Our three experts discuss one company from each market segment (crop protection, biologicals, ag tech, and plant health) that are ones to watch for 2024 and why they matter.
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Melinda McCann
Head of Business Excellence
and Strategic Alliances
ADAMA
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CS Liew
Managing Director
Pacific Agriscience
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Nicolas Potrie
Director
Tafirel
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CROP PROTECTION
Bayer Crop Science
Germany
“After a banner year for the crop protection industry, the market downturn has impacted Bayer more than some. Reporting a 24% decrease year over year for the first half and falling prices of their largest active, glyphosate, and prothioconazole now off patent and generics flooding the space, Bayer needs to make drastic changes. New CEO Bill Anderson has a lot of baggage to unpack to come up with a plan. With announcements that Bayer is investing in a new R&D facility in Germany and the potential cuts in management layers to drive faster decisions, it appears a plan is already forming. I am waiting to see how these plans come together and reassure investors as well as customers that Bayer is truly the innovative powerhouse it promised after the acquisition of Monsanto.” —McCann
CAC Group
China
“CAC has achieved phenomenal sales and profit growth in the company’s history. The year 2022 was their record high in sales revenue, of which about 90% was accounted for by exports. They ranked in the ‘Top 10 pesticide exporters in the Chinese industry in 2022’ by CCPIA.
Approximately 3.5% of sales revenue is plowed back into R&D. They are not only expanding in production/QSHE (Quality, Safety, Health & Environment) capability and increasing the number of molecules manufactured, on a selective basis, but have also invested heavily in new molecule discovery.
Their entry into new molecule discovery is backed up by not only the latest in equipment and technologies but also by strong and experienced talents and their comprehensive development capability as well. The first molecule to hit the domestic market is a novel meta-diamide insecticide, cyproflanilide, which has a broad insecticidal spectrum, especially against lepidoptera. The compound is expected to be a strong tool for resistance management.” —Liew
FAVORITO
Argentina
“Located in the City of Esperanza, Province of Santa Fem, the company is dedicated to the formulation of insecticides, rodenticides and molluscicides in different formulations. It began its activity in 1992 as a representative and distributor in the area of influence of several agrochemical companies dedicated to the sale and application of insecticides and herbicides in agriculture.
Subsequently, the idea of formulating products arose, beginning in the first stage with the production of powder, granular, and liquid anticides. By expanding its market and areas of action, demands from customers for other products started arising such as rodenticides, insecticides for domestic use, molluscicides, herbicides, etc.” —Potrie
BIOLOGICALS
AMVAC
United States
“In time for the 2023 season in the U.S., AMVAC launched BioWake, a dual-use biological seed lubricant and added to its ever-growing GreenSolutions portfolio. AMVAC is adjusting itself in the biological space with new acquisitions, partnerships, and products to focus on more than their crop protection business. As the traditional crop protection companies continue to explore and adopt biological products in the agriculture space, AMVAC is grabbing the opportunity with both hands with growth in GreenSolutions sales reportedly up 21% for the first half of 2023. I expect great things in 2024 as AMVAC continues to embrace its biological side of the business.” —McCann
A.G. Bio Systems
India
“A.G. Bio Systems has invented a novel bioherbicide derived from bacterial metabolites, which means there are no living organisms in their end-use products. They have been issued patents in India and have filed for global patents. They have also received various awards for innovation in India.
Their bioherbicides are targeted at specifically controlling aquatic weeds, parthenium, as well as the invasive lantana. In the latter weed species, lantana, it is particularly suited to municipal weed control objectives in that other plant species will not be affected by the novel bioherbicide thereby preserving the natural flora.
Once domestic Indian registration is obtained in 2024, A.G. Bio Systems will work on tackling the global market potentials.” —Liew
Rovensa Next
Spain
“This looks like a promising company with its $1 million investment into opening a Global Research and Innovation Biosolutions Centre in Hortolandia, Brazil. They launched the biostimulant, Vorax, which utilizes bacterial fermentation of sugarcane molasses with a specific strain of the bacteria corynebacterium glutamicum. It’s the first biofertilizer registered in Brazil and one of the pioneers under the EU Fertilizing Products Regulation 2019/1009. With 20 more projects, it’ll be interesting to see what comes out of Rovensa Next for Latin America.” —Potrie
AG TECH
CropX Technologies
Israel
“2023 was a busy year for CropX, a leader in digital agronomic farm management. In February 2023, CropX launched a new mobile app, added integration with Talgil precision irrigation controllers in March, received $30 million in Series C financing in April, in July announced advancements in their strategic partnership with HELM AG, and rounding out the year with the announcement of John Gates as the Chief Revenue Officer overseeing commercial expansion globally. With acquisition of Regen in 2020 and Dacom Farm Intelligence in 2021, CropX appears to be positioning itself well in the ag tech market. It will be a pleasure to see what 2024 holds for CropX Technologies.” —McCann
GROWiT
India
“Along with plastic mulch films, GROWiT also has a full range of protective farming products to mechanize the farming industry in India. They also offer a buy-back option to farmers for reducing plastic pollution. Only a tiny fraction of the immense potential Indian market has been tapped. The products and value propositions have a huge potential in developing countries around the world.” —Liew
aerodyne group
“They have presence in 45 countries and developed drone technology to be used with crews or without a crew for precision agriculture. The Agrimor SuperApp allows farmers, agencies, and agriculture service providers to request drones and pilots for agriculture seeding, spraying, plant analysis, mapping and more.” —Potrie
PLANT HEALTH
Pivot Bio, Inc.
United States
“Pivot Bio, Inc., a sustainable agriculture company, announced in August 2023 changes at the top with Karsten Temme stepping to the side to become Chief Innovation Officer and Chris Abbott, Chief Executive Officer. The company also announced rapid growth surpassing $100 million for the first time and plans to increase manufacturing and distribution in the U.S. This small but growing company has been tapping senior leaders from across the agriculture industry to drive its future. While meeting great success with its first products, I am looking forward to seeing how they can take that next step and the direction they choose to embrace to continue that path of growth.” —McCann
Sri BioAesthetics
India
“This was my recommendation for last year, but I still find them interesting. In April 2023, the company launched a new Integrated AgriBiotech Center and state-of-the-art manufacturing facilities located in Hyderabad, India. Current products promoted in the Indian market for the past three years include biostimulants, bionutrients, and bioprotectants, all through its own innovation and IP. More products will be developed and launched over the next two to three years from the microbiome domain with special focus on drought and salinity stress.
“Systematic bioprospecting the soil and plant microbiomes backed by strong R&D in isolation, multiplication and delivery systems development of selected micro-organisms will propel the company forward to be a leading global player in the biosolutions space. Domestic sales will continue to grow rapidly by 2024. They are aiming to penetrate the rapidly growing global markets driven by the push for sustainable and regenerative agriculture in the face of climate change and two more billion people to feed by 2050.” —Liew
AgriTecno
Spain
“This international company, based in Spain, specializes in biostimulants and plant nutrition. Founded in 2001, the company currently exports to more than 66 countries worldwide and was recently acquired by the Japanese Ajinomoto group. The company specializes in liquid fertilizers, biostimulants, micronutrients, adjuvants, rooting agents, attractants, and different phytoprotectors, both for conventional and organic agriculture. It also has a strong commitment to R&D and is venturing into ag tech, using satellite image technology and index to monitor trials through a digital platform.
The company has quality certificates for its products and processes, such as OMRI (Organic Materials Review Institute), Sohiscert (Hispanic Certification Society), Aevae (Spanish Association for the Valorization of Packaging) and ERDF (European Regional Development Fund).” —Potrie. •
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Miguel Ángel RM – stock.adobe.com
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Alexandr Makarenko – stock.adobe.com
Dan Garneau – stock.adobe.com
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Adair – stock.adobe.com
CS Liew – Pacific Agriscience Pte Ltd
Melinda McCann – Melinda McCann
Nicolas Potrie – NICOLAS POTRIE AND TAFIREL