Technology

[ad_1] In 2019, funding for farm tech startups reached $4.7 billion, posting 370% growth over 6 years, according to AgFunder’s recent Farm Tech Investment Report. That bucks the trend across venture capital sectors, which have had a bumper ride. But why? Where is all that money going and what do people working in agriculture think […]

[ad_1] Another week, another part of the agrifood supply chain that’s struggling from the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic. Last month, the challenge facing the meat industry was top of the headlines, as large processing plants were forced to shut after numerous workers contracted the virus. This month, we’re seeing whole workforces in the produce […]

[ad_1] There are just four days left for Asia-Pacific startups to submit their applications to join Singapore Food Bowl – the new, 100%-online program offered by GROW, the Southeast Asian agrifoodtech accelerator backed by AgFunder. Apply here now before June 7. Developed in response to the Covid-19 pandemic and the supply chain weaknesses it’s laid […]

[ad_1] While the world has come to a standstill outside, it has also brought a lot of us closer virtually. We’ve been looking to others for advice and asking questions about how we adapt to the changes going on around us. We knew people in our industry were facing the same challenges, so we decided […]

[ad_1] Losing a crop to a pest or disease is a devastating outcome for a farmer. If that farmer is based in a developing country without the promise of subsidies or crop insurance, it’s even direr. And in a pandemic world where food supply chains have tightened and been disrupted, the idea of losing whole […]

[ad_1] US-based Agro.Club has raised $1.5 million led by Speedinvest with participation from Elevator Ventures, the corporate venture capital arm of Raiffeisen Bank International.  “We closed the round in January and we delayed the news because of the Covid-19 situation,”  Egor Kirin, founder and CEO, told AFN. “It was very good timing. We have enough […]

[ad_1] Gojek has secured an undisclosed amount of funding from new investors Facebook and PayPal and existing backers Google and Tencent, it announced today. Several other unnamed investors also participated. Jakarta-based ‘super app’ Gojek, which provides myriad services including food delivery, payments, and ride-hailing across Southeast Asia, said in a statement that the investment came […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: Michael Dean is founding partner of global agri-foodtech VC AgFunder, which recently invested in Singapore-based SinGrow, a vertical farming startup. All views expressed are his own and not of AFN’s editor or team of journalists. If you’ve ever tried buying strawberries in Singapore, the chances are you’ve ended up disappointed. It’s difficult […]

[ad_1] There’s a new fund in town with an eye towards accelerating regenerative agriculture. “While our history is in software, we see a change coming to food that mirrors the cloud computing revolution in technology,” said Ed Byrne, co-founder of Soilworks, in a statement announcing the new fund. “Regenerative practices are proven but not yet […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: John Corbett is founder and CEO of aWhere, a weather data analytics company. aWhere operates what it describes at “the world’s largest network of detailed daily weather delivering accurate, localized and in-time observed weather to farmers and the agri-food sector with 1.9 million virtual weather stations covering the world from 60°N–60°S.” Relevant […]

[ad_1] Biologics may seem like an emerging field in the agtech space but for at least one company it’s been a decade in the making. Just like the biblical parable of the humble mustard seed, which happens to be the origin of its active ingredient, the company is hoping to grow into a titan in […]

[ad_1] Although there is still some debate around what regenerative agriculture does or does not include, one of its frequently discussed tenants is the need to boost biodiversity. Today, much of our agricultural production depends on monocultures of a few species produced at mass scale in highly-efficient systems. This is great assuming that your only […]

[ad_1] Editor’s Note: This is the fourth in our new What The Fork? series of digitalks for our community. Skip to the end for the recording or head over to our Vimeo page here to find this and other episodes. While it probably seems like many moons ago to most of us, in January of this […]

[ad_1] Two years on from raising its $4 million Series A round, the Israeli precision irrigation technology company Saturas has closed an initial $3 million tranche of Series B funding. Former investors in Saturas — Gefen Capital and Hubei Forbon Technology — have committed to the round, alongside the Trendlines Agrifood Fund, which is a new investor. Saturas is […]

[ad_1] Although the number of crops that rely on bee pollination is increasing, according to Palo Alto-based Beehero, changes across a number of variables mean that the same number of hives in an orchard may not be providing all the pollinator punch required.  “The equation of beehives-per-acre doesn’t hold much,” Omer Davidi, co-founder and CEO […]