MustGrow receives USDA organic approval for biological fertilizer and soil amendment technology

Date:11-01-2023

MustGrow Biologics Corp. (TSXV:MGRO) (OTC:MGROF) (FRA:0C0) (the ″Company″ or ″MustGrow″) announced receipt of organic compliance certification from the USDA National Organic Program for its TerraSante™ crop fertilizer and soil amendment technology. TerraSante™ is now OMRI Listed^® in the following Generic Material Listing(s): NOP: Plant Extracts, Class: Crop Fertilizers and Soil Amendments.

The organic certification from Organic Materials Review Institute (″OMRI″) (www.omri.org) may provide an opportunity for farmers to reduce synthetic chemical and fertilizer use while meeting growing market demand for organic biological products. The OMRI approval process includes a strict review of product ingredient composition and observance of manufacturing compliance standards required in organic production. Pending final registration of product approval from U.S. state agencies, TerraSante™ will be marketed with the legend ″OMRI listed for organic use″.

″We believe that organic compliance is a major milestone towards commercializing TerraSante™″ commented MustGrow’s COO, Colin Bletsky. ″Agriculture needs new organic innovations to support food production and this organic certification further supports our belief that MustGrow’s technologies could be impactful. The key U.S. agricultural regions are under constant pressure to eliminate or reduce synthetic products, so natural, OMRI certified technologies, like TerraSante™, have great promise for commercial-scale adoption.″

MustGrow believes this soil amendment and biofertility initiative will complement its existing biocontrol programs in preplant soil fumigation, postharvest food preservation, and bioherbicide, which are currently under development with four global partners: Janssen PMP, Bayer, Sumitomo Corporation, and NexusBioAg. These four partnered programs continue to achieve performance milestones and expand globally in scope and investment.

TerraSante™ for Soil and Ecological Health

MustGrow’s soil amendment and biofertility development programs will focus on soil and soil microbiome health, nutrient and water use efficiencies, and plant yields. Initially, the development work is anticipated to progress in Washington, Idaho, Oregon, California and Arizona, before expanding nationwide across the United States.

Soil is a farmer’s most valuable and precious asset, and MustGrow’s plant-based technologies are being developed with the intention to improve not only the health of the soil, but also the surrounding ecological environment.

As a soil amendment in mixable form, TerraSante™ contains nutritious plant proteins and carbohydrates that feed soil microbes, potentionally improving beneficial microbial activity and ensuring long-term sustainable soil health. These targeted micro-communities have been shown to work to improve nutrient availability, which can potentially increase plant vigor and yields, while reducing plant stress. TerraSante™ has the potential to improve crop nutrient uptake and, hence, overall crop performance. There are no artificial additives or preservatives used during its manufacturing.

MustGrow expects to initially pursue TerraSante™ branded registrations in North America for soil amendment applications, followed by formulations and brands targeting the biofertility markets. The soil amendment and biofertility products will utilize multiple technologies derived from novel plant-based extracts from mustard and potentially other sources.

Soil Amendment and Biofertility Marketplace

The global fertilizer market is anticipated to reach US$242 billion by 2030, up from US$193 billion in 2021 (2.5% CAGR).⁽¹⁾ This aggregate fertilizer figure includes the following sub-markets, which MustGrow intends to target initially with TerraSante™ and potentially other branded products:

• Soil amendment: estimated market size in 2022 was US$3.5 billion and is expected to be US$8.0 billion by 2030 (11.0% CAGR).⁽²⁾

• Biofertility: estimated market size in 2021 was US$2.7 billion and is estimated to be US$7.0 billion by 2030 (12.3% CAGR).⁽³⁾

Combined, these additional market segments have the potential to add over US$15 billion of target market opportunity globally for MustGrow by 2030, which is almost double from the initially targeted infield biocontrol market.⁽¹⁾

Alternatives to Synthetic Fertilizers are Needed

With the world’s population expanding, agriculture production and global food security are increasingly important. Fertilizers continue to play a critical role in agriculture, yet plans to reduce their use have been amplified in recent years to minimize the negative consequences of climate change through emission reduction strategies. Canada, for example, has set a voluntary national fertilizer emissions reduction target of 30% below 2020 levels by 2030 to lower greenhouse gas emissions.⁽²⁾ Sustainable, climate-friendly solutions may play a role in helping to offset this reduction while balancing the nation’s economic health. For example, Canada’s fertilizer industry directly and indirectly supports over 76,000 jobs and contributes nearly C$13 billion to Canadian GDP.⁽²⁾

The European Green Deal is targeting a 20% reduction in fertilizer use by 2030, while also ensuring no deterioration in soil fertility, as part of the European Commission’s aim to reduce nutrient losses by at least 50% by 2030.⁽³⁾ Fertilizer reduction is a key element of the broader Green Deal target of a minimum 55% net reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2030.⁽⁴⁾

Soil amendment and biofertifility innovations, such as MustGrow’s TerraSante™ technology, could provide a key agricultural solution to the combined effects of fertilizer reduction targets alongside the need to increase farm production, farm profitability, economic growth and global food security.

Source:

1. Statista, Fortune Business, Polaris Market Research.

2. https://fertilizercanada.ca/our-focus/stewardship/emissions-reduction-initiative/

3. https://agriculture.ec.europa.eu/system/files/2022-02/factsheet-farmtofork-comparison-table_en_0.pdf

4. https://commission.europa.eu/strategy-and-policy/priorities-2019-2024/european-green-deal_en