October’s ABIM was the 16th edition and it attracted nearly 1,000 participants from 44 countries, say the organisers, with the TV-style panel discussion, including short video clips and interactions with an international audience, available to those in the audience and live online.

The keynote addresses came from Christiane Lambert, COPA president for European farmers, who explored ‘The role of biocontrol in the transformation of agriculture’, and Edouard Lehmann, research and innovation manager at COLEACP, who addressed ‘Biocontrol: opportunities and challenges in tropical horticulture’.

The panel discussion brought together international experts to address three key topics for the biocontrol industry:

• What is the role of biocontrol in transforming agriculture?
• How can we speed up market access for biocontrol?
• How do we ensure that the value chain understands the contribution of biocontrol to their environmental, social and governance objectives?

The Bernard Blum Award is named after one of the founding fathers of the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association who served as an IBMA scientific representative in the original ENDURE Network of Excellence and sadly passed away in 2014.

The winning product in the 2021 Bernard Blum Award for biocontrol innovation went to the BioPersi+ Classic/Speed Sachet from BioBee Sde Eliyahu. This is a product that releases spider mite predators in greenhouses and, with the addition of slow-release sachets, can be applied preventively for consistent results in the protection of crops such as tomatoes, peppers and aubergines.

The winner of the new category ‘Best Innovative product assisting biocontrol uptake’ was Bioline Agrosciences’ T-Booster. The T-Booster makes it possible to mechanically place T-PROTECT® diffusers of Trichogramma  wasps in maize crops using a quad bike or tractor. Up to 30 hectares can be covered per hour.

For more information:

• Read more about ABIM 2021 here
• Watch the ABIM videos here