Page 8 - Vol.40-No.4 issue

CROP PROTECTION

African Development Bank advocates for Aristech scaling,

the African Development Bank Group izer: how the debt crisis affects food and
will leverage its deep expertise and con- farm inputs markets in Africa. The session
vening power to highlight the crucial role will focus on tackling the challenge of
of agricultural technologies, fertilizer and
healthy soils in driving sustainable agricul- building resilience in food systems against
tural growth at the Africa Fertilizer and Soil financial shocks.
Health Summit in Nairobi.
As part of its Feed Africa strategy to
Representing Bank Group President Dr. boost yields and build resilience, the Afri-
Akinwumi A. Adesina, Vice President for food self-sufficiency born out of the Dakar can Development Bank is committed to en-
Agriculture, Human and Social Develop- 2 Feed Africa Summit held in January 2023.
ment Dr. Beth Dunford will lead a delega- Dunford will also provide opening re- suring African farmers have access to the
tion of agriculture, agribusiness, fertilizer marks at a 7 May side event jointly orga- inputs they need, including fertilizer and
and partnership specialists to the summit. nized by the Bank Group, the African Union high-quality seeds.
The event will explore solutions to wide- and the United States Department of State.
spread declines in farmland soil quality This side event, titled, Advancing the Soil Dr. Martin Fregene, the Bank’s Director
and build consensus on an African Fertil- Initiative for Africa through the Vision for for Agriculture and Agro-Industry, said,
izer and Soil Health Action Plan. “The importance of fertilizer financing in
Adapted Crops and Soils will showcase the
More than 1,500 participants from strategic and developing relationship be- achieving our shared aspirations cannot
across Africa, including Heads of State tween the African Development Bank and be overstated. The Africa Fertilizer and Soil
and Ministers, are expected to attend. the U.S.-led Vision for Adapted Crops and Health Summit presents another opportu-
Soils (VACS), a movement to build resilient
Dunford will speak during a side event food systems grounded in diverse, nutri- nity to advance our collective goals - bridg-
titled “Dakar 2 - the State of African Fertil- tious and climate-adapted crops grown in ing the supply gap of fertilizers in Africa
izer and Soil Health: Policy, Governance, healthy, fertile soils. VACS is aligned with and contributing to a flourishing agricul-
and Institutional Framework to Acceler- the Bank’s Technologies for African Agricul- tural landscape.”
ate Country Food and Agriculture Delivery tural Transformation (TAAT) initiative. TAAT
Compacts.” Organized by the Leadership delivers heat-tolerant, drought-resistant Dr. Fregene will speak at the Bank’s Da-
for Agriculture network, a partnership of and other climate-smart certified seeds kar 2-themed side event, as well as the
the African Development Bank, the Bill & to millions of Africa’s smallholder farmers Healthy Soils for Food System Transfor-
Melinda Gates Foundation, and the Rock- to produce 120 million additional tons of
efeller Foundation, the session will bring food in Africa and lift 130 million people mation event. He will also make a presen-
together representatives of agricultural out of poverty. tation at another session organized by
ministries, the private sector, and other the Sasakawa Africa Foundation and the
stakeholders to showcase successful ef- Bank Director for Agricultural Finance African Forum for Agricultural Advisory
forts by Ethiopia and Mali to scale soil and Rural Development, Richard Ofori- Service on Achieving Resilient Agri-Food
health interventions, raise crop produc- Mante and Africa Fertilizer Financing
tivity and bolster rural livelihoods. It will Mechanism (AFFM) Coordinator Marie Systems through Regenerative Agriculture
advance the implementation of Food and Claire Kalihangabo will participate in the in the Wake of Global Fertilizer Crises and
Agriculture Delivery Compacts to achieve summit side event Finance, food and fertil- Climate Change. Circle 5 on enquiry card

Bayer Aims to Launch First Bioinsecticide for Arable Crops
Via new agreement with AlphaBio Con- ture crops, where their cost can be o#set by
trol, Bayer gains exclusive rights to market consumer-supported price premiums, arable
the !rst ever biological insecticide which will crops require solutions that can be applied
help farmers control pests in arable crops / cost-e#ectively at larger scale in order to
Product is expected to launch in 2028 be competitive. Bayer’s systems approach,
Bayer announced that it has signed an which combines various solutions, will help
agreement with UK-based company Alpha- to maximize the cost e$ciencies of this new
Bio Control to secure an exclusive license for product by including it in a digitally-support-
a new biological insecticide. The new prod- ed integrated pest management system.
uct will be the !rst available for arable crops, out the growing season and even cause “With increasingly strong demand from
including oilseed rape and cereals. seedling death. The beetle is widespread in farmers and changing consumer preferenc-
the United Kingdom and throughout much
“Farmers need innovative new solutions of Europe, and damage caused by adult CSFB es, we see major growth potential for biolog-
as they seek to continue to feed a growing feeding gives rise to ‘shot-holing’ symptoms ical crop protections like this one,” said Ralf
population, overcome the impacts of climate which a#ect young plants and early leaves, Glaubitz, Head of Global Asset Management
change, and meet enhanced safety and sus- for Seed Growth & Biologics at Bayer’s Crop
tainability standards,” said Benoit Hartmann, resulting in stunted growth and poor plant Science Division. “We’re working to outgrow
Head of Biologics at Bayer’s Crop Science health. the market and achieve more than 1.5 billion
Division. “Biocontrols are a perfect !t to our “We are delighted to license Bayer exclu- euro in biological sales by 2035. That’s only
approach to scaling regenerative agriculture, sive rights to our latest bioinsecticide which going to happen if we innovate to solve the
and we’re excited to work to bring a new will signi!cantly improve the choices avail- challenges that farmers face in all !elds.”
biological crop protection option to farmers able to arable farmers wishing to reduce the The as-yet-unnamed biological insecticide
that can be used for arable crops.” environmental impact of food production,” will also be a supporting part of Bayer's com-
The new bioinsecticide has potential for said Marta Ruiz, General Manager for Alpha- mitment to help reduce the environmental
use against coleoptera insects like the cab- Bio Control.” impact of crop protection products by 30
bage stem "ea beetle (CSFB), a pest insect While many biological options are avail- percent by 2030 without negatively impact-
that can damage oilseed rape crops through- able for high-value vegetable and horticul- ing crop yields and health. Circle 6 on enquiry card
6 Vol. 40 No. 4