Agrow  |   November 14, 2012 resize text

The Agrow global crop protection industry awards were announced last week in London. The winners and commended entrants were revealed to a room packed with about 400 people that in general are classified as the movers and shakers in the crop protection industry.

The award ceremony annually is held in London by Agro, a provider of news, analysis and data to the global crop protection manufacturing industry. Companies have strongly competed for the category of awards during the five years of the awards. It was reported that the competition this year was intense and made it extremely hard for establishing the top award winners.

DuPont was announced as the big winner at the Agrow Awards. The company collected awards for most innovative chemistry, best formulation innovation and best off-patent pesticide strategy. It was the third time that DuPont has won in three categories since the inaugural Agrow Awards in 2007, noted Sanjiv Rana, editor-in-chief of Agrow.

The editor also noted that DuPont and Dow AgroSciences were the only companies short-listed for the last award. The two have been battling it out for honors since 2007 and have been the most prolific participants in the Agrow Awards. Dow was successful in two categories this year. It received the award for best innovation in non-crop, and its U.S. range and pasture marketing team collected the award for best marketing campaign with a program aimed at weed control in forage grasses.

BASF earned an award with its first application to the awards in the best new crop protection product or trait category while Marrone Bio Innovations collected the award for best new biopesticide for the second time in three years.

Each of the companies short-listed for the best novel biotechnology award were first-time participants in the competition. The award went to the Two Blades Foundation for its TAL code technology, which can be used for the precise improvement of plant genomes.

The best packaging category was won by another awards debutant, Nufarm Australia and the award for best industry collaboration went to ChemChina and its 60 percent-owned subsidiary, Makhteshim-Agan Industries.

The Chinese company, Lier Chemical, picked up the award for best company from an emerging region, and the award for best supporting role went to specialist market research company GfK Kynetec.

CropLife Latin America collected the award for best public outreach program. It has held a series of annual international forums promoting Latin America’s potential as a major global food supplier.

The best stewardship program award went to Arysta LifeScience for its “Aplique Bem programme – quality from the field”. It offers personalized training to growers on application and residue monitoring, and assessment of their equipment. Precision Laboratories’ smart phone application, Mix Tank, was highly commended by the judges.

The loudest applause of the evening was for the year’s Lifetime Achievement Award winner, Cam Davreux.

“Cam Davreux has been dedicated to making Canada's plant science health and safety standards and programs respected in Canada and around the world,” Rana said. “He played a leading role in the development of CropLife Canada’s “Stewardship first” initiatives, which include full life-cycle management stewardship programs from lab to label to storage and disposal. He was also instrumental in developing the Agrichemical Warehousing Standards Association.”

“Cam’s greatest achievement is the development of the empty pesticide container recycling program in Canada. Since 1989, this program has removed and recycled approximately 87.5 million containers,” Rana added. “Cam Davreux is a deserving winner of our highest accolade.”

 “We had a tremendous response to these awards in terms of applications, sponsors and attendees,” Rana said. “Our 15 categories were well-contested and we join our sponsors in congratulating the winners, highly commended nominees and shortlisted candidates. They all deserve the highest praise for their contributions to our industry.”

Agrow 2012 – Winners:

Most Innovative Chemistry
DuPont Crop Protection (Isoxazoline oomycete fungicides)

Best Novel Agricultural Biotechnology
Two Blades Foundation (TAL code technology)

Best New Biopesticide
Marrone Bio Innovations (Grandevo)

Best Innovation in Non-crop
Dow AgroSciences (Milestone and other herbicides)

Best Formulation Innovation
DuPont Crop Protection (Second generation liquid nicosulfuron sulfonylurea)

Best New Crop Protection Product or Trait
BASF (Initium)

Best Packaging Innovation
Nufarm Australia (QuikPour)

Best Company from an Emerging Region
Lier Chemical

Best Industry Collaboration
Makhteshim Agan and ChemChina

Best Supporting Role
GfK Kynetec

Best Stewardship Program
Arysta LifeScience (Aplique Bem Programme – quality from the field)

Best Marketing Campaign
Dow AgroSciences (U.S. range and pasture business)

Best Public Outreach Program
CropLife Latin America (International forums on agricultural innovation and productivity in Latin America)

Best Off-patent Pesticide Strategy
DuPont Crop Protection (PrecisionPac)

Lifetime Achievement
Cam Davreux

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