Our 360-degree look at the latest agtech developments from across the globe takes in the news that vertical farm technology provider IGS has secured £22.5 million to support significant global expansion. Elsewhere, Iridesense has introduced the world’s first 3D multispectral LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensor capable of remotely assessing plant health and soil moisture in real-time, while Nasekomo is primed to launch an extensive network of insect bioconversion facilities across Europe. Scroll through the photo gallery for more…
Images: Getty/J Studios
Our 360-degree look at the latest agtech developments from across the globe takes in the news that vertical farm technology provider IGS has secured £22.5 million to support significant global expansion. Elsewhere, Iridesense has introduced the world’s first 3D multispectral LiDAR (light detection and ranging) sensor capable of remotely assessing plant health and soil moisture in real-time, while Nasekomo is primed to launch an extensive network of insect bioconversion facilities across Europe.
Images: Getty/J Studios
The UK’s Small Robot Company announced its closure. “It is with great sadness that after a long fight Small Robot Company today proceeds into liquidation,” it said in a statement. “Our technology delivered value at a profit, with customers waiting, but we could not secure the required investment to scale.
Founded in 2017, the company made automated robots covering plant detection, biomass assessment and weed detection.
“We have created something remarkable in the last six years. We co-designed our service with farmers, successfully delivering their ‘Holy Grail’, a world first: grass weed detection at field scale,” it continued.
“This went commercially live in September, with huge potential. UK blackgrass alone loses farmers £400m each year. Service last season demonstrated up to 90% herbicide and 24% fertiliser savings.
“We believe we developed something that will be a cornerstone of how farms are run in the future, but unfortunately with this attempt we were too early for the market. Our chapter in the fourth agricultural revolution is over. We hope we have inspired others to continue the mission.”
Image: Small Robot Company
At CES 2024, US-based Iridesense is unveiling what it calls the first 3D Multispectral LiDAR (Light Detection and Ranging) sensor capable of analysing plant health and soil humidity levels remotely in real-time. This new application of LiDAR aims to improve crop yields and resource management by optimising irrigation, water and pesticides consumption. Other applications, such as industrial quality control and forest management will also be showcased.
Iridesense CEO Nadine Buard said: “Our LIDAR sensor provides a groundbreaking solution for controlling and managing the management of natural resources, helping plants and other materials alike ‘communicate’ with those working on them. Our sensors could be fit as standard on agricultural machinery in the future, to understand and react to the needs of plants in real-time.”
Prior to this sensor, no technology could measure plants health, or soil moisture levels in outdoor conditions without resorting to sampling, she claimed. “Alternative technologies can only detect these factors at a distance of 1.5m, and fail to work outdoors or in environments where lighting cannot be controlled.
“Water management in agriculture and arboriculture is a complex issue that generates conflicts of use. Appropriate calibration of the amount of water required for optimal growth and ripening of plantations could result in substantial water savings of up to 1500m3/ha. Beyond benefits to the environment, this would also be cost-effective for the farmer. Same can be said for pesticides usage.
“Separately, this device could also eliminate the manual methods used to measure moisture content of a shipment, e.g wheat or corn shipment. This usually involves taking a sample of the load or vegetation and analyzing the difference in weight before and after it has been put in an oven, to estimate the amount of water thus lost. The wastage involved in this method, and its failure to generate complete results limit its practicality, rendering the situation ripe for more effective solutions.”
Image: Reconstruction of IRIDESENSE Multispectral Lidar Point Cloud with healthy vine plants on the left and unhealthy one on the right
UK-based vertical farm technology provider Intelligent Growth Solutions (IGS) has secured £22.5 million in Series C funding to support significant global expansion.
The investment came after IGS announced at COP28 it would be joining Dubai-based partner ReFarm to build a 900,000 square foot GigaFarm in the United Arab Emirates, capable of replacing 1% of food imports to the country. The farm will be to recycle more than 50,000 tonnes of food waste and grow two billion plants each year.
The Series C fundraise was led by existing institutional investors, with COFRA Holding AG, DC Thomson, and S2G Ventures, supported by Cleveland Avenue LLC, Ospraie Ag Science, and ScottishEnterprise. Private shareholders and IGS staff also contributed to the Series C raise.
Andrew Lloyd, former Deputy CEO, takes over from David Farquhar as CEO to lead the company. He said: “This year will be transformational for IGS as we prepare to deploy the most advanced indoor farm in the world. The scale and scope of the opportunity in the Middle East promises to be market-defining and will begin to make a genuine difference to food security. With the backing of our institutional investors and shareholders, we are equipped to deliver this game-changing project.”
Image: IGS
Bulgarian start-up Nasekomo successfully concluded its Series A financing round, securing €8 million (US$10.2m) in growth capital.
Headquartered near Sofia, Nasekomo will use the funds to establish an extensive network of insect bioconversion facilities throughout Europe. The company wants to play a pivotal role in advancing the industrialisation of insect farming for high-quality protein production.
Opting for a franchise-based expansion model, the company has begun building its first factory in Bulgaria, set to commence operations in 2025.
Xavier Marcenac, co-founder and co-CEO of Nasekomo, said: "We firmly believe that our collaborative efforts will lead to the successful realization of our ambitious vision - to accelerate the growth of the insect industry by providing the picks and shovels to newcomers which in our case means genetically selected seed larvae and our end-to-end bioconversion factory technology."
Image: Nasekomo
Agriculture is a crucial part of the Philippines’ economy, with almost 60% of the nation’s poor employed in the sector’s agriculture, forestry, fishing, and aquaculture industries.
Yet the credit gap for the sector sits at over 360 billion pesos (US$6.3 billion), according to the central bank.
Two Philippine mobile payments services, GCash and Mynt, have therefore joined forces to introduce agricultural credit.
The two tech players teamed up with a joint mandate to create the Philippines’ largest agri-credit movement to bank the rural unbanked. GCash and agri-technology firm Mayani will leverage the latter’s supply chain data to underwrite and jointly facilitate loans for organized farmers and fisherfolks needing a production lifeline to provide them quality inputs from Mayani, boost their yield, and enhance their capability to meet market demand while building their credit track record. For their pilot, borrowers will come from agricultural cooperatives and associations in Batangas province, one of Mayani’s rural strongholds.
Following this, Mayani intends to integrate its end-to-end proprietary tech stack with GCash’ to index on their lending balance sheet, quantum reach, and loan approval to e-wallet disbursement infrastructure.
“By leveraging on modern technology’s financial transformation, agriculture, which is one of the most important industries of our nation, can experience rapid growth and sustainability. We are honored to have Mayani onboard as one of our key partners as we continue introducing innovations that will help connect farmers with finance and enhance the power of financial inclusion in the Philippines,” said Tony Isidro, President and CEO of Fuse Lending, the licensed lending arm of Mynt.
Image: One of Mayani’s partner farmers from the Malaruhatan Family Farm Association, a grassroots group of organized farmers producing lowland vegetables in Southern Luzon, Philippines
Tadweer (Abu Dhabi Waste Management Company) announced a US$2.5 million pilot project with Aquagrain, which has developed soil enhancing technology that harnesses organic waste to enable crops to be grown in arid land, sandy soils or pots using up to 50% less water and inorganic fertilisers. Aquagrain’s method converts organic food industry waste into a biodegradable polymer that absorbs and releases water, thus serving as food and drink reservoir for plants.
The project will see the first-ever commercial scale Aquagrain production facility built in Abu Dhabi with organic food industry waste, currently sent to landfill, converted into Aquagrain and used to produce food and reduce water and fertiliser use in farming and horticulture.
Tadweer managing director and CEO Ali Al Dhaheri said: “We are proud to partner with Aquagrain and introduce a vital soil improving technology that harnesses organic waste to significantly enhance the economic and innovative value of circularity in the waste management sector. Together, we are confident we can have a significant impact on sustainable and regenerative farming, delivering measurable progress towards reducing emissions, whilst increasing food and water security in the UAE and beyond.”
Aquagrain CEO Paul Smith said: “We are delighted to be working with Tadweer on this pilot project, which marks a significant milestone in Aquagrain’s development. Since setting up in the UAE earlier in 2023, it was clear that this is a nation not just talking about sustainability, but actively investing in achieving it. We felt that our technology could help meet the five key challenges to UAE food security and identified Tadweer as an ideal strategic partner to help us deliver Aquagrain’s impact not just in the UAE, but ultimately across the MENA region and the wider world.”
Malaysian agri-food company FarmByte (part of the Johor Corporation Group) has invested US$1.7 million into Singapore-based agri-tech firm Archisen.
The deal will establish an automated vertical indoor farm in Johor, Malaysia. The joint venture will develop vertical farms that will supply produce to Malaysia and Singapore. FarmByte will provide the farming infrastructure and critical local market insights, while Archisen will supply the technical knowledge on indoor farming practices, including the use of automation systems and data analytics. Additionally, Archisen will facilitate comprehensive training for FarmByte’s employees.
FarmByte CEO Syed Aiman said: “We are excited to advance our collaboration with Archisen, underscoring our dedication to a digital-first approach in revolutionising Malaysia’s agrofood sector. Our joint efforts will bolster vertical farming capabilities in Johor, leveraging the expertise of an established partner in urban solutions to guarantee food resilience for the country and beyond. The HOA represents another significant milestone in propelling Johor’s agrofood sector toward a more food secure future.”
Archisen CEO and co-founder Vincent Wei said: “Through technology, we can optimise food production using fewer resources, enhancing our food resilience while minimising our environmental impact. We are thrilled to collaborate with FarmByte, which shares our commitment to improving farming efficiency through innovation and technology. Together, we hope to bring the advantages of vertical farming to Johor and Malaysia, contributing to the region’s food security and sustainable living.”
Image: FarmByte/Archisen