Village Farms International Facilitates Approval of Novel New Crop Protectant by US EPA

– Application of New Innoculant at Texas Greenhouse Operations Could Increase Production Yields by 5 to 10% –  

VANCOUVER, Oct. 15, 2018 /CNW/ - Village Farms International, Inc. ("Village Farms" or the "Company") (TSX:VFF) (OTCQX:VFFIF) today announced that it has facilited the approval by both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) of a novel new crop protectant, Pepino mosaic virus, strain CH2, isolate 1906, which the Company facilitated on behalf of its Belgium-based developer, De Ceuster Meststoffen NV (DCM).  The new innoculant, branded PMV-01®, is a mild form of the Pepino mosaic tomato plant virus (PepMV) and protects greenhouse tomatoes against aggressive forms of that same plant virus through cross-protection, which is a plant defense mechanism against viral infections. 

"For nearly two decades, Village Farms has been the North American leader in facilitating the registration of new, better and safer pesticides to meet the unique needs of greenhouse vegetable crop protection, vastly improving the yield and quality not only of our own crops but also those of the entire hydroponic vegetable greenhouse industry," said Michael DeGiglio, CEO, Village Farms.  "We are immensely proud to have led the charge in facilitating well more than 150 greenhouse crop protectant approvals, including virtually every greenhouse crop protectant registrered in the U.S."

Facilitation of the PMV-01® registriation was led by Dr. Michael Bledsoe, Village Farms' Vice President of Food Safety and Regulatory Affairs, a renowned expert and advocate for the research and registration of greenhouse crop protectants, who, nearly 20 years ago, with the full support of the Company, pioneered the approval and use of pesticides and innoculants through the Inter-Regional Research Project Number 4 (IR-4) Project (a federally funded organization that conducts research necessary for obtaining crop protectant registrations), which works in partnership with the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the EPA and various industry organizations.

The application of PMV-01® at the Company's greenhouse operations in Texas could increase production yields by as much as 5% to 10%.