Back to the future: Indoor ag co. Little Leaf Farms finds success by returning to farming roots
What is old is new in farming, as today’s high-tech greenhouses can help bring the grower and the consumer closer together
Waste reduction & valorisation
Reaping more rewards: Straw Innovations aims to unlock value from rice straw with new machine
The Straw Traktor is a rice farming machine that helps farmers boost rice production by up to 65 percent a year while cutting methane emissions in half.
Scaling new heights: Verta Bioenergy sets sights on new markets after achieving strong commercial traction
Biomass firm Verta Bioenergy expects to achieve profitability over the next year and expand to new markets in South East Asia.
Italy’s Maia Ventures launches €55M fund to back agri-food start-ups that need ‘polishing, not reinvention’
New Italy-based VC says it’s part of a more disciplined wave of investors focused on scalable, science-driven solutions to real food system challenges
Tech tide: Three Norwegian aquatech firms reshaping sustainable seafood
As global demand for sustainable seafood rises, Norway’s aquatech sector is leading the charge with cutting-edge innovations that promise cleaner oceans, healthier fish, and smarter farming
Weathering change: Taiwan’s pomelo industry advances smart processing and upcycling innovation to boost climate resilience
Taiwan’s investments into pomelo processing and upcycling is mitigating the impact of climate change while working towards sustainable agriculture goals.
Value from sludge: CHITOSE partners TA Vital to turn industrial waste into custom compost for agriculture
CHITOSE and TA Vital have teamed up to convert industrial sludge into customisable compost for agriculture, creating new value from waste in Vietnam.
Precision waste reduction: Automation tackles ‘error-prone’ pineapple waxing process
Automated technology is reshaping pineapple processing, reducing spoilage and boosting efficiency by removing the risks of manual waxing.
UK’s largest bioethanol plant to close, hitting CO2 and feed supplies
‘Vivergo would continue to be heavily loss-making without corrective government intervention’
Meet the start-up hoping to turn Europe’s wastewater into high-quality fertilisers
Finland’s NPHarvest has launched its first industrial-scale ‘nutrient catcher’ demo unit in Turkey
EU support for bio-based pest control in food production
The Cropsafe project, created by Norwegian biorefinery owner Borregaard, has received €4.9 million in funding from the EU’s Circular Bio-based Europe Joint Undertaking (CBE JU) to develop bio-based solutions for pest control in potatoes, tomatoes and bananas
World Agri-Tech South America Summit 2025
Brazil’s agtech revolution: Biologicals, regen ag, adoption hot topics for World Agri-Tech day 1
Innovative technologies, government action and a willingness to embrace change are crucial to accelerating Brazil’s sustainable agriculture industry
Waste not: envoPAP new India facility able to process 150,000 tonnes of agri waste
Sustainable material company envoPAP will be able to upcycle 150,000 tonnes of agricultural waste once it opens its manufacturing facility in India this year.
Agricultural waste can become the clothes of the future, study says
As cellulose-based textile materials are being sought a more sustainable alternative to cotton researchers in Sweden points to the possibility of using agricultural waste from wheat and oat
Livestock waste to power: Verta Bioenergy aims to triple biomass pellet output in the Philippines
Verta Bioenergy has detailed how it hopes to ‘replace coal’ with biomass pellets containing ‘under valorised’ livestock waste, with the Philippines its number one target
Enifer and FS launch Brazil’s first corn ethanol-based mycoprotein project
Aquaculture and pet remain target feed markets
Rethinking substrates: Ag-byproducts offer sustainable alternative for shiitake mushroom cultivation
Ag-byproducts such as peach and black locust sawdust can replace oak in shiitake mushroom cultivation as a sustainable solution that maintains high yields and nutritional quality, says research
Biotalys joins forces with AgroFresh to develop biological solutions to reduce food waste
The companies have announced a new partnership to develop and commercialise sustainable biological fungicides to protect fresh produce post-harvest
Insect farming 2.0: InsectBiotech nears commercialisation, aims for €150m revenue by 2031
Spain’s InsectBiotech is advancing towards commercialisation with new production, targeting €150m revenue by 2031 on the back of opportunities in animal feed, bio-stimulants, and biofuel
Enorm rethinking insect production business model
Enorm seeks new investors to relaunch operations and reposition site as a broader bio-industrial platform amid shifting market conditions
Knowing your onions: Peel could cut methane emissions, boost feed efficiency
A new study suggests that onion peel could become a powerful tool for the dairy industry to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and improve feed efficiency.
Starbucks looks to worms to recycle used coffee grounds into fertiliser
The coffee giant has unearthed a new solution for disposing of spent coffee grounds in the UK.
What solutions does the UK agri-supply industry want to achieve resilience?
A new report flags the growing demand for data, circular innovation and market access for precision bred commodities in the UK.
Ugly approach: Obsession with ‘aesthetic grading’ causes significant food loss, economic woe for farmers
Research led by the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS) has revealed that aesthetic grading, which focuses on the appearance of apples, leads to significant food losses without economically benefiting farmers.
Wine and coffee by-products could power next generation batteries
Creating effective batteries is a critical part of renewable energy plans – and wine and coffee could hold the answer to cheaper, more efficient and more eco-friendly battery tech.
Plans to turn pongamia oil into biofuel move up a gear
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...
Global ag majors unite to halve on-farm food losses by 2030
Smallholder farmers are set to receive training, resources and financing to increase the share of food that reaches the market in a new initiative that aims to help companies meet sustainability commitments and futureproof supply chains.
Plant breeders want unified global policy on genome-edited crops to boost food security
International Seed Federation members are calling for harmonised regulations on new breeding technologies such as genome editing to accelerate impactful innovation.
Agtech investor profile
Serra Ventures on why investors will continue to be drawn to the rewards of agri-tech
It’s currently a challenging time for venture capitalists in the sector. But Tim Hoerr, founder and CEO of Serra Ventures, can’t think of a better category to be in.
‘Every industry needs to start somewhere’: Calls for more insect farming R&D amid recent criticism
Insect farming allows us to farm sustainably and enrich foods in a way that harms the planet significantly less than traditional protein sources, an expert insists.
Innovation Insider Country profile
India: Are the bets back on?
After the crisis in funding in 2023, India’s agtech landscape is adjusting. But can investment be directed to the right places? Harry Holmes investigates.
ProducePay reveals progress on supply chain inefficiency and waste
The start-up’s platform connecting each stage in the fresh produce supply chain has helped saved the equivalent to 655,000 meals, its first impact report shows.
Can compostable packaging help drive regen ag adoption?
This is certainly the hope of US company Better Earth, which recently unveiled the first compostable foodservice packaging made exclusively with materials grown using regenerative agriculture methods.
Walmart and Denali expand food waste recycling partnership
US-based Denali, which turns food waste into valuable products such as fertiliser, renewable energy and biodiesel, has revealed a new collaboration with Walmart.
Is insect farming’s ‘green’ image overblown?
New peer-reviewed academic research challenges a key premise of the environmental case for insect farming, a global industry that has received billions of dollars in support from investors, major companies, and governments in recent years.
The rising role of mushroom chitin for sustainable production
Thanks to its perceived sustainability advantages over animal-based chitin, there’s rising interest in the use of mushroom-derived chitin in agriculture, AgTechNavigator learns.
Meet the seven start-ups tasked with reshaping agri-food in Cambodia
Seven disruptive start-ups have been selected to drive agri-food innovation and economic growth in the country, offering innovative solutions to enhance the agrifood value chain, improve commercial exchanges, and introduce high-value crops.
AgTech innovators take centre stage in latest PepsiCo APAC Greenhouse Accelerator Program
AgTech innovations spanning carbon reduction, waste valorisation and soil characterisation from across Asia Pacific are among the latest cohort of the PepsiCo APAC Greenhouse Accelerator Program.
How can rice straw processing become less environmentally damaging?
A new project aims to unlock renewable energy and cut rice straw emissions in India and Philippines.
Four solutions to the problem of damaging wastewater discharge in aquaculture
Four studies published by Purdue University scientists document the feasibility of previously unproven methods for successfully treating the wastewater.
VC investment
Agtech's ‘great reset’ continues, data reveals
PitchBook’s latest Q1 2024 Agtech Report indicates a market undergoing a correction, with the wheat being separated from the chaff. Some sectors are hotter than others, meanwhile.
Innovation Insider
UK: Raising funds at required scale a barrier to ‘transformative change’
Despite advances in innovation and technology in UK agriculture, attracting sufficient investment remains a key hindrance in achieving transformative change in the industry.
Innovation set to accelerate as UK’s largest agri-tech body unveiled
Agtech is set to play ‘a defining role’ as agri-food businesses look to adopt new technology to drive growth, claims a new report commissioned to mark the launch of the new UK Agri-Tech Centre.
The worst job in ag? TerraClear raises US$15m to free farmers from chore of rock picking
Rock removal company TerraClear has announced its existing investors have poured an additional US$15 million into capturing the untapped US$2.7 rock management market. A 5,000-year-old problem finally has a solution, it says.
Côte d’Ivoire: Cocoa farmers turn to biochar to boost yields and soil quality
Biochar made from empty cocoa pods has the potential to improve and retain moisture in soil, according to a cocoa cooperative in in Côte d’Ivoire. It is looking to biochar made from agricultural waste to solve the problem of persistent drought...
Agri Trend Tracker: From BioConsortia’s latest US$15mn to Bayer’s data analysis to verify carbon reductions
Our 360-degree look at the latest developments from across the globe takes in the news that gene-editing start-up BioConsortia has secured US$15 million, while a UK-based spinout is set to accelerate efforts to help palm tree farmers improve yields.
Innovation insider
Japan wants to promote smart agriculture, fast
Agri-tech spend is lagging in the land of the rising sun. But amid the looming threats of depopulation and ageing, the government is looking to new styles of agriculture that can boost productivity, sustainability and strengthen national food security....
Bayer pilots unique generative AI tool for agriculture
The expert generative AI system has been trained by Bayer agronomists and proprietary data to benefit farmers, agronomic advisors, and other industry users.
Meet the Iraqi start-ups hoping to futureproof a drought-hit sector
The Agriculture Innovation Hackathon was hosted in Mosul earlier this month, as an agriculture sector beset by desertification turns to the power of technology to overcome the challenges faced by farmers.
Biotechnology solution could be key to unlocking Saudi food security
King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and the Ministry of Environment, Water and Agriculture take algae production to industrial scale to boost food security for the Kingdom.