Davis, California, USA
September 27, 2010
Growing awareness of looming population growth and the need to increase productivity and sustainability of agricultural practices around the world are creating markets for technologies that minimize the impact of agriculture on the envrionment, so say leaders of AgraQuest Inc., a California-based biopesticide manufacturer revolutionizing food production.
On September 14 at Agriculture 2.0 - Global Markets held in New York, AgraQuest CEO Marcus Meadows-Smith highlighted the need for innovative approaches to producing food. The event showcased entrepreneurs who are working to solve some of the greatest problems facing the world’s food system. Meadows-Smith detailed the “low chem” production approach advocated by AgraQuest.
“Growers use biopesticides in concert with the best synthetic pesticides to maintain the high yields needed to feed our growing planet and to reduce the chemical load on the environment, on farm workers and on the eventual food product,” said Meadows-Smith.
At the Opportunity Green Business Conference held in Los Angeles a week later, Ashish Malik, AgraQuest’s Senior VP of Marketing also emphasized the difficulties faced by growers who must produce more food from a limited pool of resources.
Malik challenged meeting particpants, “Food is our most basic need. We must find a way to balance the need to increase food production for our growing population while we safeguard or even improve the environment.”
Malik went on to highlight the triple bottom line potential of biopesticides and “low chem” agriculture, “By improving the way we grow food, we can deliver social, ecological and economic profit.”
AgraQuest estimates the market for these innovative technologies for agriculture will grow to $10-20 billion in the coming years.
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