Plenary & Invited Speakers
Plenary
Josh Mosiondz
Provincial Minor Use Coordinator,
Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food & Agribusiness
From Dusts to Data: The Evolution of Pesticides
This talk will examine a brief history of pesticide use in Canada in the last 75-100 years in Canada, looking at trends, new technologies, loss of technologies, present status, and now, future directions.
Biography
Josh Mosiondz is the Provincial Minor Use Coordinator for the Province of Ontario. In collaboration with growers, industry, and the Federal Government, he seeks new pesticide registrations for horticultural growers in Canada through the National Minor Use Program.
Plenary
Dr. Doug Baumann
Chief Technology Officer
Vive Crop Protection Inc.
Development Over Discovery: Protecting Crops with a Shrinking Active Ingredient Toolbox
Growers in 2026 are asked to manage complex pest, disease, and resistance pressures with fewer tools. Use restrictions and obsolescence have steadily shrunk the universe of available synthetic active ingredients, while the cost of commercializing a new AI now exceeds $300 million and 13 years — economics that force new molecules toward mass markets rather than targeted agronomic needs. Biologicals promise new modes of action, but as young technologies they remain unoptimized and often demand accommodation on the farm.
This talk presents an alternative innovation model: development over discovery. Rather than inventing new active ingredients, Vive Crop Protection applies advanced formulation and delivery technologies to existing actives, designing differentiated products with performance that the molecules alone cannot deliver. Vive uses nanotechnology to alter how AI’s move in soil, penetrate leaf tissue, and interact with other actives to increase spectrum. The approach is modular and fast, moving from ideation to market in roughly four years at a fraction of discovery costs.
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A central focus for Vive is hybrid products, ie synthetic-biological premixes, which are rare globally and only number 13 among thousands of US EPA-registered pesticides. Hybrids treat biologicals as a strategic opportunity to pair novel modes of action with the reliability, economics, and familiarity of proven chemistries, easing resistance pressure without sacrificing performance. We will discuss the technical challenges of hybrid formulation, field validation, and what a development-led pipeline means for keeping growers' toolboxes full.
Biography
Dr. M. Douglas Baumann is Chief Technology Officer at Vive Crop Protection, where he leads R&D, regulatory, and manufacturing of nanotechnology-enabled crop protection. Vive is one of North America's fastest growing companies, one of Canada's fastest growing clean tech companies and one of Canada's top employers. Doug joined Vive in 2022 as VP, Product Development following a decade at Syngenta leading multidisciplinary teams across formulation, field development, and technical services. His research career spans agriculture, polymer science, biomedical and biochemical engineering, all connected by a passion for nanotechnology.
Plenary
Wayne Barton
Development & Tech Services Consultant
GreenLight Biosciences Inc.
RNAi Technology: Experience & Opportunities for Crop Protection in Agriculture
RNA interference (RNAi), enabled through the targeted delivery of double-stranded RNA (dsRNA), is emerging as a new approach to crop protection. This presentation will review where RNAi/dsRNA is being used today and explore its broader technical potential. Its sequence specificity, very short environmental half-life and potential for minimal effects on beneficial organisms, non-targets, applicators and bystanders create a novel and potentially favourable regulatory and environmental profile.
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These same characteristics, however, present challenges for achieving reliable, economical field performance. The presentation will examine what is required to expand RNAi beyond the current product scope—including target selection, dsRNA production, formulation and delivery, uptake and persistence, field consistency and regulatory science—and consider whether these advances can enable RNAi to evolve from a small number of novel products into a broader, flexible crop-protection platform.
Biography
Wayne is a graduate of the University of Guelph, completing his BSc (Agr) and MSc in plant pathology. His career in the crop protection industry includes consulting in the areas of crop residue, soil dissipation, and efficacy; and 26 years with BASF Canada where he worked in crop protection field research, marketing, and R&D leadership. He is currently consulting to GreenLight BioSciences Inc. focused on the development of their dsRNA crop protection pipeline. For additional fun, Wayne is rediscovering endurance sport on a bike, and beekeeping.
Plenary
Dr. Ravi Ramachandran
Head of Research & Development, Crop Protection
Syngenta Canada
Novel Digital Approaches to Accelerate the Discovery and Development of Crop Protection Innovations
The growing complexity of agricultural challenges demands innovative crop protection solutions and more efficient R&D approaches. Artificial intelligence (AI), advanced data analytics and digital technologies are transforming how we discover and develop crop protection chemistry and biologicals. This presentation explores how integrating these capabilities across the R&D process can enhance scientific discovery, optimize experimentation, improve decision-making and accelerate development. Through digital and data-driven insights, we will demonstrate opportunities to complement scientific expertise and translate innovation into effective, sustainable crop protection solutions that address growers’ needs and contribute to global food security.
Biography
Dr. Ravi Ramachandran is Head of Research and Development for Crop Protection at Syngenta Canada and a recognized leader at the intersection of science, agriculture, sustainability, and public engagement. He holds a BSc and MSc in Chemistry from Bangalore University, India, and a PhD in Chemistry from Western University in London, Ontario. With nearly 30 years of R&D and commercial leadership experience across Canada and the United States, he leads a multidisciplinary team of chemistry, engineering and biological science experts advancing crop-protection solutions for Canadian agriculture. Dr. Ramachandran has contributed to numerous commercial agricultural technologies and holds 15 U.S., Canadian, and international patent publications and has coauthored over 30 research publications in peer reviewed international science journals. His contribution to Agriculture innovation has focused on creating value on the farm through fit-for-purpose product design that delivers precise, effective, and sustainable crop protection.
Ramachandran's leadership spans industry, scientific, and international organizations. He has served on the Responsible Care® Leadership Group of the Chemical Industry Association of Canada; as Chair of the Toronto Local Section of the Chemical Institute of Canada; as Director of Local Sections for the Canadian Society for Chemistry and as Chair of the Society of Chemical Industry (SCI) Canada Awards Nominations committee. He currently serves as Chair of the Canada International Group of the Society of Chemical Industry, headquartered in London, UK. A frequent speaker at various national and international conferences, Ramachandran advocates for the value of science in society, with particular emphasis on the essential role of agricultural innovation in strengthening global food security.