“We’ve had some fantastic feedback on the event, which is the fifth edition of the Congress. It was wonderful to see the biostimulants industry meet in-person and continue the work of exchanging knowledge and pushing forwards this exciting area of agriculture,” Naomi Brooker, Portfolio Director, told New AG International.
Despite the current difficulties with travel, the in-person event brought together a conference programme and exhibition. The Congress is the world’s leading scientific forum for biostimulants and featured 50+ speakers. The scientific committee, co-chaired by Professors Patrick Brown (UC, Davis) and Patrick du Jardin (University of Liège, Belgium), distilled the programme from 300 abstract submissions. Running concurrently was the commercial track featuring presentations related to business development.
New AG International, with co-operation from EBIC, welcomed delegates from 40+ countries to the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida.
There was a scientific poster exhibition, with a total of 92 on display. The winner of the poster competition was Stefano Ambrosini, PhD student at the University of Verona, Italy, and he was awarded a cheque for $500.
There were two other awards. Valagro sponsored a Farmer Award to showcase the use of biostimulants by farmers around the world. A panel of judges came to the decision that the winner for this year’s award was Valdivia Sousa, from Agricola Famosa S/A in Brazil.
There was the Innovation Award on Day One , which went to Agri Technovation for their Picklogger tool and on Day Two it went to Verdesian Life Sciences for their biostimulant technology. Runners up included Plant di Tech and Innovak Global, with both companies receiving recognition.
New AG International, with co-operation from the European Biostimulants Industry Council ( EBIC ), welcomed delegates from 40+ countries to the Diplomat Hotel in Hollywood, Florida. On the first day of the event, a workshop was held on how to market biostimulants by Mike DeSa (AGD Consulting) and Barrett Sydnor (Syndor & Associates), with assistance from Carmela Pérez Calleja and Thiago Rodrigues Pozzobon. The session, which was over-subscribed and attended by more than 40 delegates, was a new addition to the event.
EBIC shared the following reflections on the 5th BSWC:
"Despite constraints and logistical difficulties imposed by covid, the 2021 Biostimulants World Congress was an undoubted success. Everyone was delighted to meet again after two years of social distancing. The science and innovation were probably at the highest level of any of the world congresses yet. It was exciting to see the new products being launched with advanced technologies as well as the innovative approaches being taken to research and development. At the same time, Patrick Brown’s keynote reminded us how complicated the interactions are in the domain of plant nutrition and soil fertility. The science underpinning plant biostimulants and making sure that industry delivers reliable products is getting stronger every year."
A Virtual programme ran 6-7 December, and was the first time the event had a digital component. The Congress had circumvented the disruption of 2020, owing to it being a biannual event and was last held in November 2019, in Barcelona.
“We knew some of our clients would not be able to attend the live event, so we wanted to offer them an opportunity to attend virtually. We decided to run a bespoke digital programme that would also provide additional value to those delegates who attended the in-person event,” Brooker added. ●
The organisers of the BSWC are looking forward to taking the event to Portugal in 2023.
