Startups Lead the Innovations in Agriculture

“Agtech will inevitably change farming practices, if for no other reason than the evolutionary advancements necessary to keep up with a shrinking labor force and growing world population. The ability to ensure the precise application of seeds, chemicals and fertilizers will dramatically improve yields, which is absolutely necessary to feed the growing populace."
 

"Farming practices already are and will continue to be data driven, which will make the collection, delivery, and analysis of that data all the more important for decision makers in their respective fields."
 

“Agtech will also change farming practices that have been hands-on and dependent on humans to more automated and predictive processes. This will shift the industry into a far more efficient, safer, and more bountiful landscape to work in.”


“Agtech is bringing more organization and optimization to farming practices. It is also bringing accountability. Knowing what you have in your farm and what you applied to your crops, in what dosage, all logged in and with easy access, besides having alerts during the growth cycle when things are abnormal, are great advances to prevent losses and increase profitability. This is attracting entrepreneurs, capital and talent to the farming sector and creating more jobs in the rural areas of the main and emerging economies. Take for instance the Netherlands: it is the second food exporter in the world and its territory is still small when compared to other traditional agricultural countries. The future of farming practices is already taking place there: vegetables and fruits planted in big controlled greenhouses, an educated workforce, automated fruit picking and vegetable selecting robots in a social responsible environment. Those giant greenhouses can produce up to 10x more than an open field in the same area, and use up to 97% less chemicals.”



“Agtech will vastly improve efficiencies across the agriculture value chain before, during and after farmgate. Agtech will connect farmers into a complex global web of food logistics to ensure we are sustainably feeding a growing population. Farmers adopting Agtech will get more precise recommendations from their input suppliers for fertilizers, seeds, crop protection and services to best optimize those resources in relation to that of farmers' fields and needs. That will begin the production cycle with a layer of shared visibility both to the farmer, but more importantly, to the consumer who demands traceability alongside an assurance of environmentally conscious practices typically certified under a 3rd party guarantee for sustainability. Agtech will be the underlying support platform that connects all the facets of on-farm production.”