WINNER’S PERSPECTIVE: CONVERSATION WITH DR. RENUKA DIWAN

What does winning the Global BioAgTech Pioneering Innovation Award mean to BioPrime?
Winning this award is an extraordinary honor. BioNexus was built from a bold idea: that India’s soil holds biological secrets capable of reshaping global agriculture. To see this work recognized at a global level affirms not just our science, but our vision for a regenerative, microbe-powered future. It is a win for the entire ecosystem—our scientists, our field teams and the Indian research community. With our diversity, science and manufacturing we believe we can help address critical challenges facing agriculture globally.

How will BioNexus transform agriculture in India and beyond?
BioNexus is more than a collection of strains. It is a platform that unlocks diversity, context and precision in biological agriculture. For India, it is about creating products that work across our extreme and varied conditions. For the world, it is about offering a scalable, adaptable model of innovation rooted in ecology, and a deep understanding of holobionts. We see BioNexus not just as a library, but as the seed of the next agricultural revolution.

As agriculture faces mounting challenges from climate volatility, soil degradation and diminishing efficacy of chemical inputs, the search for regenerative, science-driven alternatives is becoming more urgent than ever before. One of the most promising frontiers in this transformation is microbial technology, specifically, the discovery and application of plant-associated microbes that can restore ecological balance and enhance crop performance.

Recognizing this imperative, BioPrime AgriSolutions Pvt Ltd, India’s leading ag-biotech innovator, has developed BioNexus, a first-of-its-kind microbial discovery platform. Launched as a foundational infrastructure for agricultural biologicals, BioNexus is more than a repository of microbial strains: it is a national scientific asset designed to catalyze innovation across the agricultural value chain.

In May 2025, BioNexus was awarded the Global BioAgTech Pioneering Innovation Award during the BioAgTech World Congress 2025 in India recognizing its scientific rigor, bold vision and transformative potential.

ADDRESSING A DUAL CRISIS: MARKET STAGNATION AND ECOLOGICAL EROSION
The impetus for BioNexus emerged from a critical gap in the agricultural biologicals sector: the lack of access to diverse, well-characterized microbial strains. The Indian market has long relied on a narrow portfolio of approximately 10–12 strains, predominantly sourced from public research institutions, such as Indian Council of Agricultural Research (ICAR). These strains are repeatedly repurposed across hundreds of products, leading to minimal differentiation and limited context-specific efficacy.

Simultaneously, India’s farmlands have been subject to decades of intensive chemical use, monocropping and mechanical tillage. These are practices that have essentially stripped soils of their native microbial biodiversity. These disruptions weaken plants’ ability to recruit beneficial microbes for key functions such as nutrient uptake, resilience and disease suppression.

Despite this ecological erosion, India is one of the world’s most biodiverse countries, home to 13 agro-climatic zones and three global biodiversity hotspots. Yet no systematic, large-scale effort had ever been made to map or preserve its microbial wealth—until BioNexus.

A ROBUST SCIENTIFIC INFRASTRUCTURE FOR BIOLOGICAL DISCOVERY
BioNexus was conceived as a restorative and strategic initiative to rebuild India’s microbial toolbox using scientific precision and ecological fidelity. Since its launch, BioNexus has grown into the largest plant-associated microbial library in India, with over:

• 18,000 unique microbial isolates
• 400+ geographically distinct collection sites
• Representation across 13 agroclimatic zones and 3 biodiversity hotspots

This extensive collection spans a diverse range of ecosystems including hot springs, deserts, mangroves, Himalayan valleys and meteorite craters. Crucially, each strain is isolated specifically from the rhizosphere or endosphere of plants, ensuring relevance to agricultural applications.

Every isolate in the BioNexus library is digitally cataloged and genomically characterized, enabling high throughput screening for traits such as:

• Nutrient solubilization
• Anti-pathogenic activity
• Plant growth promotion
• Abiotic stress tolerance

This scientific infrastructure serves as the foundation for rapid discovery, trait mapping and formulation development.

BREAKTHROUGH DISCOVERIES WITH DIRECT AGRONOMIC VALUE
BioNexus has already yielded several groundbreaking microbial discoveries with significant agronomic potential:

• Previously unculturable and rare microbes were successfully isolated and stabilized, broadening the landscape of known microbial diversity.
• Strains with unique pigment production and polysaccharide synthesis capabilities were identified, offering benefits for ecological fitness and bioformulation stability.
• Several microbes were found to produce novel secondary metabolites with potent antifungal or immunomodulatory effects.

One of the platform’s most impactful breakthroughs addresses a longstanding inefficacy in phosphorus-solubilizing products. In many Indian soils, phosphorus is complexed with aluminum and iron—not calcium, as assumed in conventional PSB formulations. From the Himalayan foothills, BioNexus identified microbes that can solubilize highly complex and even rock phosphate forms. These strains have been validated under field conditions and are now commercialized under BioPrime’s nutrient use efficiency portfolio.

Another milestone includes broad-spectrum antifungal strains showing efficacy against multiple soilborne and foliar pathogens. These are undergoing advanced-stage trials and are slated for launch in BioPrime’s upcoming product cycle.

DRIVING COLLABORATIVE INNOVATION AND STRATEGIC COMMERCIALIZATION
BioNexus is designed not as a closed, proprietary platform, but as a semi-open innovation ecosystem. It actively seeks collaboration with academic institutions, agri-startups and multinational agriculture companies. Current partnerships extend beyond agriculture into areas such as animal health and aquaculture, expanding the platform’s relevance and reach.

Internally, BioPrime utilizes BioNexus to develop next-generation biological solutions that align with its strategic pillars: climate resilience, soil regeneration and nutrient efficiency.

One such product is Nutrimax, launched in 2025. It is a microbial consortia-based formulation derived from BioNexus strains. It has demonstrated over 40 percent improvement in nutrient use efficiency (NUE) under field conditions, delivering measurable gains in fertilizer reduction, yield stability and soil health.

ACTIVELY ENABLING THE FUTURE OF SUSTAINABLE AGRICULTURE
As climate pressures mount and global demand for regenerative inputs accelerates, platforms like BioNexus are set to play a central role in shaping the next wave of BioAg innovation. By systematizing microbial discovery and linking it directly to product development, BioNexus offers a blueprint for harnessing national biodiversity for global agricultural transformation.

With its rigorous scientific foundation, ecological integrity and commitment to collaborative innovation, BioNexus is not just a milestone for BioPrime. It is a platform that may redefine how the world sources, designs and deploys microbial technologies for a more sustainable food future.