As most readers will be aware, in 1999 this routine was disrupted by resistance from environmental organisations, retailers, food manufacturers and consumers. We still believe that GMOs will have a significant impact on crop protection but given the relative lack of success in public relations by companies with substantial research skills, predicting when this will happen is difficult. Procedures for protection of intellectual property rights for natural and genetically manipulated organisms have been clarified in the EU where a Directive was agreed on this subject, the text of which is included in Volume 3. Companies Volume 4 presents a discussion of 116 past and present participants in the biopesticides business and occasionally gives an opinion based on our 23 years in the business. Biopesticides is a field in which it is not too difficult to become optimistic but it is very much harder to make any money.
Companies make three fundamental mistakes in their approach to biopesticides.
Mistake 1 - Companies believe what is said about biopesticides in print. It is said that biopesticides are easy, quick and cheap to make and are in demand. Mistake 2 - Companies overestimate their own capabilities, believing that they, unlike nearly 200 of their predecessors, will avoid the pitfalls and pick the winners. Mistake 3 - Companies under budget in time and resources and try to succeed on the cheap. Some companies wish to be more environmentally friendly, or to use existing production capacity, or to extend their interests into crop protection or biological products, or they think they are smarter and quicker than other companies.