Davren Global is developing its lab-based application process to be scalable and complement a farmer’s normal grain handling and storage process. “We’ve done lots of work in the lab to identify the best types of SAS and the processes to get it on the grain in a consistent way. The sweet-spot is finding the right amount of the right SAS to control the insects without markedly affecting grain handling properties.” said Darren.

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But it isn’t just large-scale commercial operators who could benefit from safer insect control. In partnership with the Australian Government’s Centre for International Agricultural Research (ACIAR), Davren Global is also investigating the potential for stored grain insect control in small-scale, subsistence operations. Darren explained, “ACIAR were really interested in supporting Davren to develop a more robust, but less sophisticated, version of the technology that could be used in developing nations – where the economic loss from grain is enormous, often more than 30%. We'll be sending one of our applicators to a partner in Tanzania this year, working with farmers who might only harvest 100 kilograms of maize. So, there's philanthropic benefits too.”

While millions of tonnes of SAS are produced worldwide each year for a range of industrial uses –from tyres and paints to animal feed and cake mixes – Davren Global holds the intellectual property for the use of certain SAS materials for insect management and has developed deep proprietary know-how of the characterisation and handling of these materials.

To accelerate its journey to market, Davren Global has just launched a seed funding round, seeking $750,000 to $1.5M to facilitate the scale-up of the application process, to advance the regulatory program and leverage grant funding. Investment from overseas would allow development work in crops which have a global reach, like corn for example.

But funding will also help to accelerate development of SAS for the control of certain amenity insect pests like fire ants, a pernicious problem given their tendency to be found in built-up areas where the use of toxic chemicals is a concern. Darren explained, “If you think of Davren as a novel insecticide, then wherever there are insects there’s an opportunity to control them in a safe, more environmentally benign way.”

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 “But grain protectants in Australia is our beachhead market – that's where we've done the most work, and where GRDC has supported us, but clearly it’s a launchpad for international markets.” And in that space, SAS ticks a lot of boxes.

“It’s stable, long-acting, unlikely to induce resistance and it satisfies the consumer and regulatory shift towards more environmentally-benign agrochemicals,” summarised Darren.

“It’s just a matter of timing. There are existing [conventional chemical] products out there that are registered and available for use, but the writing is on the wall. It was only in 2020 that the EU withdrew approval for Chlorpyrifos-methyl, and that was a common treatment for stored grain.”

With the expertise of Australia’s world-leading research community – and the support of two agrochemical giants – Davren Global’s time has come.

Learn more about Davren Global’s investment opportunities here.^

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