Asia Biologicals Platform accelerates rollout with 3 key crop programs in rice, cassava and cocoa

The Asia Biologicals Platform has moved into deployment with its first three crop programs in Southeast Asia, covering rice, cassava and cocoa, according to an announcement reported by Global Agriculture on September 22.

The three crops were chosen as deliberately different starting points: rice as Asia’s main staple, cassava as a major industrial crop, and cocoa as a globally traded value chain. The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) and CABI serve as scientific and institutional partners. Thai Wah Public Company Limited, Mars and Salim’s agrochemicals division join as crop deployment partners, bringing production, commercialization and distribution perspectives.

The Asia Biologicals Platform tries to fix a common weakness in biological inputs: products are often validated in isolation, with commercialization considered only later. Instead, the platform brings scientists, farmers and industry together around defined agronomic problems from the start. Joshua Soo, co-founder of Agrifood Futures, said the aim is to generate evidence that can be compared across countries and production environments, so each deployment is better informed than the last.

For nutrient and biostimulant suppliers, comparable multi-country data could lower one of the main barriers to adoption in Asia: inconsistent performance claims. Programs like this also build on product-level launches such as BioWorks’ BioRain Ax microbial inoculant. The platform has not disclosed funding levels, trial sites or which biological products will be tested.

Source: Global Agriculture