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Agrotech, Company News, Start ups

Companies demonstrate John Deere’s commitment to customers’ future needs

Deere & Company announced the names of six companies chosen for its 2024 Startup Collaborator program. The John Deere Startup Collaborator program was launched in 2019 to enhance and deepen the company’s interaction with startup companies whose technology could add value for ag and construction customers.

“The startup program is mutually beneficial for John Deere and the startup companies that participate,” said Dennis Muszalski, VP, Module & Electrification Systems Engineering. “The program is based on finding benefits for our customers. The goal is to learn together and explore new ways to help customers unlock more value in ways they never thought possible.”

The companies participating in the 2024 Startup Collaborator include:

Constellr – a company measuring land surface temperature and water from its satellites at unprecedented accuracy levels to enable insights for a more sustainable future.

Geminos – an artificial intelligence company empowering businesses to understand and leverage causality for enhanced decision-making.

SB Quantum – a quantum sensing company focused on navigation based on a novel quantum magnetometer.

Fermata Energy – a leader in vehicle-to-everything (V2X) bidirectional charging platform technology.

goFlux – a Brazil based logistics company focused on digital solutions to connect the ecosystem for freight transactions.

Cloudscape Labs – a production management software company focused on providing job site visibility across the construction team to help meet production, cost, and safety targets.

“The cohort this year represents a diverse group of solutions that are applicable across a range of challenges and opportunities that our customers face,” said Cody Sorge, Business Development Manager for the John Deere Intelligent Solutions Group. “We look forward to working side by side with these companies to learn together regarding their solutions and how they can apply to John Deere customers in Agriculture and Construction.”

Companies demonstrate John Deere's commitment to customers'

Agrotech, Start ups, Sustainability

First end-to-end Sustainability Program for Rice Cultivation

nurture.farm, India’s leading Agtech startup has rolled out its Sustainable Rice Program for the Rabi’23 season. Hundreds of farmers have pledged & joined the program to lead the change by transforming the way they cultivate rice. The program aims to make the rice value chain sustainable by implementing techniques that streamline cultivation practices, leveraging artificial intelligence & water conserving technologies to help farmers cultivate more from less, creating traceable data sets, improving soil health, and boosting farm productivity to deliver sustainable outcomes for the farmer, the buyer, and the environment.

The implementation of the program is being monitored with the help of agri-industry experts & researchers from the Regional Agriculture Research Station, Marateru under the leadership & guidance of Dr M Bharatalakshmi, Associate Director at the Institute. In addition to the institute partnership, leading ag-industry leaders like Ashish Dobhal, CEO of UPL SAS, are lending their support and guidance, and committing their resources to help make the program a success.

Ashish Dobhal, CEO of UPL SAS, said, “India is the largest producer and consumer of rice, accounting for 21 per cent of the world’s total rice production. The rice cultivation alone contributes to 1.5 per cent of total GHG emissions. Furthermore, rice cultivation requires a lot of water; flooded fields lead to the anaerobic decomposition of soil organic matter, which leads to methane emissions and impacts the soil quality, often leading to the leaching of nutrients and soil erosion resulting in reduced farm productivity. Thus making the transition to sustainable cultivation practices a necessity.
The Sustainable Rice Program is a testament to the core mission of building a resilient and sustainable agriculture ecosystem for a brighter, inclusive and more abundant tomorrow. The program is unique and ambitious as it promises to deliver end-to-end implementation, helping improve yield quality, soil health and acreage, optimise input usage and water consumption, shorten crop cycles, boost farm productivity, and reduce the cost of cultivation while ensuring profitability and measurable sustainable impact on GHGs.”

First end-to-end Sustainability Program for Rice Cultivationnurture.farm,

Agrotech, Award, Company News, Start ups

FarmSense’s award-winning FlightSensor utilises patented technology, computational entomology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time analytics to improve insect monitoring and crop management efforts

Agtech startup FarmSense, announces that it has been awarded the top prize in Bayer’s global Grants4Tech Pest Monitor Challenge. The FarmSense team recently spent multiple days demonstrating the capabilities of their FlightSensor technology during the finalists’ event at Bayer’s headquarters in Germany. The panel of judges were impressed by FarmSense’s real-time pest monitoring technology and its promising potential to revolutionise pest monitoring efforts in commercial agriculture — resulting in the top prize of 10,000€ and possible future collaboration with Bayer.

Bayer described the goal of the competition as a search for “novel technologies to detect and identify above and/or below ground pests in crops at an early infestation stage, enabling an optimized application of crop protection solutions.” Finalists were scored on four categories: novelty of hardware design, sensitivity (spatial and temporal resolution), scalability (robustness, affordability, ease of use), and testability.

“FarmSense is honored to receive the top prize in the Bayer Grants4Tech Pest Monitor Challenge. Technological advances in real-time pest monitoring and classification, like FarmSense’s FlightSensor provides, are essential to support the continued growth of commercial agriculture in a sustainable manner. We are enthusiastic about the future of FarmSense,” said Dr Shailendra Singh, FarmSense co-founder and CTO.

FarmSense’s award-winning FlightSensor utilises patented technology, computational entomology, artificial intelligence, machine learning, and real-time analytics to improve insect monitoring and crop management efforts. The FlightSensor is a revolutionary step forward in pest management, saving growers time, labour and money, and reducing the need for pesticide use while improving crop yield.

FarmSense's award-winning FlightSensor utilises patented technology, computational

Agrotech, Horticulture, India, R&D, Uncategorized

Initial planting to begin with 40 acres of land and will go up to 100 acres by 2023

IG International, one of India’s leading fresh fruit importers, has joined hands with Special New Fruit Licensing, SNFL Group, one of the world’s leading table grape R&D companies, to plant world-class grape varieties in India. This new project will establish IG International as one of the prime grape growers in India. The partnership will focus on bringing top cultivars to Indian consumers in Nasik, which is set to be the home for the production of new varieties of grapes. The initial planting will begin with 40 acre of land and will go up to 100 acres by 2023.

For over 20 years, SNFL Group has been breeding and developing new table grape varieties and licensing their production around the world. They are driven to propel the next generation of sustainable and healthy table grape varieties to better serve the success of growers, retailers, and consumers around the globe.

Acclaimed as the leading fresh fruit importer in India, IG International is entrenched with a renowned reputation for more than 50 years in this market segment. The company’s organized and strategic sourcing system, augmented by a seamless supply chain with a well-connected overseas procurement network, enables them to bring top varieties of grapes from SNFL which are currently not grown in India.

Speaking about this collaboration, Aman Anand, CEO of IG Grapes, said, “SNFL. Grapes are one of the best-selling commodities in the fresh fruit industry as they are universally liked by many consumers. SNFL will provide first-grade varieties of grapes in India through IG Grapes’ vast network. With this partnership, we are looking forward to making sure that we have scalable production, expertise, and a steady supply of delicious grapes of unmatched quality.”

On this occasion, Josep Estiarte, CEO of SNFL stated, “Grapes are one of the most diverse and devoured fruits in India and with the establishment of this collaboration between our two leading companies, we will be able to deliver quality and freshness for all grape lovers in India. NFL’s project in India started two years ago with the planting of its first protected varieties in the Indian market and we are committed to supporting the development of a premium table grape industry that will deliver better varieties to consumers.”

Initial planting to begin with 40 acres

Agrotech, India, Singapore, Start ups

Cargill has partnered with Singapore Economic Development Board (EDB) and launched its first digital business studio in Asia. The studio is designed to support local founders with investments that bring Cargill solutions to the market and accelerate innovation for the food and agriculture industry in Asia-Pacific.

Through this three-year partnership, Cargill plans to develop a portfolio of at least five new start-ups in Singapore. The start-ups will focus on pressing industry challenges—from increasing access to market data for smallholder farmers to creating more efficient, transparent and cost-effective food supply solutions.

This partnership builds on EDB’s efforts to grow Singapore’s corporate venturing movement, encouraging companies to build new businesses with start-up like agility. This includes investing in growth areas beyond their core businesses to keep ahead of the fast-changing pace of disruption.  

The digital business studio will be a space for Cargill to incubate and scale transformative start-ups, in close partnership with customers. It allows for expanded reach into digital innovation, bringing new solutions to meet the changing needs of the food and agriculture industries.

Cargill has four innovation centres across Asia: Singapore, Gurgaon, Beijing and Shanghai.

Cargill has partnered with Singapore Economic Development

Agro Universities, AgroPolicy, Dairy, Organic, Start ups, Sustainability

Discussions were held on prospects, challenges, technologies and strategies 

The ICAR-Research Complex for North-Eastern Hill Region, Meghalaya recently organised a two-day National Conference on “Agri-Start-Ups: Prospects, Challenges, Technologies and Strategies (AGRiPACTS – 2022)” at Manan Kendra, Gangtok, Sikkim.

The conference focussed on agri-business ecosystems, potential technologies, IPR technologies and commercialisation, challenges faced by ecosystem builders and agri startups and convergence among stakeholders.

The Chief Guest, Lok Nath Sharma, Minister of Agriculture, Animal Husbandry & Veterinary Service, Government of Sikkim highlighted the importance of organic farming and initiatives for the highest purity standards to create opportunities and demand for the agricultural products from Sikkim to the other parts of the country and globe. The Government of Sikkim’s initiatives for the widespread marketing opportunities and self-sufficiency achieved in milk production were also underlined by the Minister.

The Guest of Honor, Prof Avinash Khare, Vice-Chancellor, Sikkim University, Sikkim emphasised the branding of the agricultural products and processed items from Sikkim for marketing for sustainability and income generation of employment.

P Vaiphei, Additional Chief Secretary, Government of Manipur outlined the importance of developing Entrepreneurs in agriculture particularly, in organic products.

The need for the product development and issues of quality at start-ups / Farmers’ Producers’ Organizations and Entrepreneurs to reach customer level through networking was stressed by Dr K Srinivas, ADG (IP&TM), ICAR.

Earlier, Dr R Laha, Joint Director, ICAR-Research Complex for NEH Region, Sikkim Centre delivered the welcome address.

More than 500 participants from all over the country including 70 Scientists / Venture or Business Experts; 75 office bearers/members of farmers’ producers’ companies / Organizations (FPCs / FPOs); 20 successful agri-start-ups and 120 state officials from all over the North-East Region, etc., participated in the conference.

Discussions were held on prospects, challenges, technologies

Agro chems – Fertilizers, Agro chems – Pesticides, Agrotech, IT, Start ups, Sustainability

The report shares Khetibuddy’s work for farmers in a few districts of Maharashtra in improving farming practices 

Khetibuddy Agritech an agritech startup, released its first-ever Impact Report highlighting how it has improved farming habits through its agtech platform. The 2021 Report – to be updated annually – shares Khetibuddy’s work for farmers in a few districts of Maharashtra in improving farming practices measured on five different parameters.

“We believe that science and technology have the power to transform the current state of agriculture. Our commitment to the farmers extends beyond just software solutions, the idea is a real impact on the ground which has to be a benefit for the farmer. It is only then any technology is useful,” said Vinay Nair Co-founder and CEO, Khetibuddy.

Highlights of the Impact Report include:

  • Yield Quality Enhancement (YQE) – Represents the metric in which the company’s focussed interventions to improve and enhance specific contents of produce via agricultural practices. Intending to increase the marketability of the produce and farmer’s revenue, KhetiBuddy has helped farmers increase the curcumin content (in percentage) in Turmeric and germination rate in Onion seed by up to 30 per cent.
  • Yield Quantity Increment (YQI) – Metric that shows a direct impact on the livelihood of the farmers belonging to climate-vulnerable regions where the yield is in direct correlation to the vagaries of nature. Several pieces of training, constant guidance and tech for enabling the goal-driven process of more yield per acre have helped Khetibuddy’s farmers achieve more than a 28 per cent increase in yield of sugarcane and 35 per cent in turmeric.
  • Input Cost Reduction (ICR) – Khetibuddy’s weather-based recommendations for preventive approach in pest and disease management and optimization of nutrient usage via remote sensing technology helped farmers save big. By inducing sustainable agricultural practices to preserve soil biology the total input consumption and hence costs severely changed for farmers. They reduced the overuse of fertilisers in potato and reduced pesticide spraying in cabbage.
  • Avoid Crop Loss (ACL) – Thrusting the use of remote sensing technology for monitoring crop health along with preventive measures in farming, Khetibuddy has avoided crop losses in terms of quantity and quality. Intervening with agricultural practices for onion and watermelon farmers among other vegetables helped limit the usage of plant protection which covers a large portion of input costs.
  • Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) – Khetibuddy’s drive for improving soil health is part of its long term vision to make farmers self-sustainable. These small steps towards the larger goal are best summarised in its efforts put in imparting knowledge and training farmers towards the adoption of GAPs.

“With technology adoption on a high as well access to smartphones and Internet in rural parts of India, now more than ever is the time to do meaningful impact which is result-driven for farmers,” Dr Richa Nair Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Khetibuddy. 

The report shares Khetibuddy's work for farmers

AgroPolicy, R&D, Start ups

The biotech park will act as a hub for incubation of new ideas and will support the agri-entrepreneurs, startups, progressive farmers etc

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh recently inaugurated the Industrial Biotech Park Ghatti, Kathua, Jammu.

Dr Singh said that that the bbiotech park would act as hub for incubation of new ideas and will act as a robust platform to support the agri-entrepreneurs, startups, progressive farmers, scientists, scholars and students not only from Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh but also from nearby States of Punjab, Haryana and Himachal Pradesh. 

Dr Singh added that the biotechnology park at Kathua has a potential to produce 25 startups in a year which will be among its great contributions to this region. The biotech park will carry out research on biodiversity, medicinal and aromatic plants of Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh and will also promote green category businesses. 

The biotech park will act as a

Agro Universities, AgroPolicy, Floriculture, Start ups

Inaugurated six distillation units under CSIR-IIIM for lavender situated at six different places

Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (Independent Charge) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions, Atomic Energy and Space, Dr Jitendra Singh said that Bhaderwah is the potential destination of agri-tech startups of the country.

After inaugurating the country’s first ‘Lavender Festival’ Bhaderwah, the Union Minister described Bhaderwah as the birthplace of India’s Purple Revolution.

“The country’s first National Institute of High Altitude Medicine is being built in Bhaderwah which will attract scholars and researchers not only from India but across the globe generating employment opportunities for the region. The establishment of this institute is proof of developmental initiatives reaching far-flung places at an unprecedented rate compared to the last seventy years,” Dr Singh added.

Referring to the lavender cultivation in the region, Dr Singh said that Lavender is an avenue of employment generation and research opening many paradigms of development for the region. He further said that the agriculturist Bharat Bhushan called the Brand Ambassador of Purple Revolution in India is an inspiration for youth in Jammu and Kashmir toward Start-up culture.

Dr Singh said that under lavender cultivation, potential farmers’ income has not only been doubled but quadrupled.

Dr Singh also inaugurated six distillation units under CSIR-IIIM for lavender situated at six different places. Three MoUs were also signed between CSIR-IIIM Jammu with Agro Voltic Power, Mussoorie Uttarakhand, Lyallpur Khalsa College, Jalandhar Punjab and Fine Fragrance Power, Mumbai.

Dr DS Reddy, Director CSIR-IIIM Jammu, Dhanenter Singh, DDC Chairperson, Doda, Sangeeta Bhagat, Vice-Chairperson DDC Doda, Dr Sumit Garola, Nodal Scientist CSIR besides scientists and potential farmers cultivating lavender were present during the festival. Many industrialists and potential farmers were felicitated during the lavender festival.

Inaugurated six distillation units under CSIR-IIIM for

Agro Universities, Start ups

Activities of a-IDEA in promoting the start-ups in the rural sector were underlined

The a-IDEA, TBI of ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad recently organised the Demo Day under Agri Udaan 4.0.

Dr Ch Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad applauded the activities of the a-IDEA and highlighted the different policy papers published by the Academy for the benefits of FPOs, Entrepreneurs, etc.

Dr G Venkateshwarlu, Joint Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad underlined the activities of a-IDEA in promoting the start-ups in the rural sector and enhancing the competency of start-ups through effective technical & business mentoring.

S Somasundaram, DGM, NABARD, Mumbai, Maharashtra apprised about the support provided by the NABARD to a-IDEA in strengthening the start-ups through the accelerator programme and seed fund support.
A total of 10 start-ups and 25 investors from the different parts of the country participated in the programme.

Activities of a-IDEA in promoting the start-ups

Agrotech, Environment, Start ups

Organisations joining forces to develop the next generation of crop nutrition and food tech startups

ICL, a leading global speciality minerals company, has partnered with startup accelerator StartLife in its quest to invest in startups focused on new ways to address global challenges in food and agricultural production. These challenges range from increasing yields and tackling food insecurity, to cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Both organisations are fully geared toward accelerating the business development and growth of early-stage startups, and this partnership enables them to advance in their shared mission.

Headquartered in Israel, ICL Planet Startup Hub serves as the vehicle ICL uses to cultivate, nurture and accelerate innovation in the AgriFood tech ecosystem, through open innovation and collaboration on a global basis. Potential targets also include novel ways to recycle minerals, extract them from waste streams and convert them to fertilisers or develop innovative functional proteins for clean label applications, among others.

“ICL Planet Startup Hub seeks to establish a new generation of plant nutrition solutions, and we aim to invest in startups, which can make a meaningful difference,” said Hadar Sutovsky, VP of External Innovation at ICL Group. Sutovsky first encountered StartLife through its annual summit – F&A Next – which is centered on disruptive AgriFood technologies and brings together startups, investors and corporates from all over the world.

“StartLife has a strong track record of spotting and attracting promising early-stage startups globally, and its position at the heart of the European AgriFood tech ecosystem, its focus on sustainable food systems, and its strong links with the world-renowned Wageningen University & Research were central to our decision to enter into a partnership,” continued Sutovsky.

StartLife’s Operations Director, Laura Thissen, said, “Through this partnership, StartLife aims to accelerate startups’ scaling journey and, at the same time, support ICL in finding the best startups, which match their innovation challenges. Our team is already identifying startups looking to partner and help solve a piece of the innovation puzzle for Planet Startup. The scope includes crop nutrition, such as next-generation fertilisers and biostimulants, but also precision farming and alternative proteins.”

Thissen added, “To boost innovation, StartLife actively connects startups to leading players in the industry. ICL’s core domain is complementary to our partner community value chain coverage. In our talks, we quickly discovered we have a lot of synergies in our activities and the same drive for sustainability in food and agriculture.”

Startups have much to gain from a collaboration with ICL Planet Startup Hub, including market access, expertise and world-class scientists, as well as the ability for sample testing. As an on-the-ground industrial partner, ICL can also provide agronomic or food application feedback. ICL Planet Startup Hub is already an active investor in several AgriFood startups, most recently in alternative protein companies Plantible and Protera.

Organisations joining forces to develop the next

AgroPolicy, Agrotech, Start ups, Supply Chain

Singh was addressing a conclave-cum-exhibition on agri-tech and food-tech in the Mysuru

Union Minister of State (IC) Ministry of Science and Technology; Minister of State (IC) Ministry of Earth Science; MoS of Prime Minister’s Office and Ministry of Personnel, Public Grievances & Pensions Dr Jitendra Singh said that agri-tech start-ups are critical to India’s future economy.

Addressing a conclave-cum-exhibition on Agri-Tech and Food-Tech in the Mysuru, Dr Singh said, a new wave of agri-tech startups has come up in India in the last few years due to enabling policy environment to address the problems of Indian agriculture such as supply chain management, use of outdated equipment, improper infrastructure, and inability of farmers to access a wider range of markets with ease.

The minister noted with satisfaction that young entrepreneurs are now quitting their jobs in IT sectors and MNCs to establish their own startups and these young entrepreneurs are now beginning to realise the fact that investing in agriculture is one of the very few safe and profitable businesses.

Dr Singh said, “Agritech startups are providing innovative ideas and affordable solutions to a number of challenges faced all across the agricultural value chain and it has the potential to change the face of Indian agriculture sector and eventually raise farmers’ incomes.”

He said, these startups and budding entrepreneurs have become the missing link between the farmers, input dealers, wholesalers, retailers and consumers connecting each of them to each other and providing strong marketing linkages and quality produce on time.

Dr Singh added, “The third edition of TechBharat on the theme “Transforming India’s FoodTech, AgriTech & Agronomic Landscape is a timely one as agriculture is one of the important pillars of the Indian economy as 54 per cent of Indian population depends directly on agriculture and it accounts for around 20 percent of GDP.”

Dr Singh strongly advocated the use of modern and new technology in Agricultural sector and pointed out that countries like Israel, China and the US have transformed several agriculture practices in their country with the use of technology. He said, these countries have demonstrated that assortment of technology like hybrid seeds, precision farming, big data analytics, artificial intelligence, geo-tagging and satellite monitoring, mobile apps and farm management software can be applied at every stage in agriculture process to increase productivity and farm incomes.

Singh was addressing a conclave-cum-exhibition on agri-tech

Agro Universities, Agrotech, Start ups

The MoA is aimed at supporting the start-ups in the agriculture and allied sector for organising the co-events, co-incubation

The a-IDEA, ICAR-National Academy of Agricultural Research Management, Hyderabad has signed the Memorandum of Agreement (MoA) with 10 ICAR Institutes in Hyderabad.

The ICAR’s 10 institutes included ICAR-ATARI, Bengaluru; ICAR-NINFET, Kolkata; ICAR-NIPB, New Delhi; ICAR-DWR, Jabalpur; ICAR-NCIPM, New Delhi; ICAR-NRC on Camel, Bikaner; ICAR-DCFR, Bhimtal, Uttarakhand; ICAR-Research Complex for North-Eastern Hill Region, Umiam, Meghalaya; ICAR-CRIDA, Hyderabad and ICAR-CIAE, Bhopal, Madhya Pradesh.

The MoA is aimed at supporting the start-ups in the agriculture and allied sector for organising the co-events, co-incubation, value-added services, extending lab facilities and co-networking, etc.

Dr Trilochan Mohapatra, Secretary (DARE) & Director General (ICAR) highlighted the importance of leadership development and the way forward for enhancing the institutional performance.

Dr Ch Srinivasa Rao, Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad underlined the a-IDEA activities and its support to the Start-Ups ecosystem. Dr G Venkateshwarlu, Joint Director, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad highlighted that the MoA provides overarching framework for the collaboration in the various Project activities like technical mentoring and providing lab facilities for the Incubates, etc., on mutual interest.

Dr Senthil Vinayagam, CEO, a-IDEA, ICAR-NAARM, Hyderabad was also present during the occasion.

The MoA is aimed at supporting the

Agrotech, Dairy, Finance, Start ups

The total investment capital is to the tune of $28 M

FoodTech startup Imagindairy, developer of animal-free milk proteins, secured an additional $15 million in its extended seed-round. The initial round in November 2021 brought in $13 million. This brings the total investment capital to $28 million, making it one of the highest-earning seed rounds in the alternative protein space.

The funding was led by Target Global and joined by the company’s existing investors Strauss Group, Emerald Technology Ventures, Green Circle Foodtech Ventures, Collaborative Fund, New Climate Ventures, and FoodSparks by PeakBridge, demonstrating a robust commitment to the company’s future progress.

“This extremely successful seed round reflects a strong vote of confidence in Imagindairy and its vision to lead the animal-free dairy industry,” enthuses Eyal Afergan, Co-Founder and CEO, Imagindairy. “This substantial injection of capital will serve to advance our ability to make true dairy alternative products a day-to-day reality.”

The funds raised in this seed round will be used to accelerate the company’s R&D efforts to launch a range of real dairy products without using animals. It also will help attract additional talent to its expanding workforce. Imagindairy is currently in dialogue with major dairy food producers seeking to diversify their product portfolios.

The total investment capital is to the