The 5th BioAgTech World Congress, produced in partnership with the North Carolina Biotechnology Center, North Carolina Plant Sciences Initiative (NC PSI) at North Carolina State University, and the Research Triangle Regional Partnership, made its Raleigh, NC, debut at the Raleigh Convention Center in late April. 

Over a year’s worth of recruitment and planning efforts went into North Carolina being named as the North American destination in the event’s global rotation. 

“We are proud to host BioAg Linkages (which runs the congress) and the World Congress audience here in North Carolina and look forward to welcoming them back every four years,” said Michelle VonCannon, events and engagement manager, Economic Development and Statewide Operations, NCBiotech. “North Carolina was able to showcase our global leadership and ever-expanding ag tech ecosystem. We appreciate the resounding support we received from our community that made this event such a success for our state.”

Adrian Percy, executive director of NC PSI, said the conference was a great opportunity to connect with organizations from across the world and “to provide them with exposure to the great ag tech ecosystem that we have here in NC.”

“This conference allowed the NC PSI to make a number of connections with both large and emerging corporations in the agricultural research area,” Percy said. “We expect these to lead to tangible collaboration over the coming months. It also proved valuable to the student volunteers who gained new insights into what a career in industry would be.” 

About 900 people attended the global conference, which explored a range of topics, from biopesticides and biostimulants, to biofertilizers and other bioag tools important for farmers across the globe, according to Roger Tripathi, CEO of BioAg Linkages, the event organizer.

Toni Bucci, founder and CEO of Sable Fermentation, and chair of the NC Ag Tech Council, said the congress was successful from a business development perspective.

Bucci said she had 15 meetings during the congress, which resulted in everything from job offers and consulting opportunities, to potential partnerships and even possible investments.

“The BioAgTech World Congress highlighted the strength of the North Carolina Ag Tech Cluster,” said Paul Ulanch, senior director of stewardship, Focused Initiatives Team, at NCBiotech. “Raleigh was an ideal destination for this event because this region has one of the largest global ag tech ecosystems that includes many of the companies that participated in and attended the event. 

“We appreciate BioAg Linkages for selecting Raleigh to represent North America because it brought a large number of international visitors to the state,” Ulanch said.

This is the first time that the BioAgTech World Congress has come to North Carolina. In previous years, the conference was held in Brazil, Spain, and virtually in 2021.

This bioag event touched all corners of the world: Europe is the largest market, followed by North America. Latin America is the fastest growing, and Asia has huge untapped potential, Tripathi said.

The BioAgTech World Congress featured many sessions with international scope that address urgent agricultural challenges, such as biopesticides and soil health management. These sessions demonstrate the congress's commitment to tackling real-world agricultural issues with innovative bioag solutions, making the content appealing to those interested in technological advancements and sustainable practices, Tripathi said.

Tripathi said that the congress is produced “by the bioag industry for the bioag industry” and unites continents, allowing for face-to-face networking to grow distribution networks and offer the latest technological advances in bioag.