Vancouver agri-tech firm Terramera is launching a new biopesticide in the U.S., following its approval last month by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
Terramera can now sell its SOCORO biopesticide in the U.S. SOCORO is a broad-spectrum biologic pesticide made from natural agents that can be used against fungus, mites and insects by both organic farmers and conventional growers of soybean, corn, and row crops
"We are thrilled to launch SOCORO, a new biologic solution for row crop growers that offers broad-spectrum control in a single application, " said Matthew Dahabieh, Terramera’s head of green chemistry solutions. “SOCORO is the next step in our journey to realizing the impact of biologics in agriculture.”
SOCORO is not approved in Canada, as the company has not yet bothered to apply to Environment Canada for approval, a company spokesperson confirmed. Canada's market is simply not big enough to warrant the cost of going through Canadian regulatory approval process first.
"We have a robust regulatory system in Canada that sometimes means that the cost to get regulatory approval exceeds your -- at least in the early days -- market size," explained Kim Haakstad, Terramera's vice president of stakeholder relations.
Terramera already previously got approval for its RANGO product, which is similar to the SOCORO bio-pesticide, but for a more limited range of crops.
SOCORO is made from neem oil, which is derived from a tree that grows in India, as well as other “bio-actives" designed to fight various plant diseases and pests.
One advantage that a bio-pesticide like SOCORO has over conventional chemical pesticides is that it reduces the re-entry time for farm workers.
Whereas farm workers may not be able to work on crops that have been treated with a chemical pesticide for 24 to 48 hours, they can work on crops treated with SOCORO in as little as four hours, Haakstad said.
In addition to making bio-pesticides, Terramera also developed a soil enrichment platform called enrichAG, which it is spinning out into a new subsidiary, thanks to $6 million in financing secured from At One Ventures at the beginning of this year.
