Innovation Interview: Biome Makers and sustainable agriculture through soil recovery

Supporting initiatives that help us achieve a sustainable environment and a green transition has become an urgent priority for organisations such as the European Innovation Council (EIC).

For this reason, Evolution enjoys working with clients like Biome Makers, whose project has a genuine implication for our quality of life and the future of our planet: focusing on soil remediation. Driven by science and technology, they modernise and empower agriculture to make it more environmentally friendly.

Today we meet Beatriz Salvador, Innovation Manager at Biome Makers, to tell us about the exciting story of this company that is so committed to our environment.

Beatriz Salvador, Innovation Manager at Biome Makers. 

Your beginnings take us back to 2015, specifically to Silicon Valley (San Francisco), where you started to develop your successful project on soil recovery. How did Biome Makers start, and how has it evolved?

Biome Makers’ founders, Alberto Acedo, PhD in microbiology and Adrián Ferrero, economist passionate about technological innovation and sustainability, travelled to Silicon Valley in 2015 to demonstrate their idea: promoting more sustainable agriculture by providing data on what happens in the soil microbiome to encourage informed decision-making in agriculture, would one day become a must-have topic for the sector. 

Over the years, it has become clear that the scientific community and the entire agricultural ecosystem have a keen interest in what goes on underneath the soil and how it influences what we eat. Thanks to this, Biome Makers has expanded its vision worldwide, being supported in more than 40 countries and establishing more than 200 industrial collaborations.

From left to right: Dr Alberto Acedo (Co-Founder and CSO) and Adrián Ferrero (Co-Founder and CEO).

Among your initiatives, we find fields4ever, a project in which you help farmers, agronomists, and researchers increase their knowledge about their soils using your technology. Recently, we have read that you will support more than 200 research projects. Could you tell us more about this call and what objectives you aim to achieve?

Fields4Ever was created in 2020 to open up our BeCrop® technology to the agricultural ecosystem to improve soil health. We wanted to impact agriculture by unlocking the microbial state to restore soil health worldwide, setting apart 0.5 million metric tons of greenhouse gas emissions, reducing nutrient loss to the environment by 5 million pounds, and saving 1 million tons of soil erosion. 

Thanks to the help of the European Commission, which supported the use of the technology in Europe, the initiative quickly spread throughout the region and globally.

Today Fields4Ever, as you mention, has more than 210 projects supporting the restoration of soil health worldwide. The entire agricultural ecosystem has benefited from the initiative and understood how the soil microbiome affects crops and the importance of restoring soil health.

The figure of the partner is relevant to contribute to the growth and business development of Biome Makers. In your partner programme, you have the figure of BeCrop Advisors. Can you share more information about them and why they are essential for you?

BeCrop® Advisor is a free initiative that provides agronomists and industry specialists with knowledge about the soil microbiome and how it affects crops, and the options that Biome Makers has available to solve specific problems. For instance, BeCrop Test, BeCrop Trials and BeCrop Rate; through various courses. In addition to learning, they can take an exam to become certified as BeCrop Advisors.

Finally, I would like to mention that anyone interested can access the courses for free, in English and Spanish, at the following link: Be Crop Advisors | Biome Makers

We were delighted to learn more about your BeCrop® project, the solution you have developed to analyse the state of soils and thus achieve better crop health. How do you manage to use advanced technology to obtain this information?

BeCrop® is the technology on which all our solutions are based. We currently have the largest taxonomic database in the world, with more than 10 million references. In addition, our technology is the first Intelligent Computing System (ICS) based on Artificial Intelligence (AI), with a proprietary database of more than 122 analysed crop samples and agricultural soil microbial profiles from more than 40 countries worldwide, making us a leader in the Agtech industry.

All of this can be supported by our BeCrop® Portal platform, where any client can view their sample data and access tools to help understand what is happening in the soil microbiome.

The technology and the analysis process have gained recognition from the scientific community and the general public. 

As mentioned, this technology is the basis for BeCrop Test, BeCrop Trials and BeCrop Rate. Each of these is specifically designed to solve a specific customer problem.

With this project, you got the support of the European Commission through the EIC Accelerator funding programme. What advice would you give to start-ups that are applying for this option?

My advice would be to take the time and define the business model, the market and the competition very well. And be aware of the high competitiveness of this programme!

Once Biome Makers obtains recognition from the European Commission, the Project Management phase begins. What are the keys to successfully passing this process and getting the maximum support?  

The most important thing is to have worked out the budget and the resource forecast. From there, to keep a monthly control of the project expenditure and progress of the activities, not leave it to the last day. It also helps to keep the line of communication open with the EIC project officer and communicate any deviations. They want the project to succeed and are available to help the company achieve a successful conclusion.

It is essential to be very clear about what expenses are chargeable and how to record them, and also to keep track of the hours of the staff involved.

It has been a pleasure for us to work with Biome Makers and to be able to help you meet your funding goals. How would you evaluate our collaboration? Why would you recommend our services?

We have received support from Evolution at all stages of the application process. This has been very important in complying with the appropriate procedures and submitting the supporting documentation on time during both the application and submission period. This kind of support is crucial if you have no previous experience in managing EU-funded projects, ensuring that you make the most of their potential. The relationship has been excellent, and the response time has been almost immediate.

A few months ago, you completed a $15 million Series B funding round to accelerate your growth and international expansion. What will be the next milestone in your funding strategy?

Biome Makers is currently focused on the commercial exploitation of the technology developed with the support obtained from the European Commission and on its global expansion for the promotion of sustainable agriculture. On the other hand, we continue to be an R&D-intensive company and hope to benefit again from the Commission’s support for the upcoming developments. 

Thank you very much, Beatriz, for sharing your exciting commitment to more sustainable agriculture and soil!