9 Agtech Startups That Will Change the World

[zakiyatasnim]

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, farmers will need to increase food production by 70% by 2050 to feed nearly 10 billion people. The problem is exacerbated by factors such as steadily degrading soils and the increase in extreme weather events (the constant worsening of conditions) due to climate change.



Fortunately, scientists are working tirelessly to find solutions to these problems. Here's a list of agricultural startups that are using everything from artificial intelligence to precision farming and other technologies to pave the way for a more sustainable future.

Ecosia
Perhaps one of the most unusual models of an agri-startup. This is a greece number data search engine that plants trees with advertising revenue. Since the company was founded in 2009, the startup has planted more than 100 million trees in 25 countries, from Brazil to Australia and from Senegal to Indonesia.


Infarm
Infarm, a home vertical farming startup, has grown tremendously over the past year, raising $170 million.

The farms consist of vertical modular units that are placed in restaurants and supermarkets, where shoppers can pick fresh herbs, lettuce and vegetables from the shelves. The devices connect to a central cloud farm that collects data on the optimal amount of light, water and nutrients.

Infarm claims that its approach to precision farming uses 99.5% less land than traditional farming, 95% less water, 90% less transportation and no chemical pesticides. Additionally, 90% of the electricity used in the process comes from renewable sources, and the company has set a goal of achieving net-zero emissions in food production next year.

Insect
Ÿnsect, a tech startup that makes insects for fertilizer and animal feed, recently raised $372 million to open the world’s largest insect farm. That’s the largest amount of money ever raised by an agtech startup outside the United States.

With the funding, the French startup plans to complete the construction of a robotic insect farm in Amiens, France, by 2022 and increase mealworm production from 22,000 tons per year to 100,000 tons.