Ask APH: Episode 4

So both manufacturers and distributors have a challenge to support the growth in the biostimulant industry just because of the rate of growth is so large. We have to consider the ag chem input industry is worth over $200 billion dollars. And a lot of it is based on chemistries that won’t be available anymore. So biostimulants have to take up a big space of that value. Which means large manufacturing and large distribution capabilities. So for manufacturers, the need is really for planning to scale operations to meet demand. Investment and capacity, secure and procurement of source materials, they’re all going to be critical in transitioning an industry to a much more let’s say core level.

There also needs to be a level of confidence from an investment community perspective, particularly around start-ups. There’s few biostimulants that are well-proven and capable to match these challenges. And those will be the ones that actually succeed here. But start-ups need a lot more investment to help them cope with the ability to supply to large volume demands.

From a distribution perspective it’s a bit different. So really distributors need to invest in the transition from a Technical Support perspective. Biological products, particularly biostimulants, don’t work the same way as conventional crop protection or fertilizers so there needs to be a large investment in the education for growers from distribution and distribution needs to be able to understand the value propositions of the products and then the correct use of those products to get better performance.