The World BioProtection Forum (WBF) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Sharda University, under which both parties have committed to working together to help advance the biocontrol sector.

Biological solutions for the control of agricultural pests and diseases present a fast-growing segment of AgriTech, and they offer a safe and sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides. The WBF strives to connect industry and academia within the bioprotection/biocontrol sector, with a view to nurturing scientific and technological innovations and maximising their commercial potential.

The WBF and University’s shared interests in collaboration and advancing sustainable agriculture led them to enter into an engagement whereby WBF would encourage opportunities for students and young researchers at the University to understand how the biocontrol industry works, the different environments in industry and academia, and how collaboration between industry and academia can be unanimously beneficial.

The MOU was signed during a ceremony taking place at the recent World Bioprotection Summit-India (WBS-India), held on 1st December 2022. Co-organised by the WBF and Sharda University, the event itself marked the first collaboration of the two organisations, as it welcomed students, academics, industry experts and policy makers from across India and the rest of the world, to discuss challenges and opportunities in biocontrol.

Dr Minshad Ansari, Chairman of the WBF, said “It is an honour to formalise the relationship between the WBF and our colleagues at Sharda University with this signing. Academic institutions are the source of many great innovations, but the path to commercialising those ideas is often not clear. If we can encourage more young researchers to share their solutions for sustainable agriculture, and if we can connect those brilliant minds with the right people in industry to take them forward, the biocontrol sector will advance more rapidly, providing more of the sustainable solutions that we need, more quickly.”

The MOU is consistent with the WBF’s belief in Innovation through Collaboration. The organisation is founded on the principle that collaboration between the biocontrol industry and academia in the AgriTech sector will connect different stakeholders who can work together to ensure the successful development and commercialisation of biocontrol products.