Biologicals business deployment by leading crop nutrition companies: Yara, ICL, Mosaic

The development of the biologicals business has become a crucial component of crop nutrition companies’ strategic planning. 

Biologicals not only enhance nutrient use efficiency in crops and boost their resistance to abiotic stress but also address the market's increasing demand for eco-farming.

Yara, ICL and Mosaic stand as industry leaders in the global crop nutrition sector. These companies have made significant strides in expanding their biologicals business over the past few years. 

This article will show the development of the biologicals business among these companies from 2021 to 2024 reported on AgroPages, offering valuable insights to other industry players.

Enhancing nutrient efficiency and abiotic stress resistance, the major sectors

Climate change has intensified the frequency and severity of plants’ abiotic stresses, causing substantial yield losses. These stresses have emerged as a primary factor in some crops’ yield reduction. The market demand for biologicals that aid crops in coping with abiotic stresses has grown considerably. Recognizing this trend, Yara, ICL and Mosaic have positioned their bio-product lines as critical strategic sectors for company growth.

Percentages of estimated yield losses due to abiotic stresses (Source: FAOSTATS 2013)

For leading fertilizer companies, biologicals that enhance nutrient use efficiency complement their traditional fertilizer business, improve fertilizer efficacy, boost crop resistance to abiotic stresses, and meet market demands for sustainable solutions to reduce fertilizer use. To this end, these companies continue to expand their relevant portfolios.

Yara has launched several products over the past years. YaraAmplix, their first biostimulant product in China, has entered the country. This product significantly improves crop quality and yield by promoting nutrient absorption and enhancing crop resilience. In Brazil, Yara has launched YaraVita NRhizo, which combines nutrients with algae extracts to enhance biological nitrogen fixation and improve plants’ resilience to abiotic stresses. In Portugal, Yara has introduced new OPTI biostimulants designed to help crops resist abiotic stress.

In addition to product launches, Yara is developing more products through partnership. Yara is applying Oerth Bio’s protein degrader technology to jointly develop innovative products that improve nutrient use efficiency and plant resilience to climate change. This partnership combines Yara's expertise in crop physiology and nutrition with Oerth Bio's specialization in the rational design of plant protein degraders.

Mosaic has established a partnership with Sound Agriculture to jointly develop and distribute a proprietary mix of Sound Agriculture's bio-inspired chemistry and micronutrients. The product aims to improve the nutrient use efficiency of major row crops and improve soil health. 

Mosaic has also acquired Plant Response, a company with diverse biological-based technologies, such as solutions for nutrient efficiency and abiotic stress resistance. A crucial complement to Mosaic's offerings is Plant Response's technologies to improve phosphorus use efficiency. As one of the world's largest phosphate fertilizer providers, Mosaic is focused on creating more opportunities to develop its phosphate fertilizer business. This acquisition paved the way for the establishment of Mosaic Biosciences in 2023.

Mosaic Biosciences has unveiled its biologicals at a Brazilian farm show. The products include MBio Hidro, to help crops manage water stress and excessive heat, Performa Bio, to enhance nutrient efficiency, and MBio Brad, MBio Azo and MBio Phos, to increase nitrogen and phosphorus availability to plants.

In Brazil, ICL has launched Keep Green, specifically developed to protect coffee crops from high sunlight and temperature stress. The company claims that the natural wax in Keep Green provides long-lasting protection for leaves even after up to 500mm of heavy rainfall. It maintains stomata open, enhances stomatal conductance, and promotes gas exchange and carbon accumulation. In addition, it increases chlorophyll content, improves photosynthetic rate, and fosters overall crop growth.

RNAi and other novel substances as biostimulants to open new era for yield boost

Researchers are developing biostimulants with newly discovered active substances. These products have the potential to provide a new path to sustainable agriculture.

Following the approval of the first RNAi-based biopesticide, RNA interference is anticipated to enter the biostimulant market. ICL has partnered with PlantArcBio to develop RNAi-based biostimulants to increase crop yields. PlantArcBio has pioneered the use of RNAi for yield enhancement. This technology temporarily silences genes that inhibit crop growth, thereby boosting yields. Early-stage canola field trials demonstrated significant increases in seed weight per hectare. 

ICL has collaborated with Brazilian startup Ideelab Biotechnology to develop six disruptive biological technologies. IDeeLab focuses on the next-generation biologicals based on metabolites, proteins, and other active ingredients produced by microbes. The partnership accelerates the development of novel solutions for agriculture.

Yara India and BioPrime AgriSolutions have started a collaboration to provide BioPrime's Chiron with SNIPR technology. Chiron uses small molecules to regulate plant responses, increasing flower count and improving flower-to-fruit conversion, leading to a significant yield increase. Furthermore, Chiron can enhance multiple indicators, such as produce uniformity and higher-grade output, potentially increasing farmers' profits.

Yara, ICL and Mosaic’s partnerships

Acquisitions and distribution partnerships expanding presence in key markets

Yara, ICL and Mosaic have expanded their product market share in key markets, such as Europe, Brazil and China, through strategic acquisitions and distribution partnerships. These companies have strengthened their market position in organic fertilizers, biostimulants and specialty fertilizers, demonstrating their commitment to promoting the circular economy, improving nutrient use efficiency and enhancing soil health.

In 2021, Yara acquired Finland’s Ecolan to expand its organic fertilizer business. This is Yara's first acquisition in the organic fertilizer sector, aiming to play a more significant role in organic agriculture and promote the circular economy. The two companies had previously collaborated to supply Ecolan's organic fertilizers to the Finnish market by Yara. The acquisition combines the expertise of both parties to develop recycled fertilizers and enables Yara to offer organic fertilizers to markets outside Finland.

Yara further strengthened its presence in Europe by acquiring the organic-based fertilizer business of Italy’s Agribios in 2023. Agribios' organic fertilizers, made from animal and agricultural by-products, also contribute to the circular economy. As Italy is the second-largest organic-based fertilizer market in Europe, and Agribios holds approximately 10% market share in the country, this acquisition allows Yara to increase its impact in Italy. Combining Agribios' fertilizers with Yara’s scale and reach in Europe, Yara's organic-based fertilizer sales in Italy and neighboring countries are expected to increase by around 30% within three years after the acquisition.

In addition to expanding its European business, Yara distributes Sea6 Energy's patented biostimulant AG Boost in India. The product improves crop yields by promoting nutrient absorption and enhancing fertilizer use efficiency. Yara sells AG Boost in India through its crop nutrition business distribution network, which has more than 3,500 dealers and 980 Yara Crop Nutrition Centers across 18 states.

ICL has been actively developing its business in Brazil. The company has acquired Compass Minerals' South American Plant Nutrition business, including biostimulants and others, for around US$420 million, making ICL the leading specialty fertilizer company in Brazil. This acquisition significantly strengthens ICL's portfolio and profitability, contributing to seasonal balance between the northern and southern hemispheres.

ICL has also acquired Brazilian biologicals company Nitro 1000 for around US$30 million. This acquisition represents a significant advancement in ICL's biologicals market presence while broadening its product range and setting the stage for future growth into new and adjacent end-markets.

Mosaic has started a new collaboration. Under the partnership, Richardson International exclusively supplies Mosaic's crop nutrition solution, PowerCoat, across Western Canada. This product serves as a supplement to fertilizer products by increasing soil phosphorus availability when added to granular fertilizers.

Mosaic has also partnered with BioConsortia to distribute BioConsortia's biostimulant BEC69 in China, India, Thailand, and Vietnam. The product's natural beneficial bacteria can colonize plant roots, promote plant growth, and increase crop yields. Mosaic's local sales and marketing teams continue to expand the business and will promote the adoption of the product in these Asian markets.

Acquisitions by Yara, ICL and Mosaic

AI accelerates biostimulant R&D

In 2022, ICL and Lavie Bio established a collaboration to leverage artificial intelligence (AI) to advance biostimulant development. ICL Planet Startup Hub invested $10 million in Lavie Bio to support this collaboration. In 2024, the two companies announced a milestone: more than a dozen novel microbial candidates have been identified for row crops suffering from extreme weather conditions.

This process can typically take several years, but the partnership achieved it in only 12 months thanks to Lavie Bio's innovative Biology Driven Design (BDD) technology platform. This technology achieved a notable prediction rate from computer modeling to greenhouse validation.

This milestone sets the stage for field trials in the United States and Brazil in the second half of 2024. Moving forward, Lavie Bio will continue to harness AI for product development and optimization, while ICL will guide the development process and spearhead efforts toward product commercialization. They aim to start the regulatory process in 2026, only three years from program initiation, showing remarkable speed in product R&D.

In addition, ICL and AI-powered startup Agrematch have started a multi-year collaboration. This partnership uses Agrematch's AI platform to discover innovative plant nutrition solutions, which ICL will distribute globally. Agrematch's Artificial Intelligence for Active Ingredients (AI4AI) uses predictive algorithms to process billions of molecules in a proprietary database to design innovative compounds, such as stimulants and fertilizers, and create a shortlist of candidates with desired efficacy. ICL Planet Startup Hub also led an investment round in Agrematch to support this cooperation.

The agricultural industry currently faces challenges, such as high costs, time-consuming new product development, and complex regulatory requirements. Predictive AI can help researchers identify and predict substances and microbes, reducing costs, simplifying processes, and accelerating the introduction of next-generation crop nutrition products to the market. 

Early applications of AI in agriculture have demonstrated its potential as a game-changing tool in the industry. ICL has quickly recognized its potential, actively establishing partnerships and investing in agricultural AI startups. The company is driving the global transition to AI in agriculture.

Establishing trust: Data platform addresses farmers' need for product information

Mosaic Biosciences has launched the website "TruResponseWorks.com" to bring transparency to the biologicals market. The website showcases field trial results, aiming to enhance farmers' confidence in biological products. By presenting local and region-specific data, the platform assists farmers in making informed decisions on product use.

Many biological agents provide inconsistent efficacy. Living organisms are sensitive to the environment, with their performance influenced by various factors, such as soil conditions, weather, pests and others. These variables are often beyond farmers' control.

The TruResponse website addresses this issue by showing the performance of Mosaic's biologicals across different regions and environments around the country. This allows farmers to see product performance under conditions similar to their own.

Outlook

The business development of the industry leaders Yara, ICL and Mosaic reflect emerging trends in the biological and crop nutrition sectors.

Biologicals and traditional fertilizers will not be stand-alone products. Instead, they form a close synergy. Biologicals that improve nutrient use efficiency can not only enhance crop resilience to abiotic stresses but also address environmental concerns and reduce reliance on chemical fertilizers. This integrated approach is becoming the core competitiveness of crop nutrition companies and driving the industry towards more sustainable development.

The application of AI in the biologicals R&D is becoming prevalent and more impactful. AI can significantly shorten the R&D timelines and reduce costs by rapidly analyzing vast datasets to identify promising active ingredients and formulations. This acceleration in product development and optimization meets farmers' growing demand for innovative solutions. 

The R&D for the new-generation active ingredients is expected to create new opportunities for the biological market. RNAi and other new technologies can increase crop yields while mitigating the environmental impact of farming practices. As these technologies mature, we anticipate a broader range of biologicals tailored to specific crops and environmental conditions.

The circular economy concept will be more widely adopted in agriculture. Many organic wastes are still not recycled.

 Regenerating nutrients from waste streams and applying them for crop production will help promote the circular economy and reduce nutrient losses and pollution. The European Green Deal, for instance, encourages circular business models and aims to increase organic agriculture’s share in the EU. Advanced biotechnology is transforming previously problematic waste into valuable nutrient resources. This recycling model will become an essential feature of future agricultural production, steering the entire industry chain toward sustainability.

The data platform will continue to improve and provide farmers with detailed localized product performance data to build user trust in products. The platform will integrate more environmental factors, such as soil type, microbial activity and climate conditions, to provide farmers with more precise product use suggestions. These platforms will not only increase farmers' confidence in biologicals but will also drive the industry towards greater transparency, precision and customization.

Global climate change and the push for sustainability present both opportunities and challenges for the crop nutrition industry. Biologicals are set to play an increasingly important role in promoting global sustainable agriculture. Through continuous innovation and cooperation, the industry is expected to become a leading force in regenerative agriculture.

This article will be published in AgroPages magazine 2024 Market Insight.