are putting more and more sulfur into the fields, which is not always a good response depending on their crops in rotation. I think farmers see that their toolbox is really shrinking, which is why they need new solutions to help replace or at least offset the chemicals showing resistance or being banned.
And I find it somewhat ironic that at the same time Bayer is being held accountable for 1.5 billion on the Monsanto lawsuit for Roundup, Europe decides to reapprove glyphosate for ten more years. There’s definitely proof that we don’t have the answer yet to replacing chemicals. •
Gustavo Gonella – Acadian Plant Health™
Marcus Meadows-Smith – BioConsortia, Inc.
Thomas Laurent – Micropep
