Why is Arla’s Bovaer trial stirring controversy in the UK?
Britain’s largest dairy co-op found itself in the midst of consumer backlash over plans to trial a methane-suppressing feed additive. What went wrong?
Policy & regulation
What we can learn from the farmer revolts
Recent protests in the UK serve to illustrate the problems faced by farmers the world over. It is more vital than ever that agtech solutions offer a clear return on investment and low cost of implementation and maintenance.
Climate funds fail to get finance to family farmers, COP29 told
The two biggest global climate funds are failing to get finance to grassroots farmer organisations where it can have the most impact, claims new researched released during the Food, Agriculture, and Water Day at the COP29 climate summit.
Country profile
France: Still room for some va va voom?
French agri-tech is alive with innovation despite recent company woes and the government falling short on its ambitions to help the sector go global.
What impact will Donald Trump's victory have on the agtech industry?
Trump’s return to the White House is expected to have a significant bearing on the agtech sector. Here’s how.
Ugly approach: Obsession with ‘aesthetic grading’ causes significant food loss, economic woe for farmers
Research led by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has revealed that aesthetic grading, which focuses on the appearance of apples, leads to significant food losses without economically benefiting farmers.
Watch: Copa-Cogeca on why data is needed to grow Europe’s carbon farming market
Carbon farming in Europe is still a relatively new and emerging market, but Patrick Pagani, deputy secretary general of influential agricultural lobby group Copa-Cogeca says there is confidence that carbon credits will prove a viable income source for...
Watch: BASF on innovation, regulation and collaboration
Progressive regulatory frameworks, together with more collaboration with data, are needed to scale effective innovation, says BASF’s Neil Key.
‘The timelines are too long’: Regulation ‘holding back’ biologicals in Europe, firms complain
Biological players have criticised the overlong regulatory timelines for alternative crop protection products in the region.
Innovation Insider: Country profile
Denmark: Outlier or pioneer?
Will Denmark’s unprecedented carbon tax be replicated in other countries? Or is it simply another example of its unique willingness to challenge the status quo?
Food companies' regenerative ag strategies 'lack ambition'
Beef and dairy companies put greater focus on claiming lower emissions through regenerative ag practices over embracing the concept holistically, a new report has found.
UK government set to advance precision breeding legislation for gene-edited crops
The UK government has announced next steps toward implementing the Precision Breeding Act, aimed at harnessing the benefits of gene editing technology in England.
Plant breeders want unified global policy on genome-edited crops to boost food security
International Seed Federation members are calling for harmonised regulations on new breeding technologies such as genome editing to accelerate impactful innovation.
Report illustrates urgent need for food sector to tackle scope 3 emissions
Food giants are still lagging in their decarbonisartion efforts to meet high-level climate targets, according to analysis.
Bluetongue: Efforts intensify to tackle virus as it hits Europe ‘with a vengeance’
With livestock producers across Europe braced for the impact of bluetongue, the UK has become the latest country to approve emergency vaccines. Will they stop the spread of the virus?
Brazil still offers ‘significant’ opportunities for foreign investment to help meet fertiliser demand
Despite some controversy about the effect of direct foreign investment in the Brazilian agricultural sector, the country’s push to increase domestic fertiliser production is continuing to present sizeable FDI opportunities for companies looking to enter...
Calling all innovators in dairy sustainability
The Yield Lab, an early-stage investor in sustainable AgTech, is tackling dairy sector challenges linked to emissions, manure management, land use, and water quality through a new initiative.
California: Bold moves needed for agriculture to adapt to climate change
A new report details farming’s needs for climate resilience.
Will the new UK government embrace gene-edited food?
Plant scientists in the UK are demanding clarity from the new government to unlock the potential economic and environmental benefits of new precision breeding techniques such as gene editing.
US-China drone row latest: new coalition forms to oppose ban
In response to proposed legislation aimed at banning China-made drones in the US, a group of American distributors have come together to fight the ruling.
Denmark introduces world's first carbon tax on agriculture
Denmark will introduce the world’s first carbon tax on agriculture following a landmark agreement by seven negotiating parties, including the government, farmer organizations, trade unions, industry representatives, and environmental NGOs.
Urgent need for ag-food sector in middle-income countries to ramp up emissions reduction efforts: World Bank report
The global ag-food system has the potential to significantly reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, with middle-income countries (MICs) in particular needing to reverse their collective role as the world’s largest emitters of GHGs related to ag-food.
UK agtech faces funding, scalability challenges amid sustainability and Brexit concerns
Despite being backed by a world-renowned science base, the UK's agri-tech industry grapples with significant challenges in translating its research into practical applications for end-users.
Can legislative proposal help US meet methane reduction pledge?
A bipartisan bill introduced into the US House of Representatives aims at promoting agricultural sustainability and supporting efforts to reduce methane emissions by 30% below 2020 levels by 2030.
Why financing smallholder farmers matters... experts discuss
Agtech solutions must address financing for smallholder farmers, together with scope 3 emissions, and inequity across multiple sectors of the industry in order to meet sustainability goals. This was the consensus among panellists at a recent webinar...
Innovation Insider
UK: Raising funds at required scale a barrier to ‘transformative change’
Despite advances in innovation and technology in UK agriculture, attracting sufficient investment remains a key hindrance in achieving transformative change in the industry.
Texas ‘mystery’ illness: USDA confirms first cases of bird flu in US dairy cows
The unknown illness that struck dairy herds in the Texas panhandle has been identified as highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI) as federal agencies work around the clock to contain the spread and minimize the impact to farmers.
World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit Roundup
Precision agri-tech could accelerate uptake of biologicals if regulations can keep up: report
The adoption of biological crop protection is being delayed by a regulatory environment that has failed to keep abreast of innovations that would make these products easier and more effective to use, according to a new report.
Wheat wakening: South Korea launches new strategy to boost domestic self-sufficiency rates
The South Korean government is implementing a new national strategy to boost wheat self-sufficiency and production capabilities, after several years of supply chain challenges.
FDA guidance on foods derived from gene-edited plants ‘doubles down’ on view that safety hinges on the final product, not the production method
Long-awaited guidance from FDA on the safety of foods derived from gene-edited plants reiterates the agency’s position that biotechnology is not inherently unsafe, but still encourages developers to voluntarily engage with the agency before going to...
Achieving compliance with EUDR: Does a Berlin-based startup have the answer?
LiveEO, a Berlin-based provider of satellite analytics, has launched TradeAware Lite, a free version of its software platform, TradeAware, designed to help companies achieve compliance with the EU Deforestation Regulation (EUDR).
EU consumers increasingly exposed to ‘forever chemicals’ in fruit and vegetables, study warns
Fruit and vegetables in Europe are increasingly contaminated with PFAS pesticide residues (per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances), according to a study by the NGO PAN Europe.
We need solutions not restrictions in water crisis, warns agricultural entrepreneur
As Spain grapples with drought in February and UK farmers also fearing another tough year ahead, a veteran agritech entrepreneur has questioned the ‘short term’ approach of continually rationing water and says new agricultural solutions are urgently...
US census a ‘wake-up call’ for need for investment in climate-smart agriculture
Farmers need more opportunities to diversify their revenue streams by adopting climate-smart agriculture, according to US Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack.
US activists call for more understanding of chlormequat after research ‘raises alarm bells’
Greater understanding of the potential risks of the pesticide chlormequat is ‘urgently needed’, say campaigners, as a study in the US finds the crop chemical in four out of five people tested.
Innovation Insider: India
Market fragmentation hampers India agtech but public-private alignment brings hope
India's agtech sector is witnessing significant developments driven by government policies, changing investor landscapes and a growing focus on sustainability. However, market fragmentation is dampening its ability to scale up, with challenges...
Agriculture and over-fishing cited as two key reasons for decline in world’s migratory species – landmark UN report
Agriculture and over-fishing have been identified as two key factors responsible for almost half of the world’s migratory species showing population declines, according to a major UN wildlife conservation conference
International alignment: South Korean ministries join forces to cut pesticide levels, eye food exports boost
Two South Korean ministries are collaborating to lower the allowed levels of pesticide residue in agrifood and processed food products made domestically, in the hope that it will help boost international trade.
How farmer protests could influence US and EU politics
In a crucial election year for Europe and the US, how much of an impact can agricultural producers’ growing unease have on global politics?
Food system transformation could create ‘multi-trillion dollars’ of economic benefits every year
Transforming global food systems would lead to socio-economic benefits summing up to 5 to 10 trillion USD a year, equivalent to between four and eight percent of global GDP in 2020, according to a new global policy report produced by the Food System...
‘A real game-changer for Europe’: Plans to loosen rules on genomic techniques pass first hurdle
Proposals to loosen EU rules on gene edited crops have passed a significant barrier after the European Parliament’s Environmental Committee voted in favour of a proposal to introduce a new regulatory framework for New Genomic Techniques (NGTs).
Rainforest Alliance unveils AI-led remote sensing data to mitigate deforestation risk
With the EU set to bring in strict rules aimed at limiting global deforestation, Rainforest Alliance Certified coffee and cocoa farmers can now opt-in to specific criteria that align with European Union Deforestation Regulation (EUDR) requirements in...
Nobel laureates ask European Parliament to support new genomic techniques
An open letter signed by 35 Nobel laureates and more than 1,000 European scientists has been sent to Members of the European Parliament, pleading with them to ‘reject the darkness of anti-science fearmongering’ and vote in favour of new genomic...
Global regulatory push set to ‘breathe wind into agtech’s sails’: start-up
AgTechNavigator caught up with Croatia’s Agrivi for its thoughts on the mega trends underpinning the need for innovation throughout the food and agriculture sector.
INNOVATION INSIDER - POLICY ANALYSIS
INNOVATION INSIDER: EU legislation may hamper Dutch agtech but societal challenges driving change
In the second edition of our Innovation Insider series we focus on the Netherlands, where the sector may be hampered by European Union (EU) legislation that restricts innovative solutions to food production and other aspects of agriculture, despite the...
INNOVATION INSIDER - POLICY ANALYSIS
Innovation Insider: Promising potential for agtech in China despite education, funding challenges
In our first Innovation Insider monthly feature we are shining the spotlight on China and assessing how the opportunities and challenges when comes to adopting innovative technologies to enhance agricultural productivity, improve food security and...
Imprecise targets, limited monitoring prevent EU agriculture sector from achieving environmental targets
In a comprehensive analysis of the EU’s environmental regulations and directives for agriculture, the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) has revealed that the ambitious targets set for sustainability and environmental protection...
Toxic debate: Campaigner setback as EU extends glyphosate authorisation for 10 years
After member states failed to reach the required qualified majority to renew or reject its approval during a vote, the European Commission is to renew the approval of glyphosate for another decade.
Insufficient support for EU agtech knowledge, innovation amid digital transformation: OECD
A recent report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) highlights the disproportionately low percentage of resources — just 6.1% between 2019 and 2021 — dedicated to agricultural knowledge and innovation in the EU, compared...
GM in China: Multi-pronged strategy focused on farmers, consumers needed to accelerate use
Despite being one of the largest importers of genetically modified (GM) crops, there are still significant hurdles spanning consumer, farmer and government sentiment in driving their widespread use in China.