Overcoming 10 Critical Challenges New Technologies Face
by Gloverson Moro, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, AgriThority
Many biological companies excel in research, being innovative and passionate about their creative concepts that have the potential to generate value for growers. However, those same companies often struggle to turn their new concepts into commercial products that can gain traction in the marketplace.
Moving biological products to the grower and driving adoption requires rigorous product development. The D in R&D is the critical process that includes science and disciplined management of risks and resources to achieve greater potential rewards.
The Pathway The movement from Research into Early Development Phase starts with conducting trials in well controlled environments, often in a greenhouse or growth chamber. The first steps aim to validate the product concept and define its scope while keeping key variables low. Critical early development steps involve small-plot trials to determine best variants, formulations, rates and timing of applications. These are conducted in a few locations with several treatments to generate the necessary information and knowledge that will drive success in the next phase.
Gloverson Moro and Jerry Duff, Founder and leader of AgriThority inspect soybean plants in a Midwestern field
Starting with Scoping and Early Development, I like to say, “many questions need answers.” Can the product face the challenges of environmental variability? Are registration and safety requirements met? Is production ready to meet the prioritized market needs? Simultaneously the business case, intellectual property position and regulatory pathway should be clearly established to ensure the freedom to operate, to set the commercialization timeframe and to establish a clear go-to-market strategy, also critical for a successful launch.
Then more small-plot field trials build data across more locations over multiple seasons. The aim at this stage is to refine key variables including formulation, dosage, method of application, and to demonstrate that the technology has value under different environments. The robustness of this data will directly correlate with the number of replications and testing environments.
For biological products, it is especially important to define the best time in the crop cycle to apply a product and the best metrics to measure efficacy that generates the most accurate and reflective results. During this phase, it is important to have reliable partners who can generate accurate and credible data for analysis, interpretation, and Best Management Practice recommendations.
With all the knowledge accumulated, the innovative technology or product is ready to move toward the Launch phase. That means allowing farmers and distributors to experiment with it.
This stage consists of on-farm large demonstration trials aimed to inform and engage all levels of the supply chain. And, in today’s digital agriculture industry, these large-scale trials can continue to deliver data.
The unique TrialWerx® large-scale, on-farm program dedicates much effort to generating additional data season-long and to gaining insights beyond just final yields to reinforce successful use and value in the field. The power of large-scale, on-farm trials lies not only in first-hand grower experience, but continual generation of data supporting successful use with area agronomists, distribution channel
For biological products, it is especially important to define the best time in the crop cycle to apply a product...
representatives and other growers. Growers listen to other growers.
The evolution of technology will continue transforming agricultural experimentation. The ability to collect information with greater precision and to analyze large sets of data will increase the power of detecting new correlations and produce even deeper insights. The blooming advancement of computational biology also points to the increasing relevance of modeling in making the agriculture experimentation process even more powerful and predictable. The Development discipline is a key requirement to building a successful product that is easily adopted for on-farm use. The most innovative concept will not translate into a successful product unless a rigorous development path is followed. This is as much about process as it is about science. Having clarity on the path toward the target market, the technical product development and the regulatory process are all critical. Then translating that into a series of questions that must be answered and the order they must be addressed is essential. The urge to jump critical steps frequently results in failure. Going faster does not mean going further.
Implementing a stage-gate development process to manage risks, resources and rewards when moving innovations into markets is of the utmost importance. Research generates new, innovative ideas, but to transform a concept into a useful product, a solid and rigorous product development process is critical.
Optimization of the development process from discovery through development and launch encompasses many variables to manage. Much like farming, the complexity is enhanced by unknown and uncontrollable environmental factors, especially weather. The challenges require flexibility and resiliency, but the rewards can overcome the risks with proper discipline and focus. ●
1. ROI is your goal, your investors' goal, and every grower’s goal. Delivering to all levels leads to successful commercialization. Underestimating the cost of goods sold or the value to the grower can cut profits at both ends. 2. Managing and allocating limited resources - money and time. Even the largest multinational companies face resource allocation challenges. Resisting the urge to cut corners is paramount to avoid missteps or quality reductions. Identifying and maximizing internal strengths while accessing external expertise can accomplish timely results. This is not an exercise of "Good, Fast, and Cheap, choose two." These three manageable elements of time, money and quality must also consider the scope, impact on stakeholders and user satisfaction for long-term success. 3. Focus and discipline to stay the course - avoiding opportunistic diversions of more uses, more markets, or more targets can help companies stay on track within allocated resources. The first course of action is to generate revenue with a successful launch. The first market may not be the biggest opportunity, but the fastest or easiest to enter. 4. Proven results from reliable and consistent data over many seasons and many locations. Structured protocols and disciplined analysis lay the foundation for best use practices on the farm. 5. Differentiated benefits by application, crop or geography. Meeting the needs may go beyond cost-effective or proven solutions; the needs may include ease of application or convenience, as well as quality and yield. The value proposition may vary by market segment. Defining the value should not be cost of goods plus margin, nor should the basis be replacement of current practices. Instead, price optimization is based on perceived value when benefits are clearly known and proven. Back to ROI! 6. Defined product positioning and fit into the on-farm cropping system. Will the new technology require changing common practices or misinformed perceptions? Analyzing markets and segmenting best uses will help focus on early adopters. Defining the true customer will help realize the fact that 20% of the customer base will deliver 80% of the profits. 7. Engaging and convincing Key Opinion Leaders who can "unsell" the growers. Never underestimate the power of tradition and legacy. Change may seem good, but it is always difficult. 8. Defined efficient regulatory pathway with required testing for safety and label registration plus variable rules by state or country. The best regulatory option is not necessarily the easiest one.
9. Flexibility to consider options, alternative routes and timelines. Recognizing fluctuations in costs, competitive environments and customer preferences will set the stage for timely adaptations to the plans. Relying exclusively on internal staff for market intelligence can deliver insufficient or biased information. Precise, quantifiable and reliable information is crucial at every step of development and launch. 10. Complexity of production agriculture - unknown environmental factors along with evolving competition and barriers to entry. The critical, complex variables that influence crop productivity and yield include local farming practices, the cropping system, inputs, and the ever-elusive environment.
Where new products often fail is the lack of or poor execution of the critical Development steps. To help companies move innovations to market, we apply our Prescriptive Response Development Process. The product development process should extend from discovery through early and late development, all the way to product launch. Many companies like to rush through or skip altogether different parts of this process, and when that happens, it causes issues as they draw closer to launch. I like to say the shortest route to being irrelevant in the industry is to skip product and field development steps.
AgriThority® uses a disciplined, proven Prescriptive Response™ process to help develop new products. When your Research is ready for Development, turn to AgriThority for scientific product, business and market development expertise. As an independent global science resource, we focus on exploring potential, expanding market access, and evolving production for greater food security and sustainability. Our Prescriptive Response Development process allows innovators to discover and leverage their internal expertise with the consistent, disciplined data generated from well-trained and experienced product development experts. ●
Gloverson Moro, Ph.D., Chief Technology Officer, AgriThority. He is an expert at commercializing products with 24 years of experience in agriscience, including 18 years as a product development specialist at Syngenta. He has managed product development of corn, soybean and wheat seeds and traits, crop protection, seed care, and biological products in more than 15 countries.
Ignacio Colonna, Global Director Science and Technology, spoke to New AG International at the Biostimulants World Congress and summarizes the three key take-aways from his presentation.
Click here to see the interview.
Gloverson with two of his product development managers, Krishan Jindal and Richard Shaw
