The Biopesticide Industry Alliance (BPIA) celebrated a decade of growth last week as representatives from more than 50 companies and governmental agencies attended the 2010 bi-annual meeting in Sacramento, CA.
The meeting marked BPIA’s 10th anniversary.
Despite the tangible energy and excitement among attendees, it’s not a group resting on its laurels.
“Biopesticides are on a fast growth track, but we have a lot more work to do,” says Pam Marrone, the alliance’s founding director, recalling the first meeting in 2000 when the entire membership consisted of just seven companies.
“We were a niche industry when BPIA formed,” says Eda Reinot, the current board chairman, “but that isn’t the case any more. Many new companies have since formed to develop, produce, and market biologicals.”
The mission of BPIA is to increase the awareness of biopesticides as effective products for commercial agriculture, public health and home use. The alliance also works to enhance the regulatory process for getting new products approved and to provide quality networking opportunities for members and affiliates
“We are developing new committees to improve the public perception of biopesticides and to improve understanding of these products among legislators,” says Bill Foster, a current board member who was at the first meeting in 2000. Foster explained that BPIA was formed as a regulatory organization. “But now, we are also focusing on the commercialization of biopesticides.”
Boasting record attendance for the fourth straight meeting, the Sacramento event focused on the value of biopesticides in resistance management and featured a broad range of speakers offering industry and governmental perspectives. In many ways, the association’s growth mirrors the increasing popularity of organic foods as well as foods containing no detectable pesticide residues. Board member Steve Hartmeier says it’s a simple matter of responding to unmet needs.
‘We can fill the need the market demands for clean, healthy food with products that work,” says Hartmeier, a sentiment echoed by fellow board member Robert E. Holm.
“We (BPIA) don’t promote specific products, we promote the use of biopesticides,” says Dr. Holm, another original member who is now a retired consultant. “BPIA provides a voice that many more stakeholders are interested in hearing.”
