Hello folks,

As they say, time flies. We are already into the third quarter of 2024, and budget planning and achieving yearly goals is the focus. It is
heartening to see that overall agriculture and Agri input business led by MNCs is recovering lost the grounds.
In this editorial, I wish to share my heartfelt gratitude for Global BioAg Linkages’ (GBL) selfless lifelong supporters, mentors and patrons
who continue to dedicate their lives to Sustainable farming Practices by including BioAg Inputs. Thank you, Giuseppe Natale, Antonio Zem,
Pam Marrone, Peter Maes, Karel Bolckmans, Jesús Yáñez, Ms. Ma, Adrian Percy, Giuseppe Colla, Luca Bonini and Suresh K Malhotra. We
welcome A.G. Kawamura, Former Secretary California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA), who also joins this illustrious group. One quote from A.G. at BAW Congress 2024 validates that we should continue our crusade, “Farmers need to be highlighted and showcased so policy makers and regulators can better see that their ‘old thinking’ is holding them back from embracing the potential of 21st century agriculture”

It is good to see that more and more folks are using the term, ‘Sustainable Farming Practices.’ We floated to support the ‘Inclusive and
Integrated Crop Management’ approach that encompasses aspects of organic farming, regenerative agriculture or practices, including
necessary but safe chemistry as practically feasible and financially viable. We support this practical approach because one size does not fit all,
and our farmers globally have different challenges and needs. They have to support the food security and food safety balance, while ensuring
their survival.

Our BioAg input segment continues to show a positive global trend, led by Brazil as the fastest growing market, to North America and
Europe, which currently are still the biggest adopting regions. Asia, led by India and China, are rapidly following in the footsteps of the Brazil
growth story. We still have serious threats and challenges from commoditization blending and non-innovative generic or spurious products
(snake oils), which are flooding the emerging markets. This trend must be arrested to ensure the adoption of science based efficacious and
innovative products. We are therefore dedicating this issue to the “Innovations that Work” theme.
We at GBL, and I personally, continue to build the BioAg community and the momentum. We passionately continue our pure and noble
mission in appealing to all likeminded, serious and sincere BioAg company crusaders and champions to join in and support. Our differentiation and commitment are to build this community and momentum, not by asking for donation or charity, but by creating tangible value and ROI for all our supporters, partners and stakeholders throughthe comprehensive BAW platform of Congress, Digest, Academy and Advisory.

I continue to interact, travel and meet with various stakeholders and highlight some inspirational success pipeline and investments. In this
series, I had the oppotunity to visit the Kimitec facility and take a deep dive into their technology and future in conversation with various team members and interviewed Alejandro de las Casas Pérez, the CEO International of Kimitec. Kimitec is a true reflection of what passion and determination can do. I also visited Indigo Ag and commend them for all the work they are doing, so stay tuned as I will reflect a bit more on what Indigo is innovating at the end of this editorial. They have completed 10 years in the industry and are taking big strides. Likewise, I will continue to visit companies to bring you the true inside stories, as it not only brings me joy but also offers me the invaluable opportunity to learn more, connect with industry pioneers, and gain deeper insights into the ever-evolving world of BioAg. Let me know which companies you want me to visit next or specific areas you would like me to explore. I am eager to hear your suggestions and would love to include them in my upcoming travel plans, ensuring that I cover the topics and regions that matter most to you.
One of the major hurdles in the growth of the BioAg industry continues to be longer registration time and varied regulatory requirements.
The need for harmonizing and learning from best practiced regulatory policies across different countries is crucial for the growth of BioAg and in our sustainability journey.

Argentina’s step to accept TGAI registration from some of the countries must be appreciated. We worked on collating all the knowledge and information generated in the BAW Congress 2024 regulatory session to present to you as a white paper in the
next issue and to continue raising upon in future issues.

For this edition we have insights provided in the BAW Congress Raleigh, by MNC Industry leaders viz. Ashish Batra from Corteva, Benoit
Hartman from Bayer, Corey Huck from Syngenta, Ezio Costa from UPL and Jon Giebel from Indigo Ag representing BioAg businesses. This
white paper is the testimony that our industry majors, despite being competitors, are fully aligned as colleagues.

Similar to the last issue, we feature the 1st runner up of the Global BioAgTech Pioneering Innovation Award, DPH Bio’s RegenAphex®. This award was won at BAW Congress Raleigh 2024 through public voting.

We talked to different BioAg Leaders and present to you the interviews of Kuide Qin from Verdesian Life Sciences, A.G. Kawamura the
Former Secretary CDFA, Poornima Parameswaran from Trace Genomics and Maria Fernandez from Kimitec. Talking with these leaders was
not only inspiring and enriching, but we hope these leaders’ stories would help to motivate others to drive meaningful change in the industry.
Besides showcasing leaders and companies from the BioAg sector, we always strive to bring you the latest scientific developments and
initiate a discussion to keep you thinking about the future of BioAg. In this issue, we focus on the role of zinc in nitrogen fixation. The recent
revelation about zinc and the FUN protein has opened new avenues to investigate micronutrients in a new light. Do read the article and full
paper and let us know your thoughts by commenting on our Digest blog. Every opinion and article in BAW Digest is refreshing, do refelct
especially on Giuseppe Natale and José Carvalho’s editorials

Last but not the least, here is the update I promised on Indigo Ag. Please, watch the space for a path breaking and much needed innovation,
which may not qualify to be called ‘rocket science,’ but will change the scope of the application of the biological seed treatment industry, from
Indigo Ag. Watch the space for a big launch on the BAW Digest online portal soon, do read the teaser below in Indigo Ag words, as I believe
it will ignite your curiosity.
Watch the space For over a year, Indigo Ag has been working on developing a solution to help overcome the key challenges growers and retailers face when using biological products, especially flowable powder seed coating applications. These challenges have inhibited the ability of biological products to scale effectively. Now, in collaboration with internal experts and progressive industry partners, we are optimistic we have found a solution that will enable retailers and farmers to take advantage of all the benefits biological products have to offer, with minimal friction during their busy season and standard business activities.

Stay tuned—we are announcing our latest development in full soon!

AN EXCITING NEW OPPORTUNITY FOR THE BIOLOGICS AND SEED TREATMENT INDUSTRIES

After years of developing highly valuable plant endophytes as seed treatments for row crops, we realized that we needed to think differently
to get these products to the farm gate and out to the field. We believe global adoption of biological products relies on bringing the next
generation of products in a format that is seamlessly integrated into ag-retail and modern farming practices. When considering this challenge,we acknowledged that multi-year on-seed stability is a key industry requirement for seed treatments, but this is nearly impossible for a living microbe—this is why industrial seed treatments are mostly limited to liquid suspensions of Bacillus spores. Indigo’s specialty has
been in non-traditional endophytic microbes, most of which do not form stable spores. This meant unless something changed, our portfolio
would not be able to reach its full market potential.

However, this challenge is not unique to Indigo. There is an industry wide challenge to integrate natural products into industrial agriculture.
Biological products have unique benefits but also unique handling and application requirements and unless we do something to simplify their integration they will never truly be adopted at scale. Then, the idea arose that seed companies do not actually want a microbe that can live on the seed surface for three years. What they really want is a microbe that can be applied to the seed and still be alive at the time of planting three years later.
Since late 2022 we have been working with an internal team and industry partners on a solution to deliver “engineered” on-seed stability.
We will use product packaging to achieve years of “on-seed stability” by keeping our product in shelf-stable packaging until the time of planting.
This approach will overcome all of the most common challenges retailers and farmers face when adopting biological products, including
short planting windows, complicated seed treatment protocols during the busy season, messy product application and special handling
requirements such as refrigerated storage.

More Information Coming soon! Stay tuned for the product announcement on BAW Digest online portal in a few weeks and the
full coverage on this innovation in the next BAW Digest e-Magazine Fall issue.