More than 16,000 kilometres from home, Wee Waa company Crop Capsules has been recognised on the world stage after a top-three finish at Europe's largest event for the biological pest control sector, the Bernard Blum Award.
Crop Capsules specialises in the introduction of pest-specific parasitoids as an environmentally friendly alternative to traditional insecticides used on cotton, canola and corn.
The company's CottonCAP and CanolaCAP technology achieved a podium position in the innovative products assisting in the uptake of biocontrol award category.
Hosted by the International Biological Control Manufacturers Association, the Bernard Blum Award showcases world-wide innovation for a sector worth almost $10 billion.
Crop Capsules team members Anna Madden and Olivia Bange travelled to Basel, Switzerland, for the event.
"Receiving this acknowledgement has been the culmination of almost 10 years worth of hard work in establishing our company," Mrs Madden said.
"It is satisfying to be able to have overcome obstacles once considered too hard for sustainable biocontrol options in broadacre agriculture."
Crop Capsules CottonCAP technology has been used to suppress silverleaf whitefly in cotton.
During the 2022-23 season, CottonCAP capsules were applied to more than 50,000 hectares of Australian cotton, reducing the use of traditional insecticides for this pest by more then 90 per cent.
Similarly, CanolaCAP capsules have returned encouraging results in the suppression of aphids.
"It's really exciting to see how much international interest there is in using more natural methods to protect broad acre crops," said Crop Capsules Company biologist agronomist Olivia Bange.
