Record $1 Million Contract Confirms Positive Momentum
Statement made by David Warrick, Managing Director, Certified Organics Limited
Certified Organics has confirmed a contract for its Interceptor™ Seed Eradicator (Interceptor) product worth close to $1
million from the Government of South Australia.
The contract is its biggest single sale on record and amounts to more than Certified Organics’ total Interceptor sales
for 2005. Shipments will commence in the next few weeks and be fully completed within the first half of the year.
The Government of South Australia has been an early adopter of Certified Organics’ Seed Eradicator product, using it in
its Branched Broomrape eradication programme.
The order is three times larger than the Government’s order placed in 2005 and reinforces the success realised in using
Certified Organics’ product to eradicate the parasitic weed that affects around three percent of the world’s arable
land.
The Government contract illustrates the potential Interceptor has in the global market for commercial use by private and
public organisations.
Interceptor’s success in South Australia has attracted interest from government agencies looking for solutions to their
own problems with Branched Broomrape. Certified Organics is now supporting the initial stages of similar projects in the
European Union.
The Department of Water, Land and Biodiversity Conservation of the Government of South Australia trialed a number of
alternatives for eradicating Branched Broomrape, before picking the Interceptor product for wider use.
Interceptor replaces old-style soil fumigation systems, which have been phased out internationally because of their
negative impact on the environment. Customer benefits of Interceptor include:
- Flexibility in methods of application by ground rig, or by helicopter, especially for inaccessible areas, unstable
soils, cliff faces etc.
- No requirements to remove native vegetation before application, preventing soil erosion in areas of fragile soils
- Kills the seeds of the weed both in the ground, before germination and on the seed head of the flower before it has
the chance to spread
The Interceptor contract is the latest in a series of positive announcements from Certified Organics, following a
restructuring programme and the acquisition of the New Zealand Nature company.
ENDS
Branch Broomrape (“Orobanche Ramosa”) is a parasitic weed originating in the Middle East. The weed decimates yields from
crops its attacks, using them as a food source. Because it represents such a threat to agriculture, it is noted by the
World Trade Organization as a proscribed plant.
Each plant can produce over half a million seeds, which can last in the ground for over 10 years before germinating.