MustGrow receives PMRA approval to commence large scale field trials via NexusBioAg BAT Program

MustGrow Biologics Corp. (TSXV:MGRO) (OTC:MGROF) (FRA:0C0) (the ″Company″ or ″MustGrow″) announced the approval of Health Canada’s Pest Management Regulatory Agency (″PMRA″) to commence large-scale field trials via NexusBioAg’s 2024 BioAdvantage Trials Program (″BAT Program″).  NexusBioAg, is a division of Univar Solutions, providing an expanded portfolio of crop nutrition solutions, including industry-leading inoculants, micronutrients, nitrogen stabilizers, and foliar products.  NexusBioAg is partnered with MustGrow to provide TerraMG™ to Canadian farmers, upon PMRA registraion,  as a preplant soil treatment for diseases affecting canola and pulse crops.

NexusBioAg’s BAT Program is recognized as an industry leading field trialing program with an established process to gather data from large field scale trials across Canada. Since it’s inception, NexusBioAg continues to expand the BAT Program footprint and engage with collaborators to evaluate products in the NexusBioAg pipeline. Through the BAT Program, NexusBioAg validates product efficacy and establishes the product value and opportunity. To learn more about the BAT Program visit www.nexusbioag.com/bioadvantage-trials.

The BAT Program will focus on MustGrow’s TerraMG™ mustard-derived soil biopesticide technology for use in Canadian canola and pulse crop markets. The addition of this plant-based technology to the BAT Program further diversifies and expands NexusBioAg’s extensive portfolio of inoculants, micronutrients, nitrogen stabilizers and foliars for the Canadian agricultural market.

″There has been a significant amount of grower interest in MustGrow’s TerraMG™ and there is excitement to evaluate TerraMG™ in real farming conditions during the 2024 BAT Program. We will collaborate with MustGrow to conduct large scale field trials throughout Western Canada and give agriculture innovators an opportunity to work with true agriculture innovation,″ remarked Daniel Samphir, NexusBioAg Senior Marketing Manager.

In 2021, NexusBioAg and MustGrow initiated a field research program to develop MustGrow’s sustainable farming technology in Canadian canola and pulse crops. This technology has the potential to address the agronomic challenges of clubroot and aphanomyces diseases which are rapidly devastating these crops. Building on existing collaborative data, NexusBioAg and MustGrow are now moving forward to the next stage of the registration process. Through the BAT Program, NexusBioAg farm customers will have access to MustGrow’s mustard plant-based agronomic innovation.

NexusBioAg is committed to launching innovative, cutting-edge products, with a focus on sustainability and regenerative agriculture, which benefit the Canadian agricultural industry and growers. MustGrow specializes in the research and development of organic biocontrol, soil amendment and biofertility technologies from mustard, harnessing the plant’s natural defense mechanism with technologies that have the potential to control diseases, pests and weeds, and in addition, provide nutrients to boost the soil microbiome. Combining the proficiencies of both companies in the agriculture market will help Canadian farmers benefit from innovative and sustainable farming solutions.

Clubroot Disease: Canola

Clubroot is a rapidly spreading disease pathogen destroying canola, one of Canada’s more profitable crops with over 20 million acres grown each year and contributing C$30 billion in economic activity in Canada.⁽¹⁾  Industry experts conservatively estimate C$500 million in annual canola crop losses in Canada caused by Clubroot.⁽²⁾  Current treatments cannot eradicate clubroot completely – they are only intended to slow the spread and reduce the incidence and severity of the disease.  Some field infections may lead to 100% crop loss.

Aphanomyces Disease: Pulse Crops

Aphanomyces is a water mould pathogen responsible for root-rot disease, infecting a variety of peas, lentils and other legumes collectively referred to as pulse crops.  The disease causes severe root damage and wilting, with yield losses ranging from 10% to 100% in infected fields.⁽²⁾  Canada is one of the world’s largest producers of pulse crops, with approximately 7 to 10 million arces grown annually with an estimated farm gate value of over C$3.5 billion, and the world’s largest exporter.⁽³⁾  Industry experts conservatively estimate C$125 million in annual pulse crop losses due to aphanomyces.⁽²⁾  Current treatment measures cannot control aphanomyces – they are only able to slow down the spread and reduce the incidence and severity of the disease.

The global plant-based protein market size is projected to grow from US$14.1 billion in 2021 to US$17.4 billion by 2027 (CAGR of 3.7%).⁽⁴⁾  This is attributed to several drivers, predominantly rising consumer health-consciousness, growing prevalence of protein-rich pulse crop food products, and technological innovations in plant-based protein extraction.

Sources:

1. Canola Council of Canada https://www.canolacouncil.org/sustainability/economic/

2. 3rd party market research, MustGrow estimates

3. imarcgroup.com; https://pulsecanada.com/uploads/National-Pulse-Research-Strategy-Jan-10.pdf

4. https://www.ey.com/en_gl/strategy/how-alternative-proteins-are-reshaping-meat-industries