Technology

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 […]

[ad_1] Ask any shopkeeper, milkman, dhobi (launderer), or other merchant in India how many people owe them money for their services, and how much they’re owed. You’re likely to get two high numbers. In fact, it’s common across the board for Indian businesses to serve their customers on credit and keep tabs. It’s true from […]

[ad_1] The smart greenhouse market could reach $2.1 billion by 2025, increasing from $1.4 billion in 2020, according to a recent report exploring emerging trends in rooftop farming operations in urban areas. Between hardware and software, hardware devices like HVAC systems, LED grow lights, sensors, irrigations systems, and control systems will comprise a large share […]

[ad_1] Switching sharply to developing a vaccine for Covid-19 appears to have proved a boon for GreenLight Biosciences, a company that previously focused on developing biological pesticides. The Massachusetts-based biotech firm has just raised an oversubscribed $102 million round of funding, AFN can confirm, and much of this will go toward countering the ongoing global […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: Dmytro Lennyi is agritech practice leader at Intellias, a software engineering and consulting firm based in Lviv, Ukraine, that assists tech companies with their software development needs. This article reflects the views of the author, and not necessarily those of AFN. Every time I visit agritech events, I discover new farm management software. […]

[ad_1] The Good Food Institute (GFI) India and agrifood accelerator Gastrotope have launched a program aimed at kickstarting alt-protein entrepreneurship in the country. The India Smart Protein Innovation Challenge is targeted squarely at the next generation of plant-based protein pioneers. It’s open to Indian nationals, or non-Indian nationals who have been working in the country, […]

[ad_1] Single-use plastics are not only finding their way into landfills, they’re becoming the main subject of legislation, too. The European Union’s single use plastic directive entered into force in June 2019 and now imposes a number of regulations including outright bans on the use of some materials to new producer obligations and labeling requirements. […]

[ad_1] One of Covid-19’s biggest casualties in the agrifoodtech dealmaking arena so far is Livestock Improvement Corporation’s (LIC) scuppered $70 million investment in Afimilk. The New Zealand dairy farmers’ cooperative had done everything but sign on the dotted line for a 50% stake in the Israeli milk meter maker. LIC’s senior management had made the […]

[ad_1] Anyone out there planning a gripping documentary on food fraud would do well to shadow the detective work of Interpol and Europol’s “Operation Opson,” a series of European supply chain investigations first prompted by the notorious Horsemeat Scandal of 2013. During the eighth phase of Opson, by early 2019, investigators ended up seizing “more […]