One of India’s largest producers and exporters of fruit, Innoterra India, has signed a global partnership agreement with the Indian Council for Agricultural Research (ICAR) for the development of a biopesticide to eliminate a fungal disease found in banana crops called Fusarium wilt. This disease is also commonly known as Panama Wilt disease.
Using Fusicont, a new biopesticide targeted directly at the deadly fungal disease known to destroy banana crops worldwide, Fusicont eradicates the disease. This is the first partnership of its kind in India to combat the disease.
In India, 99 per cent of bananas exported to various countries come from the Cavendish variety. There are 40 billion dollars of banana sales worldwide, and it is a crucial component.
Currently, the current strain of the disease threatens the extinction of the Cavendish banana, according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO). Bananas of other varieties are also affected by the TR4 strain, many of which are a primary food source in numerous countries. No cure for this disease currently exists, making it a serious threat to crops as well as farmers’ livelihoods in countries that depend solely on banana production.
Fusicont is a ground-breaking biopesticide that is claimed to be effective against the TR4 strain of Panama Wilt. Research conducted by ICAR has confirmed that the Indian developed solution is effective against TR4. A global field trial and evaluation of the solution’s effectiveness will follow Innoterra’s partnership with ICAR.
This partnership has been guided by Dr. Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary, Department of Agricultural Research (DARE) and Director General of ICAR, and Dr. Sudha Mysore, CEO of Agrinnovate.
In his address to the gathering, Dr. Mohapatra said, “ICAR and Agrinnovate are proud of Innoterra’s vision and efforts to be at the forefront of ushering farmers sustenance and commercialising innovation-led technology for mitigating the impact of climate change especially control of pest pandemic in Banana globally. This is an excellent example of public-private-farmer partnership model”
All stakeholders were urged by Dr. Mysore to work with Innoterra and strengthen Aatmanirbhar Bharat and Make-in-India.
T. Damodaran, Head of the Central Soil Salinity Research Institute (CSSRI, RRS) and Dr. S. Rajan, Director of the Central Institute of Sub-tropical Horticulture (CISH), are renowned banana crop experts at ICAR.
In a statement announcing the new partnership, Dr. Damodaran said, “We are extremely pleased to be partnering with Innoterra, a leader in fruit production and exports. Innoterra is one of the first organisations in India to take initiative in fighting Panama disease globally to maintain the health and sustainability of Cavendish bananas. We look forward to advancing the Fusicont biopesticide technology and developing a viable, long-term solution to the severe threat posed by the TR4 strain of Panama disease.”
TR4 has been spreading around the globe since 2010. It is a growing issue in India and around the world due to limited knowledge and inadequate management models. Instead of just containing the spread of disease, Innoterra plans to develop comprehensive solutions that achieve complete plant good health.
The Head of Operations for Innoterra’s India crops division, Dr. Anup Karwa, stated, “Innoterra is glad to be the first-mover in partnering with ICAR for Fusicont and conducting planned trials at our farms across South Asia. A cost-effective and scalable solution against TR4 is in the interest of the global farming community, especially small and mid-holder farmers who are severely affected by this disease today. We expect to curb production losses up to 90 per cent with Fusicont, helping our farmers up the yield and maintain quality of banana crops consistently over the years. The biopesticide has shown promising results in ICAR’s large scale validation in hotspots of India and has proven to be a sustainable solution for the environment.”
As a result of this biopesticide’s mass adoption and development, thousands of banana farmers are likely to save their livelihoods. Fusicont has been approved by the Central Insecticide Board (CIB) of India for commercialization in advanced stages.
