Tag: policy

Q&A: EDB executive director Lee Eng Keat on Singapore’s role in agri-foodtech innovation

November 5, 2019

We caught up with Lee ahead of the Rethink Agrifood Innovation Week in Singapore later this month to find about how Singapore is positioning itself as an agri-foodtech hub in Asia and globally.

The FDA and Food Entrepreneurs Need to Better Define the Consumer

May 30, 2019

Here Shmuel Rausnitz writes about his concerns relating to the FDA and foodtech entrepreneur's tendency to oversimplify consumer demands and needs across demographics.

Food Tech Startup Steps up to Alleviate Federal Workers’ Food-Related Government Shutdown Woes

February 4, 2019

On-demand food delivery startup DoorDash and social service access platform mRelief are teaming up to provide affected San Francisco residents with up to $35 in DoorDash credit while they wait for their food stamp benefit approvals.

FDA Makes Move Towards Clearing Up Food Tech Regulation with New Action Plan

November 19, 2018

The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has come under fire for not providing more guidelines to food tech companies on what is and what is not allowed.

Argentina’s Minister for Entrepreneurs Places Focus on Agtech For Country’s ‘Avant-Garde Farmers’

August 15, 2018

The government of President Mauricio Macri, who took office in 2015, is working hard to open up its markets and attract investment from overseas and the agriculture and venture capital industries are a key part of that policy.

USDA Has a Responsibility to Reveal Crop Yield Forecasting Methods

May 22, 2018

The USDA's World Agricultural Supply and Demand Estimates (WASDE) report's data collection methods are damagingly opaque and are causing unnecessary amounts of volatility and instability across global agriculture.

Ag Industry Brief: USDA Approves CRISPR-Edited Food While Bucking NOSB Recommendations, more

April 6, 2018

The USDA makes multiple impactful rulings while Food System 6 Accelerator chooses a new cohort and BayWa announces an agtech competition in this week's brief.

Ag Industry Brief: Syngenta Acquires FarmShots Plus More M&A, Trimble Joins THRIVE, more

February 16, 2018

North Carolina-based satellite data analytics startup FarmShots has been acquired by Syngenta for an undisclosed amount plus more in our weekly brief.

Newly Implemented FDA Produce Rules Offer Food Safety Startups a Boost

February 8, 2018

Produce farmers from the Salinas Valley to the Hudson Valley are beginning to make sense of a new set of rules that regulate how they do business.

UK Attempts to Mend ‘Fragmented’ Ag Innovation Pipeline with Research Funding

January 19, 2018

Britain’s Agriculture and Horticulture Development Board (AHDB) is committing £5m ($6.9m) to fund the country’s farm sector PhD students in an effort to overhaul the UK industry’s “fragmented” innovation and skills pipeline.

US Govt Task Force Calls For Smoother Path to Market for Ag Biotech Innovation

January 15, 2018

According to the US Task Force on Agriculture and Rural Prosperity agtech innovations are a key means to better business and improved life for rural Americans.

Ag Industry Brief: Trump Supports Rural Broadband, Sodexo Gets into Delivery Game, Biotech IPO Back On, more

January 12, 2018

President Trump and the Supreme Court weigh in on agriculture issues while startups launch new products in this week's brief.

Why Some Cannabis Investors Welcome Trump Admin Threats, Uncertainty

January 9, 2018

There is a somewhat popular opinion in cannabis investor circles that mainstream investor hesitation is a good thing for dedicated cannabis investors, but the status quo can’t last forever if legal cannabis is to grow as much as supporters would like.

Ag Industry Brief: Cannabis News from Four States, World Bank Funds Ag Innovation, FDA in Hot Water Over Recalls, more

January 5, 2018

As several US make progress toward legalizing cannabis, the federal government makes motions towards stricter enforcement of the federal cannabis ban, plus more news from the agrifood industry in this week's brief.

Can Technology Get Slavery Out of Food Supply Chains?

December 8, 2017

Modern slavery is back at the top of concerned consumers minds and new agrifood tech startups and some established players are working to shine a light at the very bottom of the supply chain.

What Happened With Farm Labor Visas This Year (And What Didn’t)

December 7, 2017

Some farms reported being short 100 workers and media from many agricultural states reported farms leaving crops in the fields to rot due to lack of labor.

Young Farmers Call For Tech Upgrades at USDA

November 29, 2017

A lack of technology is acting as a barrier for young people who wish to get into farming and the biggest problem is not in the field, says a new report.

Glyphosate Gets EU Greenlight for Five More Years

November 28, 2017

The decision comes after weeks of votes and protests about the future of the controversial chemical in the EU, which has been far more skeptical than other parts of the world regarding glyphosate and the genetically-modified seeds created to resist it by Monsanto.

What do Indoor Farming CEOs Think of Hydroponics Organic Approval?

November 8, 2017

Plenty CEO, Bowery CEO, and AeroFarms CEO weigh in on NOSB's decision to reject a proposal that would disallow hydroponic and aquaponic farms from being certified organic.

Ag Industry Brief: USDA Votes to Allow Organic Certification for Hydroponics, Plenty Heads to Seattle, New Monsanto Partnership, more

November 3, 2017

The USDA's National Organics Standards Board (NOSB) has ruled that hydroponic, but not aeroponic, farms can continue to be certified organic in an 8-7 vote that has divided the indoor and outdoor farming communities.