Bee Vectoring Technologies Announces Trials in Spain with Agrobio SL and Funded by Major EU Initiative
Mississauga, Ontario and Sacramento, California--(Newsfile Corp. - February 15, 2024) - Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc. (CSE: BEE) (OTCQB: BEVVF) (CVE: BEE) (the "Company" or "BVT") is pleased to announce Agrobo SL commenced trials of BVT's natural precision agriculture system in December. The trial is a part of Agrobo's participation in the EU-funded ADOPT-IPM project, which is part of the European Commission's Horizon Research and Innovations Actions (Horizon RIA), a major initiative intended to boost the EU's growth and competitiveness in areas such as tackling climate change.
The ADOPT-IPM project is an EU-China joint action that will optimise existing Integrated Pest Management (IPM) tools and packages and develop new ones. It will foster stakeholder adoption by surveying what they currently use, what they need, and conducting trials and demonstrations of new tools with industrial partners.
"The inclusion of the BVT technique for assessment as an IPM tool in the EU-funded ADOPT-IPM project provides this technology with extended exposure to a major audience," said Ashish Malik, CEO of BVT. "We will have access to agriculture industry players throughout the EU and China, which aligns with BVT's multi-pronged strategy to fast-track entry into key markets."
Agrobo is a bio-factory that produces beneficial insects for pest control and bumblebees for natural pollination. Founded in 1995 in Almera, Spain, Agrobo has pioneered Spanish bumblebee production and grown into a multinational business supplying growers across Europe, Morocco and Turkey.
The Agrobo trial is being conducted in greenhouse tomato crops in Spain, measuring the BVT system compared to traditional standard spray programs for efficacy in combating Botrytis (gray mold). It is using BVT's VectorHive system for bumblebees and proprietary Vectorite with CR-7 biofungicide. The trial will last until the end of the tomato crop cycle, which is approximately eight to ten months.
Spain is one of the largest fruit and vegetable producers in Europe and represents the largest market for bee vectoring in the EU. The country has a strong horticultural market that includes berries, tomatoes and stone fruits, grown outdoors and in greenhouses. Vegetable production in Spain reached about 16.39 million tons in 2021, an increase of about 1.21 million tons over 2020.(1) In 2021, there were over 400,000 hectares devoted to vegetable farming in Spain.(2)
"We are excited to showcase the benefits of the BVT system through the ADOPT-IPM project," said Enric Vila Rif, Head of Research at Agrobo. "The trial will show successful adoption of IPM and measure BVT's efficacy. We will combine BVT for the best control of Botrytis and foliar disease with Agrobio's innovative russet mite and Tuta absoluta insect control technologies, and our intention is to build a platform for bringing this novel biological solution to large markets in Spain and beyond."
"After successful trials and EU registration, we plan to explore a commercial agreement with Agrobo," said Christoph Lehnen, BVT Business Manager for Europe, Africa and Middle East. "Adding the proprietary BVT system to Agrobo's suite of products enhances the value of what they can offer their customers beyond pollination solutions."
(1)(2) Source: Agencia EFE and Knowledge Sourcing Intelligence
About Bee Vectoring Technologies International Inc.
BVT, an agriculture technology company, is a market disruptor with a significant global market opportunity in the $240 billion crop protection and fertilizer market. BVT has pioneered a natural precision agriculture system that replaces chemical pesticides and wasteful plant protection product spray applications by delivering biological pesticide alternatives to crops using commercially grown bees. BVT's award-winning technology, precision vectoring, is completely harmless to bees and allows minute amounts of naturally-derived pesticides (called biologicals) to be delivered directly to blooms, providing improved crop protection and yield results than traditional chemical pesticides - and improving the health of the soil, the microbiome and the environment. Currently, BVT has over 55 granted patents, many more patents pending in all major agricultural countries worldwide and has US EPA registration of its Vectorite™ with CR-7 (EPA Registration No. 90641-2) for sale as a registered biological fungicide for use on the labeled crops.
Additional information can be viewed at the Company's website www.beevt.com. To receive regular news updates from the Company, subscribe at www.beevt.com/newsletter.
BVT Company Contact:
Ashish Malik, President & CEO, BVT
info@beevt.com
BVT Investor Contacts:
Babak Pedram
Virtus Advisory Group
Tel: 416-646-6779
bpedram@virtusadvisory.com