Oxitec Completes First Farm-Scale Deployments of Friendly™ Fall Armyworm on Commercial Bt Corn in Brazil

Powered by Oxitec's Friendly™ technology, Oxitec's fall armyworm solution has been developed to protect farmers' crops and livelihoods and will now proceed to large pilot programs in Brazil. The deployment of Oxitec's Friendly™ fall armyworm will reduce populations of fall armyworm in a safe and environmentally friendly way. This approach is designed to work in parallel with the existing tools available to farmers.

A recent peer-reviewed publication describes the early research conducted in the development of Oxitec's Friendly™ fall armyworm, including results of mathematical modelling showing that releases of Friendly™ fall armyworm male moths into an agricultural landscape can significantly delay spread of resistance to biotech corn, thereby prolonging the effectiveness of these important pest protection tools.

Grey Frandsen, CEO of Oxitec, said, "We're immensely proud of our global team in completing this first landmark season on commercial biotech corn in Brazil. This is a huge step forward on our path towards delivering transformative sustainability and value to Brazil's corn industry in the face of the growing threat posed by this devastating pest. We're now expanding to larger commercial farms and demonstrating our ability to produce, ship, and deploy over long distances across the country."

Bruno Conti, Fundação MT's Head of R&D, said, "We're honored to have established this partnership with Oxitec. Fundação MT has the role of delivering to growers the most innovative and sustainable strategies for their crops and we are confident that, through this partnership, we will significantly contribute to the constant evolution of agribusiness."

Natalia Ferreira, Oxitec's Brazil Director, added "We're delighted to deliver these successful pilots in partnership with Fundação MT who, like us, are so focused on delivering sustainability to agriculture and to have a major positive impact on livelihoods.

More About Friendly™ Fall Armyworm
Further details about the science behind Oxitec's Friendly™ fall armyworm solution and its expected impact on sustainable agriculture, can be found in this peer-reviewed publication: https://bmcbiotechnol.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12896-022-00735-9

About Oxitec
Oxitec is the leading developer of biological solutions to control pests that transmit disease, destroy crops and harm livestock. Founded in 2002 at the University of Oxford, Oxitec is led by a passionate team comprised of 15 nationalities and is supported by world-class public, private and non-profit partners.

Learn more at oxitec.com.