BiOWiSH Technologies is proud to announce that our CEO, Ian Edwards, was featured on the cover of Vietnam Fisheries magazine!
The magazine also published an interview with Ian where he discusses biotechnology, aquaculture, and BiOWiSH’s mission to help Vietnamese farmers.
Read on for the full interview.Outstanding technology from the US
Developed and manufactured entirely in the US, BiOWiSH products not only improve the environment, but, critically, they also benefit farmers. With their advanced technology, BiOWiSH is key for sustainable food production, ensuring food safety and reducing cost for the farmers. Mr. Ian Edwards, Chief Executive Officer of BiOWiSH Technologies, was interviewed for Vietnam Fisheries Magazine.
He co-founded “Big I” Investments, a Boston-based early stage venture capital company. He was also the CEO of TRT-Holdings (formerly known as Twin Rivers Technologies).
Before this role, Ian had a successful career at Procter and Gamble, where he spent 36 years on assignments across Europe and North America. His last assignment was Vice President, General Manager of P&G Chemicals. He is recognized as a world-renowned expert in the natural ingredients, bio-fuels and oleo-chemical industries.
What sparked your interest in biotechnology and BiOWiSH?
Throughout a long career working closely with scientists, I came to realize that biotechnology products are going to replace the traditional chemical ones as the solution for recent aquaculture problems. The wonderful thing about biotechnology is that microorganisms can do amazing things; the right combination of these microorganisms can reduce many dangerous diseases.
Our microorganisms help to enhance metabolic activities and improve animal health. They can definitely accomplish things that traditional chemicals cannot. Since I realized that, I have been more and more passionate about researching and developing bio-products, and I want to share my results with the world.
Can you tell me more about the BiOWiSH mission in Vietnam?
Vietnam is an interesting market full of potential, because 70% of the population is dependent on agriculture. The agriculture industry mostly consists of small-scale farmers. Our mission is to bring our benefits to those farmers.
We believe that, when applied correctly, our products ensure food safety and reduce growing costs, so the farms can be successful, and the farmers’ lives will be improved. We know that a sustainable business can only prosper when the company’s benefit is based on the social benefit.
Can you share more about BiOWiSH products and their effects in Vietnam?
We have developed technology to address many different issues; aquaculture is one of our most interesting fields. We know that there are many direct competitors. However, we are confident that there are not many companies that bring the benefits of BiOWiSH.
We have researched and developed products that are specifically suited to Vietnam, because the production conditions in Vietnam are different from those in the US and other countries. BiOWiSH has conducted hundreds of trials and continuously improved our products to meet the Vietnam market characteristics. Because of this, BiOWiSH brings real benefits to the farms, especially to ensure food safety, decrease antibiotic residue, and increase productivity.
What are the challenges and opportunities in the Vietnam market?
The Vietnam aquaculture industry is facing many challenges. You can have a perfect product, but, when it gets to the users, it fails in real life conditions. That’s because pond conditions can vary every day. The change in pH, temperature, and other factors affects disease status. The water quality is also significantly different from that of other countries. Besides that, sustainable and safe production protocol is required.
That’s why BiOWiSH has solutions for all stages of development. In aquaculture, we have formulated products that support healthy hatchlings, create good conditions for development, clean the water to make it safe, and supplement shrimp feeds, working with other factors such as pH and environment. As soon as any change has been detected, a treatment is required.
In Vietnam, BiOWiSH does not just sell the products. We also train the farmers to use them in conjunction with current best management practices. This is a big opportunity, and also a big challenge. BiOWiSH believes we have the chance to positively change the lives of Vietnamese farmers.
Vietnam is facing many challenges, like aquaculture products that have high antibiotic residue. Being a specialist in this field, what is your advice?
The antibiotic residue in aquaculture products is a threat to human health; it increases bacteria resistance, then reduces the human resistance. Our products protect animals without any threat to human life. They help the animals to enhance resistance and support disease prevention without antibiotics. We also work on crop improvement, water quality improvement, shrimp nutrition, and productivity improvement.
What potential do you see for aquaculture in Vietnam?
The first challenge for Vietnam aquaculture is the varying environment. For example, the temperature and climate; they have a significant effect on the production. The low quality of water also causes high disease pressure on fish and shrimp. Furthermore, Vietnam is facing a salinity change due to global warming.
However, the potential for aquaculture development is still good, especially for increasing productivity and revenue in this industry. Besides that, the government has many policies to support and develop aquaculture.
For BiOWiSH, during our first period in Vietnam, we focused on water remediation. Then, with encouragement from the government to develop bioproducts in agriculture, BiOWiSH researched and developed recent product lines that support the aquaculture industry.
I am really pleased to work with Vietnamese farmers because they are willing to learn how to apply advanced technologies and new information, and they are really hard-working. One more important thing is that the Vietnamese Government is greatly concerned with aquaculture development.
Thank you so much!
In Vietnam, the Group has cooperated with many units such as Farmer Union, Minh Phu Group, etc. to conduct trials within the above applications in different scales and levels: household, farm, factory. A high economic efficiency for the producers has been recognized. The products are the result of the cooperation between leading universities and researchers. The biggest value from BiOWiSH is the actual results in increasing and improving production, and farmers’ lives. This thing has created a different Group."
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