Meet the start-up helping farmers make (and sell) their own biochar
UK-based CapChar has developed a ‘plug and play’ way for biochar to be produced on farm. It’s time this “remarkably simple material” was supported, its co-founder says.
Start-ups
Meet the 14 AgTech start-ups set to take centre stage at World Agri-Tech MEASA
Fourteen start-ups offering disruptive, scalable solutions and technologies for the climate-stressed agricultural regions of the Middle East, Africa and South Asia will take centre stage at the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in Dubai on December 9-10.
Incubator launch aims to drive California’s ‘critical’ ag robotics sector
Two new start-up incubators will provide real-world testing environments, world-class resources, and critical industry partnerships for robotics companies in California.
Is it time for a more balanced perspective on chemical crop protection?
Valid concerns about their use have led to some negative perceptions. But it’s time to be more agnostic regarding the use of both synthetic and natural ingredients in crop protection, believes Moa Technology.
What’s gone wrong for Ynsect?
The French poster child of the insect farming industry has filed a safeguard plan after failing to find enough financing for its expansion plans. Can it find cash from some investors?
Yara’s agtech arm Varda joins European soil health study
Agtech data services provider Varda has joined the four-year €6 million ‘DeepHorizon’ project, funded by Horizon Europe, to conduct extensive subsoil sampling across European countries.
Meet the start-up aiming to unlock opportunities in Africa’s untapped seafood sector
Sea Gardener wants to transform the Nile Delta's shellfish sector into a sustainable, export-ready industry that boosts Africa’s food security.
BioLumic sheds light on its UV tech as it partners with seed majors
BioLumic is partnering with seed companies including Beck's Hybrids, Peterson Corn Genetics, Peterson Farms Seed, Breeder Direct to use its light-activated technology on a wide range of inbred and hybrid corn lines aiming to enhance their productivity....
Startup modulating the rumen microbiome to suppress methane
Australian company Bovotica is pioneering technology aimed at modulating the rumen microbiome to reduce methane emissions in cows while simultaneously boosting production efficiency.
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.
AGTECH START-UP FOUNDER INSIGHTS
What We’ve Learned: Unibaio on how natural microparticles can reduce chemicals in ag
Argentina-based Unibaio is a biotechnology company that develops innovative microparticles to improve the performance and sustainability of agrochemicals. Its key technology involves creating biodegradable nanocapsules made from natural polymers that can...
Underscoring the impact of sustainable ag? Climate tech company scoops TIME100 honour
Climate tech company Boomitra – which has created a marketplace that monetises soil carbon sequestration, allowing farmers to get paid for implementing climate-friendly agricultural methods – is celebrating after being included in the TIME100 Most...
Soil power: the UK start-up generating sustainable energy from the earth
Bactery, a spinout from the University of Bath, creates sustainable power from bacterial batteries – ‘Bacteries’ – that harvest electricity from soil.
RNA: the next big ag trend to watch?
As yet untapped RNA-based technology is set to make up the next generation of tools to accelerate plant breeding and protection says new UK-based spin-out TraitSeq.
Precision ag start-up primed for growth after new partnerships
Canada-based Verdi says new support from Silicon Valley accelerators will allow it to rapidly scale its platform for farm automation.
Meet the seven start-ups tasked with reshaping agri-food in Cambodia
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.
AgTech innovators take centre stage in latest PepsiCo APAC Greenhouse Accelerator Program
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.
Agtech start-up founder insights
What We’ve Learned: SymbioMatch on what’s behind the biofertiliser boom and how to avoid its bubble bursting
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...
World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit Roundup
Photosynthesis breakthrough in corn – but can a ‘new type’ of ag follow?
After boosting oil and protein content in soybean with no drop in yield, US company ZeaKal has replicated its success with corn. It now wants to redefine the value proposition of crops for growers, industry, and consumers alike, it tells AgTechNavigator.
Can growing planes really cure vertical farming’s growing pains?
While all vertical farms may seem to grow vertically at first glance, the fact is, they don’t. Most companies are growing on flat, stacked planes, which will lead to more failures in the space in the months and years to come, according to Nate Storey,...
Women in agtech: Are investors missing out on attractive growth opportunities?
Female-fronted agtech business are lagging in terms of venture capital activity. Why aren’t the gains seen elsewhere being reflected?
Protective suitcases: New gut technology targets disease and immune system function in pigs
Canada’s Renaissance BioScience (RBSC) is partnering with the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization (VIDO) at the University of Saskatchewan on two projects aimed at boosting health and immunity in newly weaned piglets.
How precision pollination promises to increase crop yields
Precision pollination has the potential to boost crop yields up to 30%. That’s according to BeeHero, a data-driven technology company aiming to redefine pollination in commercial agriculture.
Meet the Iraqi start-ups hoping to futureproof a drought-hit sector
The Agriculture Innovation Hackathon was hosted in Mosul earlier this month, as an agriculture sector beset by desertification turns to the power of technology to overcome the challenges faced by farmers.
Which financial structures work best for regenerative agriculture?
Current protests from farmers around the world demanding respite from a host of factors from climate change policies, red tape to crop prices arguably highlight the need for more effective financing structures.
Start-up WeedOut raises US$8.1 million to fight weed resistance
WeedOut’s green solution for outsmarting resistant weeds supports improved yield, reduced herbicide need, the company says.
3 start-ups boosting food quality in Europe
Food quality technology plays a vital role both in ensuring that food is safe to eat, therefore reducing food waste, and providing insights around its health and composition. Three European start-ups tell FoodNavigator how technology can help them...
WHAT WE'VE LEARNED – START-UP ANALYSIS
‘Urine is the missing link to complete the nutrient cycle’: Why Toopi Organics is turning pee into fertiliser
AgTechNavigator caught up with the French start-up to hear how and why urine can be leveraged as a local and renewable natural resource for agriculture.
‘We want to make it the 21st century’s great crop’: Why Terviva aims to plant 200 million pongamia trees in the next 10 years
Pongamia is a small crop for which Californian agtech firm Terviva has big plans.
AI-powered personal weather forecasts promise to boost crop yields
US weather tech start-up Benchmark Labs says AI and machine learning can help the agriculture sector survive and thrive climate change.
New study reveals soil health benefits of regenerative agriculture
Research by Estonian agtech start-up Paul-Tech claims it is shedding light on the benefits of regenerative cultivation techniques.
WHAT WE'VE LEARNED – START-UP ANALYSIS
WHAT WE'VE LEARNED: Why industrial and academic collaboration is a 'huge benefit' for agtech – BioHerbicides Australia MD
Collaboration between industrial or commercial organisations and academic institutions is not as common as it should be, but such ventures provide a “huge benefit” for Australia’s agtech sector.
Calls for accelerated energy transition to unlock full potential of CEA and vertical farming in Middle East
Energy costs are lower in the Middle East compared to other parts of the world. But CEA and vertical farmers in the region are still looking to renewable energy sources and other new technologies to deal with the challenge of high energy consumption.
Carbon dioxide enrichment company to test its tech with ‘major US lettuce grower’
Canada-based precision ag-tech and clean-tech company CO2 GRO has agreed a Technology Adaptation Project (TAP) with a major US greenhouse lettuce grower to investigate how it can impact lettuce yield, product quality, CO2 savings, and overall financial...
Sustainability, scale and speed in seaweed: CH4 Global touts scalable approach to combat climate change
The cultivation of Asparagopsis — a genus of edible red macro-algae native to Australia and New Zealand — could help to combat climate change at scale, according to Steve Meller, the co-founder and CEO of climate technology firm CH4 Global.
Fertiliser giant Nutrien reveals new partnership to explore sustainability solutions
CoteX Technologies, a Canadian agricultural technology start-up, and Nutrien, the world’s largest provider of crop inputs and services, have announced they have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to work on the joint commercialisation of a...
Bright shoots: APAC firms capturing ‘niche but sizeable’ market amid CEA and vertical farming downturn
Controlled environment agriculture (CEA) and vertical farming companies in Asia-Pacific are cautiously navigating the aftermath of bankruptcies and shutdowns plaguing the sector since late 2022, while adopting multi-faceted strategies to seize new...
Investor profile
SP Ventures is bullish on Brazil and Latam
Agri-food is a ‘locomotive’ driving growth in Brazil and beyond, says Francisco Jardim, co-founder and managing director at SP Ventures (SPV), a São Paulo-based early-stage fund investing in the agri-food tech sector across Latin America.
Regenerative innovation: RegenX targets coffee, cacao, coconut sectors as it ponders expansion
Regenerative agtech start-up RegenX is targeting coffee, cacao, and coconut sectors as it charts expansion to fulfil its ambition to abate 100 megatons of CO2 per year.
‘It has benefits for soil and plant health’: Insect start-up Divaks is bullish about bug fertiliser
Lithuanian insect producer Divaks has discussed its plans to produce over 10,000 tonnes of insect-based fertiliser annually by 2030, amid growing interest in the potential of using frass, produced via insect bioconversion, to improve sustainability...
WHAT WE'VE LEARNED - START-UP ANALYSIS
What We’ve Learned: Singapore start-up Sea Green on why collaboration is key to driving sustainability in seaweed farming
In the first of a monthly series picking the brains of agtech’s most innovative start-ups, we gather the thoughts the CEO of Singapore’s Sea Green on the key lessons learned on its business journey and how it has successfully harnessed the power of...
Lisi Global uses shocking technology for pest, weed removal
US-based Lisi Global is showing how electricity can be used as a replacement for traditional pesticides with its patented Direct|Turf technology, company co-founder and CEO Jason Crisp told AgTechNavigator.
What the Earthshot Prize tells us about the increasing importance of agtech
Earthshot prizewinner Boomitra tells AgTechNavigator the award is ‘validation of the significant role agtech can play in addressing climate change’.
Farming machine: Malaysia’s BoomGrow secures pre-Series A investment to expand in SEA
Malaysian agech start-up BoomGrow has bagged pre-Series A funding from venture capital firm Gobi Partner to expand operations across South East Asia.
‘The brain’ of agtech: Siemens, Artisan Green highlight Singapore’s major vertical farming potential
Global technology heavyweight Siemens believes that Singapore is well-placed to emerge as a major ‘brain’ in vertical farming, on the back of its recent collaboration with local modern indoor hydroponics farm Artisan Green.
Agtech start-up BharatRohan introduces water-conserving tech to rice-growing smallholder farmers in India
India-based BharatRohan and environmental consultancy firm Kosher Climate have joined hands to promote sustainable rice cultivation through the implementation of an advanced water-saving and carbon-reducing irrigation system.
Securing food future: Seeds treated with unique ceramic alloy able to increase vegetable commercial yield by 21%
A Singapore-based deep tech firm claims to be able to increase the commercial yield of bokchoy by 18.5% just by treating the water with its ceramic alloy.
Seed-to-table solutions: Indonesia start-up Koltiva helps MNCs overcome regulatory hurdles and supply chain challenges
Indonesia-based agtech firm Koltiva is set to utilise its recent funding to expand its supply chain tracing and climate tech offerings not only to benefit global food companies, but also boost the livelihoods of smallholder producers.
Profiting from pasture: AIMER seeks to maximise returns for dairy farmers with precision tech and AI
New Zealand-based AIMER Farming is seeking to make precision technology and artificial intelligence (AI) more user-friendly for dairy farmers to optimise their operations.