Reasons for optimism abound ahead of the Indoor AgTech Innovation Summit, after a turbulent 2022 and 2023 characterised by closures, bankruptcies, restructuring, and cancelled expansions.
AgTechNavigator spoke to Stephan Dolezalek, managing partner at investor Grosvenor Food & AgTech, for his views on the prospects for the indoor farming sector. One of them: the opportunity to grow premium products to address specific nutrient and...
US indoor farmer Square Roots is growing plants in the dark using gene edited (CRISPR) technology. The move could make indoor farming significantly more viable and sustainable, especially in low and middle-income countries, by reducing energy needs and...
Seven disruptive start-ups have been selected to drive agri-food innovation and economic growth in the country, offering innovative solutions to enhance the agrifood value chain, improve commercial exchanges, and introduce high-value crops.
Aphea.Bio, a provider of microbial solutions for agriculture, has announced the submission of applications for its first biofungicides to obtain federal approval from the United States Environmental Protection Agency.
Waitrose, a premium grocer with over 350 shops in the UK, and part of Britain's largest employee-owned retailer, the John Lewis Partnership, says it is committing to support more than 2,000 of its British farmers to move to regenerative farming practices,...
AgTech innovations spanning carbon reduction, waste valorisation and soil characterisation from across Asia Pacific are among the latest cohort of the PepsiCo APAC Greenhouse Accelerator Program.
The term 'disconnect' frequently arises in agtech. How can the industry bridge the gap between technology and on-ground farm realities to retain long-term trust with growers?
There is much excitement surrounding the potential benefits for carbon capture and soil improvements offered by the process of enhanced rock weathering. However, it is at present seen as too expensive to scale. A London biotech is therefore applying enzymes...
Early-stage ag and food tech investor Big Idea Ventures has launched its fifth portfolio company through its Generation Food Rural Partners (GFRP) fund.
A comprehensive report released by Hatch Blue sheds light on the critical need for sustainable, protein-rich aquafeed ingredients to support the booming aquaculture industry while mitigating environmental concerns.
Using satellite imagery to detect plant fluorescence, researchers have developed a way to predict crop yields that can potentially be used widely in developing countries.
Our 360-degree look at the latest agtech developments from across the globe takes in the news that Bunge has announced a deal with xFarm Technologies in Brazil, while ADM has also announced that its global regenerative agriculture programme has exceeded...
AgTechNavigator catches up with PowerPollen, whose technology allows pollen to be collected, preserved, and applied on-demand, for significantly better pollination and higher yields for wind-pollinated crops.
Four studies published by Purdue University scientists document the feasibility of previously unproven methods for successfully treating the wastewater.
HeavyFinance, the company raising €50 million for a private credit fund to help advance agricultural decarbonisation in Bulgaria, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland and Portugal, has announced it will lead the restoration of 300,000 hectares of Ukrainian farmland...
Biologicals are demonstrating a trend of growth amid rising demand for more sustainable and natural farming practices. SymbioMatch, an early research-based start-up based in Denmark, hopes to fulfil the need for biofertilisers that work consistently across...
Switzerland’s xFarm Technologies hopes to establish itself as a European agtech leader after integrating new technology into its digital platform to provide more solutions to help growers become more efficient and sustainable.
The Israeli company says securing this round of capital in today’s challenging economic climate is further validation of Greeneye’s mission to drive mainstream adoption of precision spraying technology in the US.
PitchBook’s latest Q1 2024 Agtech Report indicates a market undergoing a correction, with the wheat being separated from the chaff. Some sectors are hotter than others, meanwhile.
Despite advances in innovation and technology in UK agriculture, attracting sufficient investment remains a key hindrance in achieving transformative change in the industry.
Three groups are collaborating in South Texas to connect landowners engaged in nature-based carbon capture with a network of carbon credit buyers. The project will boost soil health and grower incomes, they announce.
A rapidly spreading virus threatens the health of the cacao tree and the dried seeds from which chocolate is made, jeopardising the global supply of the world’s most popular treat, scientists warn. They have developed a new strategy of using mathematical...
New Zealand-based BioLumic uses ultraviolet (UV) light to boost the growth, yield, and quality of various crops, including corn, soybeans, lettuce and cannabis. It is now bringing its tech to ryegrass in an attempt to manage the country’s notorious methane...
Via a new agreement with UK-based R&D company AlphaBio Control, Bayer has gained exclusive rights to market the first ever biological insecticide which will help farmers control pests in arable crops. The product is expected to launch in 2028.
Farmers don’t need to be told about the risks of climate change or learn any more about how regenerative practices can create more ecologically and economically robust agricultural systems. It simply remains a risk for them to adopt new practices. Thankfully...
Founded in 2022, Cornell University spin out Orchard Robotics has engineered a vehicle-mounted, AI-powered camera system that gathers precision data about fruit on trees.
Agtech is set to play ‘a defining role’ as agri-food businesses look to adopt new technology to drive growth, claims a new report commissioned to mark the launch of the new UK Agri-Tech Centre.
Betagro Group is a large, diversified agro-industrial and food company in Thailand with an estimated annual turnover of around US$1 billion. Its corporate venture arm, Betagro Ventures, was established in 2021 to help it stay at the forefront of innovation...
NPHarvest, a spin-off from Aalto University in Finland, has raised €2.2 million to bring its proprietary nutrient catcher machine to market. The hardware is the first of its kind, making it possible to catch nutrients on a real commercial level, the company...
A precompetitive initiative working towards the implementation of new solutions to prevent bacterial diseases and reduce the use of antibiotics has been announced in Chile.
Rock removal company TerraClear has announced its existing investors have poured an additional US$15 million into capturing the untapped US$2.7 rock management market. A 5,000-year-old problem finally has a solution, it says.
Our round-up of the latest research from institutions and universities across the globe looks at the world’s first unmanned machine designed for autonomous forestry operations, while Korean scientists have successfully developed ‘cultured beef rice’,...
Biochar made from empty cocoa pods has the potential to improve and retain moisture in soil, according to a cocoa cooperative in in Côte d’Ivoire. It is looking to biochar made from agricultural waste to solve the problem of persistent drought compromising...
McKinsey & Company survey reveals that 90% of US farmers are aware of sustainable practices, but widespread adoption remains low with compensation levels remaining a main concern.
The agtech industry is betting big on generative AI. But high quality, clean, and well organised data is needed to distinguish the hype from true impact, warn experts, who are urging for open data standards to be adopted to spur valuable innovation and...
Founded in 2014, Weenat provides the agricultural community with agro-meteorological data to monitor the climatic and agronomic conditions of its plots in real time, from sowing to harvesting.
Singapore start-up Peptobiotics has raised US$6.2M in Series A funding to commercialise its antimicrobial peptide technology as it seeks to replace the use of antibiotics, firstly in aquaculture, and in the future in livestock.
Drones are unquestionably great tools for crop spraying, surveying and mapping, but their consequences are potentially grave if gotten into the wrong hands. US drone companies are warning about alleged, and strongly disputed, security risks stemming from...
We chat to dsm-firmenich’s Dr. Heinz Flatnitzer to find out more about financed emissions, offering life cycle assessment platform Sustell to lenders, and how dairy farmers can benefit from sustainability-linked finance.
The rise of extreme weather events across the globe is posing a major threat to food security. So how can we create more resilient supply chains to ensure food supplies in the future?
We hear from Jacqueline Heard, CEO of crop protection company Enko Chem, which had one of the biggest global agtech venture capital deals in recent years from a company with at least one female founder.
US health-focused food and agriculture company Pairwise is using one of the most powerful R&D advances in a generation – CRISPR – to develop compelling products that benefit consumers, growers and agricultural workers alike. As such, it believes it...
