Dr. Ishtiaq Rao, CEO at Crop Defenders
Dr. Ishtiaq M Rao, Ph.D (Entomology), the CEO of Crop Defenders Ltd., is passionate about making ecological farming more economical. He believes most growers are paying a much bigger price than they realize on pest control products and services, without getting the results they need. Understanding the pain that growers' profit margins are getting thinner, he is devoted to finding solutions that will help increase the return on their biocontrol investment. He developed an 8-part holistic IPM framework for producing pest outbreak-free crops with little to no pesticide use.
Dr. Rao began his career in biocontrol in 1994 by producing Trichogramma spp for the Commonwealth Institute of Biological Control. In 1997, he founded the first-ever biocontrol company in Pakistan, eventually servicing 60,000 acres of sugarcane, cotton, and vegetable crops using his biocontrol products. He brought his biocontrol expertise to Canada in 2007 when he founded Crop Defenders Ltd. Crop Defenders has since offered incredible cost-saving solutions for the biological control of all horticultural and agricultural pests to growers across North America.
Crop Defenders -- Growers save money by learning our sustainable pest control strategies
At Crop Defenders, we keep the environment at heart. Unlike our competitors, we only sell biological methods. We believe that bios can, with some knowledge, control most pests as well if not better than pesticides. We recognize that pesticides are a useful tool in some cases; we sometimes recommend them based on how bad the situation is.
The difference is this: When we recommend pesticides, we do not make any money off of them. It is our belief that biologicals are the best long term solution. Our goal is to help our growers come up with the best possible plan to have the highest yield while minimizing risks and costs.