- New invasive pests, known pests re-emerging as significant threats in the field, increasingly extreme climatic conditions and stricter regulatory requirements are accelerating the need to rethink pest management.
- HARMONY was created to develop, integrate and validate new crop protection solutions based on natural enemies, biopesticides and semiochemicals, with the aim of advancing towards more effective, sustainable and field-applicable protection programmes.
- The project has a budget of €1.77 million and will run for 36 months, from October 2025 to September 2028.
- The consortium brings together three leading agri-biotechnology companies and four research centres, with an initial focus on citrus and pepper crops.
- Futureco Bioscience participates as a specialist in biopesticide research, development, formulation and scale-up, contributing its expertise in microorganisms, botanical extracts, RNAi and metabolites, as well as in the stability and scale-up of solutions for field application.
Crop protection in Europe is undergoing a profound transformation. The spread of new invasive pests, the persistence or re-emergence of known phytosanitary threats, the increasing frequency of extreme weather events and an increasingly demanding regulatory framework are driving the agricultural sector to rethink its crop protection strategies.
Against this backdrop, HARMONY (Holistic Approach for managing emerging organisms through synergy of biocontrol agents, biopesticides, and semiochemicals) was created. This national multidisciplinary project brings together leading agri-biotechnology companies and top-tier research centres to develop new crop protection solutions based on natural enemies, biopesticides and semiochemicals, and to validate their integration under real growing conditions.
With a budget of €1,773,859.74 and a duration of 36 months, from October 2025 to September 2028, HARMONY brings together three agri-biotechnology companies — Agrobio S.L. (Coordinator), Futureco Bioscience S.A. and SEDQ HEALTHY CROPS S.L. — alongside four research institutions: the Technical University of Cartagena, IQAC-CSIC, the University of Almería and the University of Barcelona.
Responding to new phytosanitary challenges
Spain, the leading citrus producer in the European Union and one of the world’s major orange exporters, is facing an increasingly complex scenario. Pest pressure, combined with drought and extreme temperatures, is increasing the vulnerability of production systems and could contribute to a decline in citrus production in the coming years.
The challenge is equally significant in horticultural crops. Pepper, the main crop in Almería and one of the pillars of Europe’s horticultural supply, is facing increasing pressure from thrips, including species such as Thrips parvispinus, Scirtothrips aurantii and Scirtothrips dorsalis. These are compounded by emerging or difficult-to-manage pests such as Delottococcus aberiae, as well as the persistent presence of Ceratitis capitata in certain production systems.
The pressure from these pests extends beyond their agronomic impact and is already being felt at both institutional and commercial levels. In Andalusia, the presence of Thrips parvispinus has led to the approval of mandatory and recommended phytosanitary measures for its prevention and control in greenhouse horticultural crops. At the same time, destination markets are becoming increasingly demanding, with the detection of residues above maximum residue limits or of unauthorised active substances already leading to alerts, rejected shipments and tighter restrictions across export supply chains.
The role of Futureco Bioscience
Within HARMONY, Futureco Bioscience participates as a specialist in the research, development, formulation and scale-up of biopesticides, contributing its expertise in biologically derived active ingredients from different sources, including microorganisms, microbial metabolites, botanical extracts, proteins and RNAi-based technologies. The company will work on the identification, production and characterisation of new active ingredients, optimising growth conditions, culture media, production processes and stability parameters to select those with the greatest potential.
With support from the Technical University of Cartagena for selected ex vivo trials, Futureco Bioscience will characterise the most promising active ingredients developed, assessing key aspects such as their mode of action, safety, stability, biochemical activity and compatibility with agricultural and regulatory standards. With the participation of the University of Barcelona, the company will also work on the design and characterisation of liquid and solid formulation prototypes aimed at protecting the functionality of the active ingredients and facilitating their field application. In collaboration with Agrobio, it will also study the compatibility of these prototypes with natural enemies, an essential aspect for their integration into integrated pest management programmes.
Futureco Bioscience will subsequently produce the selected active ingredients and formulated prototypes at pilot scale at its facilities for evaluation in citrus and pepper crops together with the consortium.
From coexistence to synergy
The sector currently has a broad range of tools available for pest control. However, many solutions are still applied as standalone alternatives, limiting their ability to generate complementary effects and more consistent responses in the field.
According to Carolina Fernández, Vice President of Scientific Affairs at Futureco Bioscience, the value of the project lies precisely in this integrated approach: “The sector currently has different tools available for pest control, but new phytosanitary challenges require us to go beyond the solutions already available. HARMONY is working on the development of new solutions and their integration, with the aim of advancing towards crop protection programmes that are more effective, consistent and easier to apply in the field.”
Funding information
HARMONY has been funded by MICIU/AEI/10.13039/501100011033 and by the European Union through the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF, EU), under the 2024 Public-Private Collaboration call (CPP2024).
