Category: Opinion

2022’s shitshow highlights the need for more manure tech

March 30, 2022

Manure tech is massively underhyped – but geopolitics and economics mean that’s going to change in the coming months and years, writes Connie Bowen.

Q&A: Scaling CEA’s future farms with IUNU’s Allison Kopf

March 29, 2022

The chief marketing officer discusses the risks of CEA, the crops we’ll grow indoors in the future, and how indoor agtech will change.

Unlocking food’s dark matter

March 29, 2022

BioActive Foods is the latest program from FoodShot Global – focused on nutrient-dense and optimized bioactive foods supporting human health.

Meet the female founder: Future Acres CEO Suma Reddy on farm robots & entrepreneurship

March 28, 2022

The entrepreneur discusses her path to agtech and the role farm robots have in helping growers address crops, yields, and labor challenges.

12 agtech takeaways from 12 global agriculture experts

March 25, 2022

Rhishi Pethe interviewed 12 agriculture experts from around the world for his new charity e-book. Here are key takeaways from each conversation he had.

Climate tech will become the next big VC thesis for Latin America

March 15, 2022

The region is still not among the top destinations for climate tech capital, despite its huge potential.

Q&A: Amplified Ag’s female leaders discuss the future of CEA & container farming

March 11, 2022

Jackie Jones and Rachel Downing are two of the major forces behind CEA company Amplified Ag and its mission to evolve container farming.

Meet the Female Founder: How EIO’s Tamara Leigh became a powerhouse in dairy tech

March 10, 2022

Ag journalist-turned-startup founder Tamara Leigh discusses a career spent championing the community, the cows, and other women.

Q&A: SupPlant’s Revital Kremer on bringing precision ag to more female farmers worldwide

March 9, 2022

The chief technology officer is leading the charge to make precision irrigation available to women smallholders worldwide.

Meet the Female Founder: The Mushroom Meat Co’s Kesha Stickland on what it takes to make clean-label protein

March 7, 2022

The Mushroom Meat Co.’s CEO explains the ups and downs of starting (and growing) a clean-label protein company in today’s crowded industry.

Putin’s invasion of Ukraine won’t just disrupt food supplies – but food technologies, too

February 25, 2022

With so much of the world’s food and fertilizer — and tech prowess too — coming from Ukraine and Russia, we’re facing yet another global food crisis.

Farmers have trust issues with their chemical advisors. Data can help

February 21, 2022

Many advisors who are required to sign off on “prescriptions” for chemical pesticides and other products work for the same companies that make or sell the chemicals, writes Michael Gilbert.

Carbon is not a dirty word: the case for recarbonizing our soils

February 17, 2022

Lack of understanding about the role of carbon is a problem for the future of the space, writes TerraMerra CEO Karn Manhas.

Q&A: Ignatius Akpabio on TradeDepot’s $110m raise & Africa’s e-commerce surge

February 4, 2022

Fresh off its $110 million funding round, Nigeria’s TradeDepot is pushing the boundaries of digitalization and financing for Africa’s small food businesses and retailers.

How significant is the Bayer-Microsoft deal for agtech? The response

February 1, 2022

A few months ago, Bayer and Microsoft announced a partnership. Our article about it went quasi-viral and spurred a number of responses. Here’s what the industry said.

Why AgFunder invested in Kula Bio

January 27, 2022

Soil microbial products for farmers have typically been unreliable. Kula Bio has changed that, writes AgFunder’s Rob Leclerc.

Q&A: VestedWorld’s Euler Bropleh on the opportunity of investing in ‘the basics’ in Africa

January 26, 2022

Chicago-based impact investment fund VestedWorld has supported more than 20 African startups addressing critical social and market needs, like improving cost and value chain for food.

Q&A: Upward Farms wants to attract more microbes to vertical ag environments

January 24, 2022

Co-founder and CEO Jason Green discusses its new 250,000-square-foot facility and the importance of the microbiome.

Bowery’s KKR-led $150m credit facility may hint at robust business model, industry inflection point

January 20, 2022

The timing of KKR’s vote of confidence is particularly interesting as concerns mount about the future of some vertical farms, but Bowery CEO Irving Fain says it’s a positive inflection point for the industry.