News and Analysis on Global Ag Innovation, Investment and Sustainability
From subsidised 1% loans for new farmers to patient capital backing biosolutions, Crédit Mutuel says its cooperative structure gives it a unique ability to finance agriculture’s environmental transition
Researchers at the University of Warwick have shown that bumblebees can do more than pollinate crops. By carrying naturally occurring viruses that target harmful bacteria, the insects could offer fruit growers a new way to protect orchards from disease...
Investor profile
While most deep-tech investors back university spinouts built around breakthrough discoveries, Deep Science Ventures takes a different approach. By starting with society’s biggest challenges and working backwards to find solutions, the firm believes it...
New trial data from Ag Novachem suggests Pangaea Booster™ can significantly improve the performance of existing insecticides against cabbage stem flea beetle and other key oilseed rape pests, offering growers another tool as interest in the crop begins...
Bayer has secured exclusive access to RAGT’s elite wheat genetics in Europe as it accelerates plans to launch hybrid wheat on both sides of the Atlantic by the early 2030s. The company believes hybrid wheat represents one of agriculture’s largest...
A UK-wide research initiative is combining predictive mapping, AI imaging and precision biology to help farmers target slugs more effectively, and cut reliance on pellets, as it moves into its final year of field trials
Start-up profile
From monitoring hive health to tracking entire ecosystems, HiveTracks is using data from bees to help companies and farmers quantify biodiversity – and potentially unlock new environmental markets
Supermarket giant urges cross-industry collaboration to move technologies from trial to scale, as cost pressures and supply shocks reshape fertiliser markets
Advances in genomics key to building more diversified food systems that would improve health and resilience globally, says the world’s largest, publicly funded agri-food research network.
Ag companies and non‑profits bolstered research efforts this month, including Redox Bio-Nutrients and The Land Institute hiring and promoting scientists to key roles
Iceland has a strong history of sustainable fishing, built on conservation and traceability laws
French agtech Agriodor has raised €15m to scale a novel class of crop protection products that use the natural scents emitted by plants to attract, repel or disrupt insect pests – offering a potential alternative to conventional insecticides at a time of...
New Zealand lost an estimated 12.8 per cent of its bee colonies over the 2025 winter season, reversing recent improvements since the 2021 peak.
A new European field trial aims to turn pollination from an assumption into a measurable performance indicator – helping almond growers and buyers make better capital decisions, improve orchard reliability and strengthen long‑term sourcing confidence
A groundbreaking study has revealed how a wild banana species from the Himalayas could save the global banana industry from devastating soil-borne diseases, while boosting yields and fruit sweetness.
Women in ag spotlight
New York vegan turned Washington rancher tells her story on what it takes to be a food producer with a focus on regenerative ag
Former Groove Armada star turned farmer Andy Cato explains how Wildfarmed is building a scalable economic model for regenerative agriculture – winning over retailers, policymakers and growers while backing its claims with hard data
A new paper challenges assumptions that agriculture is inherently more sustainable than marine fisheries, arguing that moving away from the latter will intensify biodiversity losses.
Superorganism is on a mission to address biodiversity loss with a portfolio of technology companies tackling the drivers of biodiversity loss
The partnership combines Trapview’s AI-powered pest monitoring and forecasting technology with Doktar’s holistic digital agronomy platform, aiming to inspire climate-smart, sustainable food systems across Europe, MENA, and beyond
Imperial College London spin-out Biocentis is betting on programmable biology and AI to tackle the global threats posed by insects. It believes its genome engineering platform promises a safer, more sustainable alternative to chemical pesticides and...
PepsiCo continues its commitment to regenerative agriculture with a collaboration that incentivises Brazilian farmers to test sustainable agriculture practices and products
Over 3,000 traditional African vegetable seed samples journey to the Svalbard Global Seed Vault, marking a major milestone in biodiversity conservation and climate resilience
UK start-up BugBiome is harnessing plant-derived microbes to develop a new generation of bioinsecticides – but scaling biological pest control comes with formulation and regulatory hurdles
UK start-up says its breakthrough platform could unlock yield gains in major crops by mimicking evolution and enhancing photosynthesis – now the challenge is scaling it for global seed partners
Consumer preference, tech barriers and ‘murky supply chains’ are threatening biodiversity in Asia and thwarting the potential of aquaculture to play a wider role beyond feed and food.
A bioplastic created from bamboo has been found to match oil-based plastics, and unlike many other biomass products does not rely on food-competing sources.
The expansion of palm oil and acacia plantations, along with Indonesia’s Mega Rice Project, have put Kalimantan’s peatlands and fisheries at high risk.
New fund targets 11.25 million ACCUs over 30 years, leveraging its ‘deep operational’ expertise in nature-based solutions
Digital Catapult’s latest cohort aims to future-proof the UK’s agri-food sector with deep tech innovation, tackling challenges from dairy forecasting to biodiversity monitoring
Virtual fencing company Nofence has raised over £26 million following the successful close of its Series B funding round. The company says the investment will be used to accelerate its international expansion and enhance its product offering to better...
Virtual fencing company Nofence has launched a new collar-to-collar communication system that improves connectivity for its virtual fencing collars, especially in remote areas with poor mobile signal
Climate-smart software company ClimateAi and multinational tech company NEC developed a climate adaptation model for African cocoa and rice growers by determining the return on investment (ROI) for various projects
Major grocers actively investing in farm-level innovation
World Agri-Tech South America Summit 2025
Brazil might be leading the sustainable agricultural revolution, but trade challenges and macroeconomic issues threaten the country’s economic ambitions
A new soil study on Maharashtra’s Akole and Nandurbar regions uncovers strong agricultural potential alongside significant challenges, with researchers calling for urgent intervention.
‘Investors are becoming more discerning, not less committed’
State of the sector
In the first of our ‘State of the Sector’ exclusive reports, we assess how innovation in aquaculture can help overcome considerable challenges and meet growing consumer demand.
Social enterprise Wild Asia is championing a traditional approach to palm oil farming, encouraging smallholders to stop seeing the crop as a commodity and adopt regenerative methods.
Agroecology - a means of integrating more sustainability and nature into agricultural practices – does not need to be at the expense of yields, provided the right data and expertise is followed.
The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) is partnering with EIT Food, the world’s largest food innovation community, to launch a new accelerator bub for start-ups in the EU.
The Danish company has secured €3.5 million in seed funding to develop a sustainable and decentralised method for producing ammonia.
Private equity firm and renewable energy investor Capital Dynamics has raised €185 million to finance two of Italy's largest agrivoltaics projects in Sicily.
Farmers are not resistant change, says Phil Bicknell, CEO at the newly merged UK-Agri-Tech Centre. But the “three Cs” of communication, collaboration and cash are needed to help them adopt newer sustainable practices.
The innovation being eyed by Gates Foundation's agtech arm has potential to be deployed in richer nations, says Trey Key, its director of business development. But he warns that ag requires more time for technology integration compared to other sectors.
AgTechNavigator's FREE AgTech Innovation and Investment – APAC editorial webinar takes place on November 6. Register your attendance today so you don’t miss out. The event will start on Wednesday, November 6, 2024 at 5:00 PM SGT (Singapore).
GenAI and AI platforms continue to develop at a fast pace, experts from Microsoft and Syngenta Group told the recent World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in London. But ‘humans in the loop’ are needed to develop dependable frameworks for validating...
Cautious farmers are more concerned with ROI and less willing to experiment with new products and technologies, according to a new global report from McKinsey.
Terviva, the company aiming to plant 200 million pongamia trees over 10 years for food, feed and fuel, has received investment from Chevron Renewable Energy Group, as mining giant Rio Tinto also looks to pongamia as a feedstock for renewable diesel...
A project by the International Institute of Tropical Agriculture, in partnership with US tech company Pairwise, will employ gene editing to support the yam in industry in Nigeria and wider region.