Can smarter materials help us transition away from harmful chemical pesticides while keeping our global food systems productive and resilient? In Episode 28 of The Carbon Circle, host Roshan Rai sits down with Gilad Yarkoni, CEO & Co-founder of Israeli AgTech startup Platypus. With over 15 years of experience in materials engineering and industrial chemistry, Gilad shares how Platypus is solving one of agriculture’s biggest challenges: the field durability gap of biological pest control. Learn how their innovative water-free gel platform, PlatyForm, extends the active life of natural compounds (like essential oils and pheromones) from days or weeks to over 200 days—slashing reapplication labor, lowering toxicity, and paving the way for low-toxin food systems. 💡 Key Takeaways in This EpisodeThe Broken Innovation Cycle: Why bringing a synthetic pesticide to market takes $300M+ and 12 years, and why biopesticides are taking over. The Field Stability Gap: Why natural bioactives fail quickly under heat, UV, and weather, and how ecological chemistry fixes it. Inside PlatyForm: How a water-free, slow-release gel matrix controls the volatility of bio-organic compounds. Economics for Farmers & Brands: How extended-release solutions save labor, reduce application frequency, and command premium market value. India 2047 Vision: Strategic Indo-Israeli AgTech collaboration for IPM adoption, Scope 3 reduction, and resilient food systems. ⏱️ Chapter Timestamps00:00 - Introduction: Ecological Chemistry in Pest Control 01:53 - Subtopic 1: From Factory Floor to Ecological Chemist 10:42 - Subtopic 2: The Pesticide Dilemma: Synthetics vs. Biopesticides 27:48 - Why Natural Compounds Evaporate & Fail in the Field 49:07 - Subtopic 3: The Solution: How PlatyForm Works at a Microscopic Level 01:01:06 - The Economics of Extended-Release Pest Control for Growers 01:11:02 - Subtopic 4: India 2047: Building Low-Toxin Food Systems via Israel-India Collaboration 01:13:40 - A 10-Year Roadmap for Sustainable Crop Protection 01:17:30 - Outro & Closing Remarks 👤About the Guest Gilad Yarkoni is the CEO & Co-founder of Platypus, an Israeli materials innovation startup transforming pest management with ecological chemistry. Holding a B.Sc. in Polymer/Plastics Engineering and a Master of Design from Shenkar, Gilad combines over 15 years of chemical industry experience with design thinking to build scalable, climate-relevant material solutions. 🌐 Platypus Website: https://www.platypus-materials.com/ 🔗 Gilad Yarkoni on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/gilad-yarkoni 🎙️ Carbon Mandal provides sustainability consultancy, ESG strategy, carbon accounting, and climate-risk execution to help organizations build resilient, low-carbon food and industrial supply chains. 🌐 Website: https://www.carbonmandal.com 📧 Contact: connect@carbonmandal.com🏷️ Relevant Hashtags #agtech #sustainableagriculture #PestControl #EcologicalChemistry #Biopesticides #IPM #CarbonMandal #TheCarbonCircle #ClimateTech #India2047 #GreenChemistry