Basel, Switzerland, 22 October 2025 – The Financing Agrochemical Reduction and Management (FARM) Programme, took part in the Annual Biocontrol Industry Meeting (ABIM) from 20 to 22 October 2025 in Basel, Switzerland. Attended by over 2,000 people, the event convened industry leaders, innovators and stakeholders from around the world to explore the latest developments and future trends in sustainable agriculture.
The global biocontrol market is projected to reach $13.7 billion by 2027, yet the sector continues to face challenges in attracting finance. During ABIM 2025, FARM co-hosted the session “Biocontrol Meets Finance” with the International Biocontrol Manufacturers Association (IBMA), one of ABIM’s main organizers. The session brought together representatives from the financial and biocontrol sectors to explore how investors, banks and innovators can bridge knowledge gaps and scale sustainable, low-chemical farming solutions.
“Finance is a critical lever for accelerating the shift to sustainable agriculture,” said Helena Rey, FARM Programme Manager. “By bringing investors and innovators together, this dialogue helped align financial ambition with environmental action and laid the groundwork for stronger collaboration between the financial and biocontrol sectors.”
The session highlighted the opportunities emerging from evolving financial frameworks – such as sustainability taxonomies and disclosure requirements – and how the biocontrol sector can align with them. The representatives of financial institutions, manufacturers and international organisations discussed how to close the investment gap in biocontrol, share successful finance models and identify enabling conditions for scaling up innovation.
Other insights from the session highlighted the need for stronger mutual understanding between the finance and biocontrol sectors. Financial institutions often lack the data, tools and expertise to assess biocontrol opportunities, while the industry must build clearer, financially aligned business cases to attract investment. Bridging these gaps will help scale biocontrol solutions and advance the sustainable transformation of agrifood value chains.
Taking part in the ABIM closing plenary “Actions to Accelerate Biocontrol,” FARM shared global examples of policies, production and on-farm practices driving the shift towards safer, more sustainable agriculture.
FARM’s work in India, for example, underscores the importance of building knowledge and awareness across the entire agrifood value chain to enable the adoption of sustainable solutions. In addition to improving access to innovative biocontrol products, the programme has trained more than 20,000 farmers directly in 10 states and reached over one million indirectly through a “Training of Trainers” approach.
During ABIM 2025, the FARM team also held an internal workshop with global partners to review the programme’s progress and plan towards the first Biennial FARM Forum 2026.
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