Feeding an estimated global population of 9.1 billion people in 2050 requires raising overall food production by 70% between 2005/07 and 2050. The increasing global demand for food forces the agriculture sector to heavily use fertilizers and pesticides for increasing crop protection and productivity. Since this use is unsustainable and irreparably damages the environment and humans, there is a demand for developing cost-efficient, high-performing and eco-friendly biostimulants. Worth around US$393M in 2020, the North American biostimulant market is estimated to be growing annually by 11.29% and will surpass US$4B by 2025. This project will use -omics technologies to lower manufacturing costs and drive commercialization of BioSun’s innovative biostimulant, based on newly identified biologically active compounds (lipopeptides) from Bacillus velenzensis strain OB9 encapsulated in halloysite nanoclay (nOB9). When tested in yellow beans and tomato, the Canadian-made biostimulant prototype showed improved productivity under field conditions. The aim is to introduce this new product to the Canadian market, starting with Québec and Ontario, ultimately helping to lower Canada’s carbon footprint and increasing its share of global agri-markets.
Receptor Leader/Organization: Jamil Samsatly (BioSun Products Inc.)