In recent years, the agricultural industry has witnessed a significant shift towards sustainable and environmentally friendly practices. Within this context, biologics – derived from natural resources such as microbes, plants, pheromones and other sources – are emerging as crucial agricultural tools in this transformation.
Biological solutions have the opportunity to offer benefits for crop protection, soil health improvement, and regenerative farming practices. However, the ongoing discourse surrounding biologicals in agriculture contains uncertainties and misconceptions that warrant thorough exploration and discussion.
Taking a myth-busting approach to dissect this prevailing discourse, this panel discussed:
- What are the existing criticisms and hesitancies towards biologicals – and are these useful?
- The role of biological crop protection in modern agriculture, with concrete examples of potential solutions.
- How collaborative partnerships and initiatives within the food and ag industry can accelerate the commercialisation of the next generation of biological solutions
- The current regulatory barriers for scale, and the outlook for the development of an enabling legal landscape
Speakers
- Benoit Hartmann, Head of Biologicals, Bayer Crop Science
- Christophe Breitenstroeter, Head of Crop Strategy, Bayer Crop Science
- Philippe Guerret, CEO, M2i Group
- Eirini-Christina Spanouli, Farmer
- moderated by Toby Webb, founder, Innovation Forum.
See also part one (29/06/2023) : How agrifood stakeholders can support European farmers in the regenerative transition
and part two (01/12/2023): Regenerative food systems in Africa: scaling solutions to empower smallholder farmers)
Accelerating Africa’s regenerative agricultural transformation requires a farmer-centric, ecosystem-led approach that involves actors across the whole value chain. Impactful partnerships and collaborations between farmers, governments, developmental organisations, entrepreneurs, food companies, and stakeholders must yield innovative solutions to help smallholder farmers overcome this complex set of constraints. Access to resources and opportunities through resilient value chains is essential to optimising profitability and improving smallholder livelihoods.
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