Technology

Seeing as it’s one of the world’s foremost agricultural producers and a highly advanced tech-based economy, it may come as something of a surprise to learn that Australia didn’t have an organized, membership-based industry group for agritech until a few months ago. The Australian Agritech Association formally launched in February this year, “to foster a […]

Access to vertical farming technologies is deepening and widening across the world, bringing down the costs and hassle of locally producing anything from Singapore strawberries to Arctic tomatoes. In Latin America, however, indoor vertical farms are still largely written off on a continent known for its abundant fertile soil and plentiful sunlight. Why need of […]

Last summer at a research lab on the outskirts of Cambridge, UK, I nervously rolled up my sleeve and tucked my hand deep into a tray of pulsing, writhing maggots. (Yes, keeping in touch with the future of farming is a mandate the AFN newsroom takes literally.) The tray — and all its wriggly inhabitants […]

Our mission at Alexandria Real Estate Equities, Inc. (NYSE: ARE) is to create and cultivate collaborative, innovation clusters that enable breakthroughs to advance human health and improve nutrition; this mission is now more important than ever. While the COVID-19 pandemic impacts each of us differently, we know that one of the most important actions we […]

“If you build it; the funding will come.” It might not be the exact quote that drove Kevin Costner to build a baseball diamond in an Iowa cornfield in Field of Dreams, but it is the advice that many founders and entrepreneurs are following as they look for locations for their agtech startup businesses. Businesses […]

Major seed and ag chemicals provider Syngenta is adding another initiative to the ongoing list of corporate sustainability commitments sweeping big food and big agribusiness after the results of a farmer survey revealed deep concerns about the impact of climate change.  The announcement also happens to come on the heels of 2020’s Pollinator Week. Through […]

AgFunder has just the ASEAN Agrifoodtech Investment Report 2020, its first-ever analysis of agtech and foodtech startup funding in Southeast Asia. The report can be downloaded here. [Disclosure: AgFunder is the parent company of AFN.] A total of $423 million was invested into Southeast Asian agrifoodtech startups in 2019, across 99 deals. Reflecting the fact […]

Regenerative agriculture is a growing movement. It’s popping up in new places including campaign platforms, proposed federal legislation, and new grant opportunities. Despite its momentum, the exact contours of regenerative agriculture are still up for debate. Even among proponents of the movement, there are debates about the best ways to prove regenerative agriculture’s promise or […]

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 […]