Agritech

1. 1. Farms that rise to the occasion

   → With vertical farms, crops can grow closer to consumers in a resourceefficient way, using less water and fertiliser than conventional farming as well as no pesticides.

   → For all these benefits, startups still need to cut their high operating costs and figure out how to make money beyond selling specialty products like herbs.

2. 2. Productivity vs. sustainability puzzle

   → The EU wants to cut the use of pesticides by 50% and fertiliser by 20% by 2030, but it’s unclear how farms will achieve those targets without a steep drop in yields.

   → Startups are stepping in to improve crop growing, mostly concentrating on biofertilisers and pesticides rather than more controversial genetic modification.

3. 3. Bet the farm on IoT

   → Internet-connected devices can be used for precision irrigation, crop and livestock monitoring and, further down the line, autonomous machinery and drones.

   → With the cost of devices and hardware on a steep decline, and connectivity infrastructure becoming more advanced, these solutions are becoming more attractive.

4. 4. Save the soil

   → Using practices like cover cropping and conservation tillage, “regenerative agriculture” offers the possibility to sequester carbon at scale.

   → Startups are now acting as matchmakers between those switching to regenerative farming and businesses paying to offset their carbon emissions.

Who early stage startups are up against