Researchers from Trinity College Dublin have secured Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation funding of about €690,000 to develop an environmentally friendly biopesticide to tackle one of the EU’s most financially devastating pest species, the Cabbage Stem Flea Beetle (CSFB).

The 'AgriWave' team will now work to develop their biopesticide and plan their route to market, with the goal being to spin out as a company in the coming years.

The CSFB is currently wreaking havoc on European winter oilseed rape (WOSR) crops due to its widespread resistance to current 'pyrethroid' pesticide options. WOSR is a high profit margin crop, but the scale of the problem is such that the EU industry is losing more than €1bn annually.  The CSFB is responsible for over four million tonnes of lost crop each year and the UK alone has lost 50% of its crop and gone from a net exporter to a net importer.

Threatening Europe's supply chain for food, feed, and biofuel

And the problem is not merely financial, as WOSR Farmers across the UK, France, Germany and Poland are losing confidence in the crop, causing cultivation areas to collapse and threatening Europe's supply chain for food, feed, and biofuel.

As such, there is an urgent need for an effective control option but given the pressing need to develop more environmentally friendly, sustainable pesticides that don’t have negative impacts on key pollinators, something special is needed. 

Professor Vincent Kelly, Trinity, principal investigator and academic lead, said: “AgriWave is addressing one of the most pressing issues facing modern agriculture, which is the growing loss of effective crop protection from pests. Farmers are left with fewer effective options as insects develop resistance to current sprays, and any new solutions must also factor in the need to better protect our environment for future generations.”

“Through support from the Enterprise Ireland Commercialisation Fund, and the Trinity Innovation & Enterprise team, we are applying cutting-edge scientific methods to deliver just such solutions – new, effective, environmentally friendly insecticides. Over the next two years, we aim to develop the active ingredient, validate efficacy in the lab and progress to early field testing and prepare the commercial foundations for an Irish-based spin-out.” 

Emma Callinan, Head of Research Commercialisation, Enterprise Ireland, said: “Enterprise Ireland is proud to support the AgriWave team as they advance innovative research with the potential to deliver real impact for the agri-food sector. AgriWave’s success highlights the strength of Ireland’s research ecosystem and the importance of programmes such as FAST-IP in developing the next generation of high-potential spin-out companies.”

Other key members of the AgriWave team are Richard Grant and Niels O’Flanagan, Commercial Leads, and Emma O'Neill, Life Sciences Case Manager from Trinity Research & Innovation, who will help in supporting IP protection and knowledge transfer.

The AgriWave concept was initially developed during Richard Grant’s and Niels O’ Flanagan’s time with the Food and Agriculture Sustainable Technology Innovation (FAST-IP) Programme, which is a specialist 12-month agrifood technology innovation programme delivered by the UCD School of Biosystems and Food Engineering and NovaUCD in partnership with Teagasc under the Innovators' Initiative Programme. 

The AgriWave team in the Trinity Biomedical Sciences Institute. From left to right are Prof. Vincent Kelly; Richard Grant and Niels O'Flanagan.

Dr Siobhán Jordan, head of technology transfer and commercialisation, Teagasc, said: “AgriWave demonstrates the value of FAST-IP in supporting talented innovators to translate research-led ideas into sustainable solutions for agriculture. We welcome this Enterprise Ireland support and look forward to seeing the team progress towards commercial impact.”

Naomi Flood, managing authority, European Regional Development Fund, said, “AgriWave is an excellent example of how the FAST-IP programme is helping to transform innovative ideas into practical solutions. By addressing a significant agricultural and environmental challenge, the project has the potential to support more sustainable farming while creating new opportunities for enterprise and regional growth.”

FAST-IP provided the environment, expertise and springboard for AgriWave to identify an internationally important crop in crisis and develop a solution to address it. The Innovators' Initiative Programme is co-funded by the Government of Ireland and the European Union through the Southern, Eastern & Midland Regional Programme 2021-2027.