EAS Group – Contributing to the development of sustainable agricultural practices
In recent years, a number of significant sustainability strategies have emerged on a global scale, such as the EU Green Deal and The Long-Term Strategy of the United States. Largely in response to the Paris Agreement, these strategies are designed to achieve the goals of that agreement and offset a broad range of challenging issues.
A major focus of global food production will be characterized by sustainable agricultural practices.
It is no secret that today, we face many challenges - one of them is the ability to produce healthy food, enough for a growing global population, in a sustainable manner. Eurofins Agroscience Services is part of the solution, providing a complete portfolio of services for seeds and crop health, globally.
In partnership with our clients, we support product development and innovation in the area of Seeds, Crop Protection, Farming Practices and post-Harvest Management tools.
Contributing to sustainable agricultural practice by providing scientific evidence as a basis for well-informed decision making, we support agrochemical manufacturers, seed and fertilizer producers, regulatory authorities and the communities they represent, working with synthetic pesticides, biological products, ag-tech, seeds and more, at all stages of the product life cycle.
In recent years, the industry has witnessed a real shift towards the development of biological crop protection solutions known as ‘bio-solutions’, which use natural substances and microorganisms rather than synthetic alternatives. The effects and modes of action are different to those of traditional chemistry, and need to be assessed and evaluated in different ways – we have consistently matched these changing needs, ensuring specialists are fully equipped and ready to deal with these important new products that impact our environment on a much lesser scale compared to chemical alternatives.
Hugely important is the regulatory aspect of registering any new product, including those derived from biological substances. Playing an active role in the regulatory science community, we contribute to the establishment of regulatory guidelines, and proactively support ag-tech start-ups, assessing their new technologies and helping their development.
One of EAS Groups Regulatory Experts comments, “With a burst of R&D in the bio-solutions sector, we are seeing that regulatory support is a crucial success factor through all stages of the process.
We are dedicated to being a reliable, cost effective partner for innovative start-ups developing such products, during the preparation of their funding requests and initial steps of the R&D process, both for biological active substances as well as for bio-stimulants.
In 2022, strategic regulatory advice and technical expertise was provided for several new biological active substances during various stages of the approval process. In addition, industries outside our core ag-sector appreciate regulatory support when trying to find sustainable end-of-life options for some of their waste products.”
Additionally, there is growing global acknowledgement that the use of synthetic pesticides must be reduced wherever possible. Whilst they have helped to multiply food production over the last century to provide food security for as many people as possible, the Agroscience industry, and general population, realise that this must be achieved in a sustainable way.
Eurofins Agroscience Services work with many organisations to measure the short and long-term impacts of agrochemicals on biodiversity, the environment and human health. We evaluate ways to reduce usage of these products; re-assessing mix levels to minimise the quantity of chemical diluent mix used, developing precision agriculture techniques using ag-tech and aerial drones, improving pesticide delivery methods such as use of nanotechnology as a Pesticide Delivery System (PDS), spot spraying and the use of robotics in farming are just a few examples.
Also significant is the movement towards improving soil health as a sustainable, long term investment in our own environment. Robust soil health means better crop health, higher yields and increased natural resistance to pests. We work with international partners to deliver functional soil analysis, offering crop specific data-driven insights on what soil really needs to be healthy, demonstrating our commitment towards a more sustainable future for agricultural practices.
Effective land management practices and crop diversification also contribute to preserve soil quality. Our seed experts help speed up new genetic introductions, for instance in pulse crops which can fix nitrogen in soil, and in cover crops to improve soil structure through root systems and encouraging water infiltration. Through collaboration with an industry partner, we can further accelerate the introgression of new, high-value native traits into plant varieties and growers’ fields.
Pest and disease control as part of wider Integrated Crop Management is vital now more than ever to help achieve global food security - for families today and generations of the future. The ability to conserve and enhance natural resources while producing food on an economically viable and sustainable foundation is based on a good understanding of the interactions between biology, environment and land management systems.
Our aim is to provide the industry in which we operate with all the technical support needed to screen and develop, register and steward new and existing products and traits around the world.
