Verdeca Showcases HB4® Drought Tolerant Soybeans to Growers and Enrolls Early Adopters at Expoagro in Argentina
— Novel trait stack expected to help growers facing climate and production challenges —
— HB4 trait has regulatory approval in more than 80 percent of the global soybean market —
— Early adopters to be signed up for next cycle of seed multiplication, expected to move HB4 acreage to over 100,000 —
DAVIS, Calif. and ROSARIO, Argentina (Mar. 10, 2020) – Verdeca, a joint venture between Arcadia Biosciences Inc. (Nasdaq: RKDA) and Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (NYSE American: BIOX), will be showcasing pre-commercial soybean varieties carrying the drought tolerant HB4® trait to more than 150,000 South American growers at Expoagro 2020, being held March 10-13 in San Nicolas, Argentina. The HB4 soybean varieties deliver two layers of value for growers: drought and herbicide tolerance. The HB4 stack is Verdeca’s newest product release from its pipeline of traits developed to benefit soybean producers through quality improvement, stress mitigation and management practices. At Verdeca’s pavilion, growers will be able to inspect field plots of HB4 soybeans, a unique technology which protects crops against drought conditions. More than ten years of field trials in production regions of the northern and southern hemisphere have demonstrated that HB4 soybeans preserve yield when crops are challenged by water and salinity stress.
“HB4 is a novel soybean trait that provides yield stability across diverse environments, delivering a biotech solution beyond the traditional packages, primarily focused on pest control traits,” said Martin Mariani Ventura, general manager of Verdeca. “This technology provides farmers with an important tool to address challenges associated with climate change.”
In addition to drought tolerance, HB4 soybeans also offer resistance to a broad-spectrum herbicide utilized to prevent growth of a wide range of annual and perennial broadleaf weeds and grasses. Field plots at Expoagro compare the effectiveness of the trait-plus-herbicide combination, compared to soybean fields artificially infested with volunteer corn and Amaranthus grass weeds.
“We’re excited to show farmers first-hand the benefits of our HB4 trait stack at Expoagro,” said Matt Plavan, president and CEO of Arcadia Biosciences. “As the only commercial soybean trait for drought tolerance, we believe HB4 has the potential to significantly improve the performance of soybean cultivation globally.”
Federico Trucco, chief executive officer of Bioceres Crop Solutions stated, “This year’s event marks our advance beyond technology demonstration in a single material to showcasing our breeding program and more specifically, the pre-commercial varieties that are currently being multiplied in close to 3,000 hectares (7,400 acres). Expoagro brings together an invaluable audience which will help us further validate the attractiveness of our value proposition to farmers and sign-up early adopters for our next cycle of seed multiplication.”
The second recruiting round for the HB4 program candidates will take place during the third day of the event, with potentially more than 100,000 acres available for seed multiplication during the next crop season.
Currently, the HB4 trait has regulatory approval in more than 80 percent of the global soybean market, including the U.S., Brazil, Argentina and, most recently, Paraguay. Regulatory submissions are currently under consideration by China, Canada, Bolivia and Uruguay. Import approval from China is needed for commercial launch in Argentina. Expectation to obtain such approval in late 2020 is under review in light of recent developments in China.
About Verdeca
Verdeca, a U.S.-based joint venture between Bioceres Crop Solutions and Arcadia Biosciences, was formed in 2012 to deploy next-generation soybean traits in all key production regions, beginning in South America and North America. Working in partnership with South American growers, Verdeca aims to provide technologies that help increase crop productivity, making more efficient and sustainable use of land and water resources. For more information visit www.verdeca.com.
About Arcadia Biosciences, Inc.
Arcadia Biosciences (Nasdaq: RKDA) is a leader in science-based approaches to enhancing the quality and nutritional value of crops and food ingredients. The company’s GoodWheat™ branded ingredients deliver health benefits to consumers and enable consumer packaged goods companies to differentiate their brands in the marketplace. Arcadia’s agricultural traits are being developed to enable farmers around the world to be more productive and minimize the impact of agriculture on the environment. The company’s new GoodHemp seed catalog delivers genetically superior hemp seeds, clones, transplants, flower and extracts, applying the company’s proprietary crop innovation technology, ArcaTech, to an emerging crop. For more information, visit www.arcadiabio.com.
About Bioceres Crop Solutions
Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. (NYSE American: BIOX) is a fully integrated provider of crop productivity technologies designed to enable the transition of agriculture towards carbon neutrality. To do this, Bioceres’ solutions create economic incentives for farmers and other stakeholders to adopt environmentally friendlier production practices. The company has a unique biotech platform with high-impact, patented technologies for seeds and microbial ag-inputs, as well as next generation crop nutrition and protection solutions. Through its HB4® program, the company is bringing digital solutions to support growers’ decisions and provide end-to-end traceability for production outputs. For more information, visit https://investors.biocerescrops.com.
Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including HB4’s potential to significantly improve the performance of soybean cultivation. Forward-looking statements are subject to risks and uncertainties that could cause actual results to differ materially, and reported results should not be considered as an indication of future performance. These risks and uncertainties include, but are not limited to: Arcadia’s, Bioceres’, Verdeca’s and their partners’ and affiliates’ ability to develop commercial products incorporating their traits, and complete the regulatory review process for such products, including obtaining approval from China; Arcadia’s and Bioceres’ compliance with laws and regulations that impact Verdeca’s business, and changes to such laws and regulations; Verdeca’s future capital requirements and ability to satisfy its capital needs; and the other risks set forth in Arcadia’s and Bioceres’ filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission from time to time, including the risks set forth in Arcadia’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2018, Bioceres’ Annual Report on Form 20-F for the year ended June 30, 2019, and other filings. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and Arcadia Biosciences, Inc. and Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp. disclaim any obligation to update these forward-looking statements.
Press Contacts:
Arcadia Biosciences
Sara Geisner
sara@trailblaze.co
Bioceres Crop Solutions Corp.
Maximo Goya
maximo.goya@biocerescrops.com