Bionema CEO talks Biocontrol formulations and the importance of innovation in sustainable agriculture

Bionema Ltd was founded in 2012 to provide pest control solutions that do not require the extensive use of chemicals. Now, more than a decade later, Bionema has established itself as a leading UK biocontrol technology developer, with strong expertise in innovation and formulation. Bionema continues to be headquartered at Swansea University in the UK, giving the company’s scientists access to sector-leading facilities and broad opportunities for collaboration.

Dr Minshad Ansari, Founder and CEO of Bionema, has worked in the biocontrol sector – both as an academic and as an industry player – for more than 30 years. In this interview, he explained why developing innovative biological formulations is the key to making sustainable agriculture possible. 

Let’s start at the beginning. Why did you found Bionema? 

There isn’t really a simple answer to this – Bionema was the culmination of an academic career, a life ambition and a personal dream, all rolled into one. However, it boils down to the fact that I have always believed that biological agriculture must be the future, and I started Bionema to help advance that sector, and to develop and commercialise more biological solutions for agriculture.

After spending around 15 years in academia, I was frustrated by a continued lack of non-chemical alternatives for biological agriculture, and by the slow rate of commercialisation of these types of technologies. Therefore, when I started Bionema, primarily it was to provide pest control solutions that do not require the extensive use of chemicals. Our flagship product range of beneficial nematodes, which we brought to market in 2017, was acquired by Syngenta Crop Protection in December 2021, along with UniSpore^®G, our ground-breaking fungal technology. We are very proud of having developed those products and technology, and we are pleased that their acquisition by Syngenta makes them available to more end users across the world. 

However, more importantly for us, since that deal we have been able to refocus our resources towards our prime mission of developing innovative biological formulations that deliver effective and profitable solutions in agriculture. 

Could you tell us about any innovative technologies in product R&D, production and application? 

Innovation is one of the key challenges of the biocontrol sector – we urgently need more innovation if government targets to reduce chemical load, and WHO goals to replace toxic chemicals with more sustainable options, are to be achieved. The Bionema team is driven to fill gaps in the biocontrol market, and we have had considerable success in all three of the areas you mention – R&D, production and application. 

As I already mentioned, we developed a range of biopesticides comprising beneficial nematodes which were highly effective, and which were acquired by Syngenta in 2021. Since then, our portfolio has expanded to include more products offering biological solutions for agriculture, horticulture, turf & amenities, forestry, and public health. We have collected a library of more than a thousand commercially viable microorganisms for pipeline candidates, ensuring we have a world-class R&D offering, for our own technologies as well as for supporting partner companies with the development of their own product ranges.

In addition, Bionema’s innovative formulation and delivery technologies can lead to products that deliver higher virulence, greater stability, better spore yields, and wider host ranges. For example, IncapsuleX™ is our smart formulation delivery system that increases efficacy by delivering biopesticides in a microcapsule to the insect cuticle, enhancing adhesion and increasing persistence on plant surfaces for improved pest and disease control. We achieved this by developing unique processes for microencapsulation of fungal spores and bacteria, which maintain biological stability when stored at ambient temperature by creating micro-environments to retain water for spore germination. As well as enhancing adhesion to the plant or insect cuticle, the microcapsule protects the biopesticidal microbe for longer persistence, resulting in improved delivery, efficacy and cost reduction.

The other technologies I would like to mention here, as they complete the trio that you asked about by addressing challenges in production, are our MetarForce™ and NemaCad^® technologies, both of which offer cost-effective and scalable approaches to the manufacture and production of biopesticides in emerging countries where water and cold storage are limited. MetarBNL101™ is our unique fungal strain that is a highly-effective, commercial bioinsecticide that can control a wide range of soil and foliar insects, while NemaCad^® comprises beneficial nematodes that can control a wide number of soil-borne insects. 

Are there any successful cases of developing solutions based on different scenarios and market needs?

Yes, one of the things we pride ourselves on is making sure that we support our end-users to make sure they achieve optimal outcomes from using our products, and that means offering an integrated approach that considers different scenarios. This has been particularly important over the past year as we have been among the first biocontrol companies to enter the public health sector. 

Bionema offers an integrated approach to control nuisance and public health pests such as mosquitos, biting midges and sand flies. We design customised pest management solutions that are suited to each individual customer’s requirements, including different climatic and environmental conditions. Our expert team employs natural methods for controlling mosquitoes, biting midges, sand flies, ticks such as ecological management, automated insect monitoring device, pheromones, biocontrol agents, using a tailored approach to suit the environment in question. By using Bionema’s customised approaches, customers benefit from powerful insect management without using toxic pesticides that may bring their own concerns for environmental and human health.

Also in the agriculture sector, we believe that providing integrated solutions suited to individual scenarios are important, and that educating end users is a vital part of the global move towards more sustainable agriculture. In fact, we have launched a number of training programmes, which can be completed on-line via our website, which are intended to make sure end-users understand the importance of following instructions on biocontrol product labels. Something as simple as making sure the temperature is within the right range when the biocontrol product is applied can make the difference between success and failure with these technologies, but once end-users understand that they are dealing with living organisms rather than indelicate chemicals, they have a greater appreciation for making sure they follow those instructions and then they can get the outcomes they need. 

As for developing technologies for market needs, I think that’s what the whole sector is doing right now. The world is changing and there is increased consumer, societal, regulatory and government demands for reduced chemical use – for example, consider the EU’s plan to remove 505 pesticides by 2030 and increase organic farming from 8 to 25%. Targets like this just won’t be feasible without sustainable alternatives. As far as I am concerned, every chemical still in common use represents a gap in the sustainable agriculture market that needs to be filled. That is what we – and hundreds of companies like us – are doing every day. 

How do you see the value of adjuvants in biocontrol innovation? What are the criteria for selecting adjuvants?

One of the biggest challenges for producers of plant protection products is not identifying or discovering new actives – it is formulating those actives in a way that provides the solutions that farmers and growers need. In order to maximise the effectiveness of any active – chemical or biological – it must be formulated with the goal of better targeting, penetrating or protecting the plant at risk of pests or disease. Through expert formulation, adjuvants can have an amazing impact on performance so, to answer your first question, adjuvants are pretty essential in biocontrol innovation.

Secondly, when formulating biocontrol products, the most important criterion is that those adjuvants are biocompatible. Non-biocompatible adjuvants have implications not just for any biological actives in the product under formulation, but also for soil microbes, plant rhizobia and any other beneficial organisms that might be susceptible to chemical harm. However, at the very least, it is fairly obvious that if you put a bio-toxin in a product with live organisms, that isn’t going to do the organisms any good! 

Sadly, our own research at Bionema has shown that not all co-formulants claiming to be biocompatible are in fact suited for use with biologicals. I would certainly advise that it is always worth testing your intended co-formulant to make sure it does not impact the survival or virulence of your biological. Bionema offers testing services, if you need help with this. If necessary, we can also help in the development of co-formulants that work with novel biological agents and provide the desired adjuvant effects. 

What do you think of market predictions for the biocontrol sector over the next few years?

The global market for biological products, which includes biopesticides, biostimulants and biofertilizers, is already growing 3.5 times faster than conventional chemicals, and it has been predicted to almost double over the next few years, from USD 12.6 billion in 2022, to USD 24.6 billion in 2027, according to market analysts MarketsandMarkets. 

As the past few years have shown, it is difficult to predict the future, and I admire those analysts that attempt to do so – however, I guess my own view… or perhaps I should say my own hope… is that these predictions are conservative. 

Recent regulatory changes in Brazil, which are setting a new standard for the biocontrol industry, show how an environment that supports clean, green agriculture can result in a dramatic uptick in sustainable farming. As a direct result of regulatory changes in the region, the Brazilian market for biologically-based pesticides and bioinoculants grew 67% during the 2021-22 season (see here). 

The industry has been calling for reforms like this to biopesticides for the last three decades, and Brazil is leading the way. I am aware that the UK is also considering a review of their biopesticide regulations, and founded the World BioProtection Forum in 2019, which created a white paper on this topic specifically with the purposes of guiding UK reform, gives me an insight into that organisation’s plans to effect broader, global reforms via these changes in a Competent Authority (the UK). When these changes in the UK are achieved, we anticipate a knock-on effect elsewhere, and then we anticipate a market response such as that seen in the Brazilian market. 

With Brazil and the UK leading the way, once the rest of the world catches up on those regulatory reforms, the global agricultural industry will be ready to switch to sustainable practices. This is why I believe the global market for biological products could be significantly bigger than the analysts predict. 

Meanwhile, companies like Bionema and our various research and business partners around the world will continue to innovate, and we will fill those gaps so that biological agriculture can become the new normal, across the world, as soon as possible.