Silvia Todorova

Company: Anatis Bioprotection

Sector of activity: Biological insecticides

Head office: Laval

Number of employees: 27

Her commitment

Aligned with UN sustainable development goal 15 (life on land)

I commit to offering an alternative to synthetic insecticides by developing an innovative, unique biological product for agricultural producers.

“We need to take care of nature and respect the environment if we want to offer current and future generations healthy, environmentally friendly, organic food.”

– Silvia Todorova, President, Anatis Bioprotection

A pioneer using insects to protect crops

Nature working for nature

Since 2005, this growing SME founded by Silvia Todorova has been offering services and natural products to farmers who want to reduce the use of chemical insecticides that are toxic for the environment. Her spearhead: a biological and ecological battle. The business produces and distributes insects, such as trichogrammas (small wasps), mites, and roundworms (micro-organisms), which act as predators and attack harmful insects. This natural approach allows farmers to produce healthy, organic, quality food. Many farmers use her services: in Québec, almost 40% of corn producers use Anatis Bioprotection trichogrammas to protect their crops from a devastating parasite, the corn borer.

Mushrooms to the rescue

Certified in Canada and the U.S., the first microbiological product marketed by Anatis Bioprotection, the insecticide BioCeres, uses an entomopathogenic mushroom that attacks insects such as aphids, whiteflies and thrips. This product contains spores that affect neither the life of beneficial insects nor the growth of plants. Whether relying on mushrooms or wasps and mites, the company’s ecological solutions are friendly to the environment, but highly effective to control insects that infest horticultural, greenhouse, and agricultural crops of all sizes.

Impact felt from the field to the plate

Anatis Bioprotection’s main mission is to harness the strengths of nature to protect it. While unable to put an exact figure on her company’s direct impact on local agriculture, Silvia Todorova believes it significantly reduces – approximately 15% per year – the use of chemical insecticides within Québec. This is a major contribution that has a positive impact on the quality of harvests and the health of consumers and farmers, who, lest we forget, are directly affected by chemicals.

Ecological right down the line

Anatis Bioprotection’s environmental commitment begins at the source, in the former sheepfold where the company has set up shop. Breeding insects and cultivating microfungi generates very little greenhouse gas, and packaging is environmentally responsible, compostable, and recyclable. These measures, combined with the beneficial effects of the products on local agriculture, help preserve ecosystems and put the company at the heart of the fight against climate change.