International

Enterprise Singapore, the city-state’s startup agency, is earmarking S$55 million ($39.5 million) to help accelerate “promising” agriculture and aquaculture companies. Koh Poh Koon, the country’s senior minister for trade and industry, announced the fund while visiting local indoor farming startup Singrow last week. [Disclosure: Singrow is an investee of AgFunder, which is AFN‘s parent company.] […]

There’s a long list of problems with chemical agriculture treatments: they’re destructive to soils and waterways; they can be hazardous to human and other organisms’ health; and they’re increasingly ineffective, as pests and weeds develop resistance. Yet, the global food chain depends on them. Enko Chem’s mission is to shift reliance on chemical treatments by […]

The biologics space is growing at a rapid space. Players are taking a variety of approaches to unlock the potential behind the microscopic organisms that dwell below the soil’s surface. From using microbes as unique fingerprints for traceability to combating foodborne illness, microbes are popping up everywhere in the food supply chain. One of the […]

Editor’s Note: Connecterra is an AgFunder portfolio company. AgFunder invested in Connecterra’s $4.9 million Series A in 2018, with AgFunder’s Michael Dean penning a thought piece via AFN last November on Connecterra’s journey from its initial sensor focus as a ‘fitbit for cows,’ to a full-stack technology and artificial intelligence platform combining proprietary sensor hardware, […]

Australian startup Soil Carbon Co has raised A$10 million ($6.94 million) in seed funding in a round led by Horizons Ventures, the VC firm set up by Hong Kong tycoon Li Ka-shing. Horizons was joined by Grok Ventures, a VC firm launched by Atlassian founder Mike Cannon-Brookes and his wife Annie Todd. Lowercarbon Capital – […]

A set of new laws aimed at reforming India’s agricultural sector will be a boon to smallholder farmers and agritech startups alike, the country’s agriculture secretary told AFN. Sanjay Agarwal, Secretary at the Ministry of Agriculture and Farmers Welfare, said in an interview that three ordinances being introduced by the Indian government represent a “major, […]

Agriculture is often characterized as a heavily consolidated industry where a few major players dominate nearly every aspect of the supply chain. Every once in a while, however, a few members of the old guard decide to take a page out of the startup playbook. “Moving grain and commodities is a critical element to what […]

Fertilizer isn’t just for thousand-acre row crop operations in the Midwest. The demand for garden fertilizer in the US alone is slated to reach $3.3 billion by 2023, growing 2.6% annually. And as more Americans explore cultivating food at home to fight pandemic-related shortages, that figure could skew even higher. Blend in the growing interest […]

Editor’s Note: Sourajit Aiyer is a consultant with South Asia Fast Track Sustainability Communications and Sandeep Bhattacharya is India Projects Manager at the Climate Bonds Initiative. This article reflects the views of the authors and not necessarily of AFN.   The vulnerability of our modern food systems to climate disruption is widely known. In India, increased […]

[ad_1] How does an environmentalist become an aerial imagery data analytics and AI entrepreneur? Find out in this episode with Al Eisaian, a serial entrepreneur from the mobile apps and software space, and the founder of IntelinAir. IntelinAir combines images captured from airplanes with other data to help farmers identify problem areas in their fields […]

[ad_1] We’re proud to announce that The World Economic Forum has named three AgFunder portfolio companies to its annual Technology Pioneers of 2020 list: Brightseed, Trace Genomics, and Phylagen. This list identifies 100 companies transforming their industries while also addressing key issues like sustainability.  WEF Technology Pioneers are invited to participate in WEF activities, events, […]

[ad_1] Switzerland’s Syngenta has relaunched and rebranded following its merger with the agricultural businesses of Chinese chemicals giant Sinochem, in preparation for an expected IPO in China. The new entity, named Syngenta Group, also incorporates Israeli crop protection company Adama. Chinese state-owned enterprise (SOE) ChemChina owns both Adama and Syngenta, and is reportedly undergoing a […]

[ad_1] The biopesticide market will reach an estimated $10 billion by 2025 and this doesn’t just include the new wave of microbial-based inputs. “Relative to many other spaces in the biologic or input space it’s nov particularly crowded,” Brett Morris, principal at biotech-focused venture development fund TechAccel told AFN. “There’s lots of open space and […]

[ad_1] With the pursuit of carbon neutrality still looming large over political and corporate agendas, companies across Europe have been searching for new ways to unplug their production lines from petroleum-based products. In food and farming, these products can be hard to replace — cheap and versatile petrol-derived chemicals still find their way into all […]