A major new international research initiative is set to accelerate the development of sustainable and affordable food production through next-generation biofertilizers.

The Initiative for Biofertilizer Innovation and Science (IBIS) will be housed at the Technical University of Denmark (DTU) and jointly funded by the Novo Nordisk Foundation and the Gates Foundation, with a combined investment of DKK 215 mio. (28,8 mio. EUR / 33,8 mio. USD – amount converted at the exchange rate prevailing as of the date of writing) over five years.

The initiative seeks to reduce global reliance on synthetic fertilizers by enabling the development and deployment of effective microbial biofertilizers.

“Microbial biofertilizers are vital for sustainable food production, but widespread adoption is still limited by scientific and technical gaps,” said Rasmus J.N. Frandsen, associate professor at DTU Bioengineering and director of IBIS. “Through IBIS, we will generate the knowledge, tools and frameworks needed to enable public and private actors to identify, develop and scale robust solutions tailored to local needs and agricultural practices.” Frandsen added the initiative will be housed by the DTU’s Department of Biotechnology and Biomedicine.

The IBIS initiative will bring together academic and industry partners across both the Global North and Global South to build an open innovation platform and shared infrastructure. New AG International was told that the goal is to overcome current scientific and logistical hurdles, from microbial strain development and testing protocols to field performance and manufacturing.

Partner universities in the project, which come from Denmark (University of Copenhagen and Aarhus University), India (Tamil Nadu Agricultural University), and South Africa (Council for Scientific and Industrial Research), will collaborate to conduct large-scale, standardized experiments to generate the very large data sets and deeper understanding that are needed to start actual production.

“Each partner has unique knowledge and resources that, when combined, enable us to write a ‘cookbook’ on how to develop biofertilizers,” said Frandsen. “The purpose of the initiative is not to sell biofertilizer, but to provide the recipes and data sets that enable others to set up local production facilities around the world. And the cookbook will be free, in the sense that all the data we create will be freely available.”

The program’s Open Innovation in Science (OIS) component will offer targeted funding to researchers and companies globally, helping them co-create essential tools, datasets and standards.

The consortium will form two global research teams. One will focus on biofertilizer manufacturing and formulation, while the other will concentrate on agronomy and field performance, ensuring solutions are both scientifically rigorous and practically viable in diverse agricultural settings. New AG International was told that all data from the fields will be freely available, so companies can submit solutions.

Claus Felby, vice president of agri-food at the Novo Nordisk Foundation, highlighted the broader vision: “IBIS represents an important step towards promoting high-yield sustainable agriculture by creating the foundation for reliable biofertilizer solutions that benefit both small farmers and large agricultural operations worldwide.”