Agtech Action | Week of 04.23.22 - 04.29.22
Agtech Action is a weekly newsletter highlighting current events in the world of agtech, and some light-hearted commentary
Indonesia widens palm oil export ban, more joint ventures and fundraises in agtech and can meat be grown in space (thanks SpaceX)? Food inflation spiking above historical averages, is COOL (country of origin labeling) coming back and is India the new agtech hub?
Development is the theme of the agtech week. Are there lessons to be learned from agrifood tech ecosystems like Kansas and India? They developed their ecosystems through technology, policy, investment and other coordinated efforts. We’ll chat about that in this week’s Agtech Action newsletter.
Food and the World:
Cold and Rain Set Planting off to a Slow Start, but Give Moisture to Some Drought Areas
Tobacco as food's future: BioBetter creates a cell growth medium from the plant
Midwest Farm Wives: 7 Tips to Stay Sane During a Busy Season
Southern region drought stokes wildfires
Trump’s USDA Relocated Research Agencies Despite Warnings of high Staff Attrition
Two More Bird Flu Outbreaks on Pennsylvania Egg Farms
Food inflation spiking well above historical averages
Cold Start to planting in Iowa, Southern Farmers Battle Weed Pressure and Down Machinery
Cattle Market Reformers See Resistance from Big Ag Groups
Largest Grocery Price Increase Since 2008
Biden's Plan to Boost Wheat, Soybean Acres Called ‘Baffling, Convoluted’ Without Much Impact
USDA 2022 Food Price Inflation Forecasts Already at 14-Year High, Expected to Rise Even More
'It didn't feel like $80 worth of food': Inflation is making it hard to make healthy food choices
Deutsche Bank says a major recession is coming (0:00 mark)
Salinas Valley growers face COVID-related challenges and more
Brazil’s Drought: The Trigger that Could Take Corn Prices Higher?
U.N. report highlights land use trends and costs of degradation
The looming threat for Maine’s iconic potato industry
A genetic discovery could help fight an African cattle disease
Is India’s food security scheme discriminating against Dalits?
Ukraine war offers Latin America opportunity to boost exports, says IMF
Investors push Nestlé and Kraft Heinz to set new health targets
A catalyst for the development of carbon-neutral technology of the radiation accelerator
Shifting food choices are reducing climate impact of the American diet
Americans are eating more beef than ever — despite vegan ‘trend’
Agtech in the News:
John Deere Enters Joint Venture with Semi-Autonomous Sprayer Manufacturer
This 33-year-old raised $40 million to give rural farmers solar power and help fight climate change
Arable, Bayer partner to tailor plant genetics to field conditions
USDA asked to handle animal gene editing regulations
John Deere Forms Joint Venture with GUSS Automation
African Swine Fever Virus Vaccine Passes Tests Required for Regulatory Approval
SpaceX: Can meat be grown in space?
Agribusiness Giant Cargill Expects to Have Zero-Carbon Ships by 2030
Is There a More Climate-Friendly Way to Fertilize Crops? the Answer May be blowin’ in the Wind
Indonesia widens export ban to include crude palm oil
Could eating bug powder and fungus meat help fight climate change? Yes, but there are easier ways
Meat consumption must fall by at least 75% for sustainable consumption, says study
Fun:
How Twitter ranks in the largest take-private deals of recent decades
Goodbye to incandescent bulbs (1:10 mark)
OneRare And Honeybee Burger Join Forces to Make the Metaverse More Meat-Free
Helpful Resources:
As VC valuations reset, crypto keeps climbing
How Grazing Management Transforms Grasslands
How Your Management Practices Can Defend Against Inflated Input Prices
US micro-funds play to their strengths in 2021
Climate bonds infographic (very interesting)
Interesting Reads:
30% of Americans are Moving Because of Climate Change in 2022
Water woes hit hard in Southern California
Opinion: The climate blame game
3 Economic Forces to Watch that Will Impact Agriculture
The Return of COOL? Legislation Would Resurrect Origin Labeling for Meat
A closer look at African start-ups supported by Y Combinator
African Swine Fever Vaccine Candidate Moves One Step Closer To Market
Report: Kansas Agricultural Exports Top $5 Billion For First Time in Decade
Packers: ‘We’re Not to Blame for High Meat Prices’
Happier employees, higher profits: Restaurant owners spend more, and it pays off
Public Libraries Are Making It Easy to Check Out Seeds—and Plant a Garden
Renewable Fuel's Big Week on The Hill
Forest trees also take up nanoplastics
Pepsi, UT Austin join WRI’s Cool Food initiative for climate-friendly diets
Meat substitutes: Researchers find that environmental concern does not motivate consumption
Why is India Emerging as "The Land of Agritech Business Opportunity?"
Finance:
LACERA commits $100M to decarbonizing food funds
PSP internalizes management of PSP Daybreak Cropping from Warakirri
Agri investments Down Under continue to pull in LPs
Anuvia Raises $65.5M Series D to Scale U.S. Production Of Sustainable Fertilizer
Red Sea Farms Raises $18.5M For Zero Freshwater Food Production
Inseco Raises One of the Largest Seed Rounds in S. Africa’s History
Seso Raises $25M to Ease U.S. Ag Labor Shortage
Black soldier fly farmer Inseco raises $5.3m in South Africa’s ‘largest-ever seed round’
Farmerline raises $13m to connect West African farmers with services, buyers with data
WSIB commits €175M to PAI Partners Europe fund
Dao Foods Announces Investment in Six Alternative Protein Ventures
Israel's Remilk to open 'world's largest' facility for cow-free milk in Denmark
How This Agritech Startup in Bengaluru is Automating Farming
Plastic-eating enzyme could eliminate billions of tons of landfill waste
India’s Tractor Junction hauls in $5.7m seed funding from AgFunder, Omnivore & others
Cashew offers untapped potential for African livelihoods and landscapes, scientists say
Lewis Hamilton's Neat Burger Expands to US with Fast-Food Shops and Vegan Meats
Theme of the Agtech Week: Development
Development is the theme of the agtech week and I am referring to multi-pronged, coordinated development of agtech innovations, startups, activities and more broadly ecosystems. A couple of stories this week prompted this theme: Kansas ag exports have topped $5B for the first time in a decade and the emergence of India as an agritech ecosystem of opportunity. Let’s dive a bit deeper as to why these geographies are showing promise.
Kansas, with its thriving animal protein, health sector, key academic institutions like Kansas State, key exports like meat, cereals and oilseed, and an emerging biotech, life/bio sciences (check out BioKansas). With strategic investment in the Kansas City (KS) area and concerted effort to strategically promote Kansas ag and the Midwest, and a very compelling agtech ecosystem is developing.
Let’s look at India. India has seen a dramatic increase in agtech startups, from 43 in 2013 to more than 1000 in 2020. This emergence can be attributed to the rise in digital infrastructure and increasing access to internet in the rural parts of India. Couple that with already robust sectors like supply chain, fintech and others, it was only a matter of time before those digital solutions were deployed in food and ag. The Indian government has made concerted investment, with the creation of technology and incubation centers (see ASPIRE) to support agritech solutions, startup and venture capital programming and assistance (see SFAC programs), as well as grants to help entrepreneurs get their start.
The lesson: development is not just a technology solution, it is holistic. It includes strategic support, infrastructure, coordination from the public and private sector, and, in my opinion, getting out of the way of the entrepreneur. Pay attention to those key traits when evaluating a region/geography and its agtech ecosystem. I look forward to seeing Kansas’, India’s and other regions’ continued development.
BD
Brandon Day is the Chief Operating Officer of The Yield Lab Institute, the global agtech think-tank, non-profit arm of The Yield Lab global network of venture capital funds and accelerator programs. The views, opinions and commentary expressed are solely those of Brandon Day.