BIOPESTICIDES ARE THE ANSWER TO BOOSTING WORLD HARVESTS SAFELY?

Eden Research is leading the field in safe crop protection, and is poised to enter the USA market

by Nicky Godding, Editor

Each year, up to 40 per cent of global crop production is lost to plant diseases. This costs the agricultural sector more than $220 billion, according to the United Nations, while invasive insects cause losses of at least $70 billion.

At a time when the world’s population is increasing, with close to eight billion people needing to be fed, it’s an alarming figure.

And that’s with farmers using pesticides, which have boosted agricultural productivity for hundreds of years. However, since the 1960s it has become obvious that in many cases they have also inflicted massive damage on the environment and wildlife.

There is now greater regulation of pesticides around the world, with increasing numbers of conventional compounds being banned. Most of us will be aware of the recent ban on neonicotinoids, which many experts say has caused a major collapse in honey bee colonies.

Pest Control down the ages

In the 15th century farmers used arsenic, mercury and lead to kill crop pests. In the 1940s DDT was developed as the first modern synthetic insecticide. It was highly effective but incredibly toxic to wildlife and humans. By 1972 the USA was first to ban its use, followed by countries.

But what are beleaguered farmers to do? They need pesticides to protect crops and boost harvest yields.

There is a solution. Biopesticides are safe crop protection products based on microorganisms, plant extracts and other natural compounds.

And Eden Research, based at Milton Park, Oxfordshire, is at the forefront of the revolution in crop protection and biopesticides.

The company develops sustainable biopesticides and plastic-free encapsulation technology which is already being used in global crop protection. The company is also deploying its formulas in the animal health and consumer products industries.

Eden has received approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), for two biopesticide products and its three associated active ingredients.

Eden Research’s technology is based on terpenes: naturally occurring chemical compounds found in plants.

Drawing on the world’s natural remedies

Sean Smith has been the company’s CEO for more than eight years. He said: “We are taking the active components out of plant essential oils and developing products for farmers to tackle plant diseases, insects and parasites. Conventional pesticides target specific diseases. Our approach is wider. It works through broad modes of action which are difficult for the target organism to work around.

“One day we will look back and think: why on earth were we burning coal when we can harness the sun, wind and tides around us? Why are we using synthetic compounds when there are so many natural resources to draw on?”

Eden Research is just hitting its stride and its latest approvals will enable it to sell into the USA’s vast agricultural sector, building on its growing sales to agricultural distributors across Southern and Central Europe.

“Thanks to our latest USA approvals, we now have authorisation for our first two products, and authorisation for three active ingredients which make up those products,” said Sean.

The company has yet to receive UK regulatory approval but Sean is confident this will happen soon.

What has been the hold-up in its home country? Brexit apparently. Surprise surprise – but regulatory approval both in the USA and the UK, is a long and frustrating process, according to Sean.

“Covid delays took their toll,” he said. “The USA’s Environmental Protection Agency staff, like everyone else, had to adapt to working from home and that’s not conducive to speedy research and analysis. But it was also because although our formulas are derived from plants, we couldn’t assume they were safe. Look at digitalis, commonly known as the foxglove, which is poisonous to humans if ingested.”

Like any synthetic pesticide, Eden Research’s compounds had to be tested for every eventuality. Were they safe for people, animals, birds and fish? Would they be persistent in the environment (known as “forever chemicals” which don’t break down in the natural environment)?

A fresh perspective helps Eden Research widen commercial opportunities

Sean Smith joined Eden Research in 2014. A microbiologist by training, he had spent most of his working life in the chemical industry, much of it in intellectual property licensing, and was keen to broaden his experience.

A call from a headhunter when he was working on deals for a US private equity fi rm in Europe, sparked his interest.

“It was the convergence of everything I was interested in. While I didn’t have a great deal of experience in agriculture at the time, I was experienced in commercial opportunities across the food and chemicals sectors. For me the most interesting part of the chemical industry is the sustainable element. Nature gives us a lot of tools to solve humanity’s problems, it’s up to us to leverage those tools as much as we can. While this might not always be possible, with a creative approach there is always something that can be done.

“Regulators are increasing the standards they apply to environmental safety and effi cacy. As a result, there are fewer pesticides on the market.

“In crop protection the biggest trend is towards sustainable crop protection, and we are at the forefront of that.”

When Sean arrived at Eden Research (at the time based in a small village outside Cirencester in Gloucestershire), the company was patenting its formulas and licensing them out to manufacturers to develop.

Its fi rst product had been a formula to tackle Botrytis, a fungus that aff ects many plant species, most notably wine grapes. While it can have a devastating eff ect on a grape harvest, it’s wasn’t the largest market for Eden to sell into.

“I was hired because of my experience in licensing, but I looked at the company’s set-up and felt that its business model wouldn’t meet targeted revenue growth,” said Sean.

He changed the business model, and with a new board in place, the company has pivoted to develop, register and commercialise the products itself. It now targets growers of high value fruit and vegetables, vines, apples and pears.

Biopesticides don’t need to cost growers more

The regulatory process has taken longer than hoped, but the opportunities for fi nancial growth are far greater.

In 2020, the company moved from rural Gloucestershire to Milton Park, Oxfordshire. “It was a practical decision,” said Sean. “We couldn’t attract the scientifi c talent we needed to continue product development where we were, so looked at larger centres of life sciences.”

When farmers are facing hugely increased costs to produce crops, aren’t biopesticides going to be more expensive than conventional ones?

Sean says no.

“We are off ering a direct and costcompetitive alternative to conventional pesticides. It’s a biopesticide with no MRLs (maximum residue levels are the legal maximum concentration of a pesticide residue in or on food or feed) and our unique micro encapsulation delivery technology which we have branded Sustaine.”

Eden Research’s Sustaine technology are microcapsules – naturally sourced, plastic-free, biodegradable microspheres derived from yeast extract. They produce stabilised aqueous emulsions which are easy to mix and apply, have phased release patterns, are safer for the environment and have less adverse eff ects on plant growth.

“Our formulas are as effective as conventional products but better for the planet,” said Sean. “Growers are smart, they are not going to use more than they need and almost every one of them wants to use products that don’t inflict harm on their land.”

With EPA regulatory approval under its belt, Sean sees a bright future for Eden Research.

“We are working with Corteva, the world’s fourth-largest agri-business, on sustainable seed treatments and have an insecticide under development. We are also looking at expanding our product range and developing consumer and animal health products which we have had on the back burner for some years.

“We are developing a more balanced portfolio and expanding in Southern and Central Europe and into other territories.”