Bee Vectoring Is Ushering In A New Era Of Crop Protection

Disseminated on behalf of: Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.

Ashish Malik, President & CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. BEE BEVVF, highlights the company's latest developments with its seed treatment applications and what that means for potential commercial opportunities.

Jim Gordon 

– Hi, I am Jim Gordon and you’re watching MarketOne Minute. Joining us is Ashish Malik. He’s the CEO of Bee Vectoring Technologies International. Ashish, welcome. 

Ashish Malik 

– Thank you Jim. Very glad to be here. 

Jim Gordon 

– Great to have you, sir. Okay, let’s talk about BVT and the seed treatment market. 

Ashish Malik 

– Yes, so BVT is all about precision application, and most people know us through our Bee Vectoring Business, where we use bees to deliver biological control agents in a very targeted way to the flowers of crops. So, like that, seed treatment is also a precision application. We are replacing big broadcast sprays of chemical fungicides and insecticides by delivering biological control agents directly onto the seed before the seed gets planted. And through that process we can help the soybeans grow healthier and help them fight different stresses that they may face as they continue to develop and grow. 

Jim Gordon 

– And tell us about BVT’s strategy in this market and what is the significance of your developments? 

Ashish Malik

– Yeah, so in seed treatment, our initial focus is on soybeans. So, that’s the crop that we’re initially focusing on. Seed treatment is a somewhat specialized market. So you need to have particular knowledge and expertise around seed treatment techniques and equipment that’s used. Also, compatibility with other products that are put onto the seed. The agronomics of the soybean plant itself, how it grows. And very importantly, and I would say most importantly, you needed to have access to the market, right? So you need to know who the seed companies are that make soybean seeds and have some sort of a relationship with them. So, our strategy in seed treatment is to develop our technology to a point where we can be a technology provider to an established player. What’s exciting is that seed treatment is not something that we had initially thought about when BVT was formed in our early years. So this is a new opportunity that has emerged for us in the last few years. 

Jim Gordon 

– And Ashish, talk to us about the opportunity for BVT. 

Ashish Malik 

– Yeah, so soybeans are a big crop. So they’re one of the four biggest crops grown worldwide along with corn and wheat and rice. There are about 320 million acres of soybeans that are planted worldwide. 70% of them are planted in three countries, US, Brazil, and Argentina. And we estimate that about 80% of soybeans that are planted actually get a seed treatment coating already. So it’s a great opportunity for us. It’s one where if we can show that we have a fit, that there’s an exciting revenue potential. There are about $800 million in established seed treatment markets for soybeans. It’s also a market where the big multinationals get excited, right? So this is not a marginal crop. This is big, big business, multi-billion dollar business when you add seeds and crop protection together for soybeans. So it’s an opportunity that not only is a big crop, but also gets us on the radar of the bigger ag companies. 

Jim Gordon 

– And finally, what is next for BVT? 

Ashish Malik 

– Yeah, so you know, we need to keep doing what we’re doing, right? So we need to complete all the development work around seed safety, compatibility, and compatibility with other products that are using seed treatment. We also have to entice partners to do field trials. Particularly interested, I am personally interested in seeing how our system would work in the southern hemisphere in Brazil and Argentina ’cause we already got good data from field trials in the US. So you know, we need to keep doing what we are doing, but we also have to present these findings to potential partners to do more field work and ultimately get to that commercial agreement. The great news is that we are demonstrating that we have a right to play. So it’s all about getting that agreement or relationship with a couple of companies to then get to the market. 

Jim Gordon

– Ashish, thanks for joining us. 

Ashish Malik 

– Alright Jim, thank you for having me. 

ABOUT BEE VECTORING TECHNOLOGIES INTERNATIONAL INC.: 

Bee Vectoring BEE BEVVF, an agriculture technology company, is a market disruptor with a significant global market opportunity in the $240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market. Learn more about them on their website here.

This post was authored by an external contributor and does not represent Benzinga’s opinions and has not been edited for content. This contains sponsored content and is for informational purposes only and not intended to be investing advice.