MustGrow Biologics and Sumitomo Corporation announce extension of exclusive agreement and program advancement

Date:08-19-2022

Sumitomo Corporation (TYO: 8053) (OTC: SSUMY) and MustGrow Biologics Corp. (CSE: MGRO) (OTC: MGROF) (FRA: 0C0) (″MustGrow″) have signed an extension to their Exclusive Evaluation and Option Agreement (the ″Extension Agreement″) to continue developing MustGrow’s mustard-based technology across the Americas.

Pursuant to the Extension Agreement, MustGrow has granted Sumitomo Corporation the exclusive right to continue developing MustGrow’s mustard-based technologies for preplant soil fumigation, bioherbicide, and postharvest and food preservation for potatoes and bananas in North, Central, and South America for an additional option period (the ″Extension Period″). Over the span of the initial option period, Sumitomo Corporation’s evaluation efforts demonstrated positive levels of efficacy utilizing MustGrow’s technology in comparison to certain synthetic chemical standards. These positive tests, conducted across the Americas, resulted in the parties’ desire to extend the term of the Exclusive Evaluation and Option Agreement. During the Extension Period, Sumitomo Corporation plans to continue to drive all field development, regulatory and market assessment work necessary for commercialization.

The global crop protection chemicals market size was valued at USD 63.7 billion in 2020, and is projected to reach a value of USD 74.1 billion by 2025.⁽¹⁾ The growth of this market is attributed to the increasing need for food security of the growing global population. A large growth market is biopesticides, which are pesticides produced naturally, with minimum usage of chemicals. Due to rising environmental concerns and awareness of the pollution potential and health hazards of many synthetic conventional pesticides, the demand for biopesticides has been rising steadily in all parts of the world.

SUMITOMO CORPORATION COMMENT

″We are convinced that BioSolutions combined with AgTech are the future of agriculture and fundamental pillars where we are focusing our investment in the development of new solutions. After evaluating and verifying the effectiveness of the MustGrow technology in different crops with different application techniques, we are very glad to take a step forward in the collaboration with MustGrow.″

″We expect to strengthen this collaboration to accelerate the development to make this safe and effective tool available to farmers as soon as possible for a more sustainable agriculture,″ said Marcos Mares, Head of Global Business Development in Sumitomo Corporation AgriScience Department.

MUSTGROW COMMENT

″We are very excited to have Sumitomo Corporation commit to the next stage of our agreement. Considering that close to 45% of the global food is produced in North, Central and South America, it is critical to continue to innovate and develop technologies like ours,″ said Corey Giasson, MustGrow’s President & CEO. ″Having an organization like Sumitomo Corporation demonstrate the benefits in field and commit to move forward with our technologies is a great step to providing a sustainable solution for farmers globally.″

Source 1 – https://www.marketsandmarkets.com/Market-Reports/crop-protection-380.html