AgriTech

Trend Report

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Innovation
Intelligence at Your Fingertips
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startups, scaleups, emerging technologies & trends that matter.

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CONTENTS
5 Innovation Map: AgriTech 14 Precision Agriculture
7 Tree Map: AgriTech 15 Agricultural Biotechnology
9 Heat Map: AgriTech 16 Big Data & Analytics
10 Internet of Things 17 Controlled Environment Agriculture
11 Agricultural Robotics 18 Regenerative Agriculture
12 Artificial Intelligence 19 Connectivity Technologies
13 Drones 20 Appendix

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 Technological advancements in the agriculture sector Covering over 2,5 million startups & scaleups globally, we
meet the growing demand for farm automation, digitaliza- use our Big Data and AI-powered Discovery Platform to iden-
tion, and sustainability. Emerging agriculture trends mark a tify innovative applications, technologies, and companies im-
shift towards smart farming and efficient utilization of time pacting the Agriculture Industry. This exhaustive, data-driven
and resources while reducing crop losses. Smart farming is an startup scouting pinpoints emerging trends and technologies
upcoming concept that deploys technologies like the Internet in the Agriculture Industry. For this research, we analyzed a
of Things (IoT), computer vision, and artificial intelligence (AI) sample of 5 290 startups and scaleups and present the Top
for farming. Robots and drones are replacing traditional farm 10 Trends along with 20 highly relevant solutions.
operations such as picking fruits, killing weeds, or spraying
water or fertilizer on crops. Imagery from drones and satel- In the Innovation Map below, you get an overview of the
lites, coupled with Global Positioning System (GPS) technol- Top 10 Agriculture Industry Trends & Innovations that impact
ogy, provides a high-resolution and location-specific view of companies worldwide.
the field. Further, IoT devices, powered by sensor technol-
ogy, collect real-time field data that allow farmers to make
data-driven decisions. In addition, the widespread adoption
of precision agriculture and indoor farming in recent years
fuels IoT growth in farming. Taken together, these technolog-
ical innovations generate disruptive and sustainable changes
in agricultural practices. The focus is to not only improve the
overall quality and quantity of crops and livestock but also to
reach the ultimate goal of a sustainable future for all living
things on earth.

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Innovation Map: Agriculture Technology
5290
Startups & Scaleups

Internet Agricultural
of Things Biotechnology

Agricultural Big Data

Controlled
Environment
Intelligence
Agriculture

Regenerative
Drones
Agriculture

Precision Connectivity
Agriculture Technologies

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Tree Map reveals
the Impact of the
Top 10 Agriculture Trends
Based on the AgriTech Innovation Map, the Tree Map be-
low illustrates the impact of the Top 10 Agriculture Trends. Further, advancements in AI and machine learning (ML)
Startups and scaleups work on technological solutions to boost prediction accuracy and provide insights on weather
benefit farmers by automating farm operations and improv- events, crop classification, and diseases of plants and ani-
ing productivity. The most prevalent trend is the Internet of mals. Precision agriculture is another major trend observed
things (IoT), which enables farmers to better monitor the across the industry. It refers to using the right quantity of in-
needs of crops and individual animals. Automation in irriga- puts, at the right time, and at the right location. Finally, start-
tion, farm machinery, and harvesting further ease farm op- ups also address concerns over a sustainable future, and
erations, while minimizing losses. Additionally, drones save thus, advance new growing techniques like hydroponics and
time spent on crop scouting. aquaponics.

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 Top 10 Agriculture Technology Trends
& Innovations
Internet of Things Precision Agriculture Agri Biotech

19 % 14 % 11 % 7%

Big Data Controlled Regenerative

Connectivity
Technology

3%
7

This tree map illustrates the top 10 innovation trends & their impact on the AgriTech
Global Startup
Heat Map: AgriTech
Startups & Emerging Companies
The Global Startup Heat Map below highlights the global Below, you get to meet 20 out of these 5 290 promising
distribution of the 5 290 exemplary startups & scaleups that startups & scaleups as well as the solutions they develop.
we analyzed for this research. Created through the StartUs These 20 startups are hand-picked based on criteria such as
Insights Discovery Platform, the Heat Map reveals that South founding year, location, funding raised, and more. Depending
Asia forms the biggest cluster for AgriTech, followed by West- on your specific needs, your top picks might look entirely dif-
ern Europe & the USA. ferent.

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Internet of Things
Bulgarian startup Agrila creates a modular IoT- based
Monitoring of the crop field in conventional farming re-
sensor station to facilitate sensing of vital parameters like
quires intensive labor, physical equipment, time, and effort.
soil moisture & temperature, wind speed & direction, rain,
IoT technology provides an alternative to these traditional
humidity, solar irradiation, and much more. The station is
methods. An IoT device contains one or more sensors that
solar-powered and provides real-time alerts via mobile or
collect data and provide accurate information via mobile ap-
web applications. Moreover, the solution also offers detailed
plications or other means in real-time. These sensors perform
charts, reports, and analysis of sensor data, enabling farmers
countless activities, such as soil, temperature & humidity
to gather insights in an economic and efficient way.
sensing, plant & livestock tracking, and more. It also facilitates
remote monitoring of farms, providing greater convenience Farmer’s Hive is a Canadian startup that addresses the
to farmers. Further, new irrigation systems utilize IoT sensors need for instant remote monitoring of farm equipment, crops,
for automation of the delivery of water to crops. These con- and microclimates. The startup develops sensors based on
stitute evapotranspiration sensors, on-site soil moisture sen- IoT technology for greenhouses, family farms, and fruit grow-
sors, rain sensors, and several others. Startups are develop- ers. They provide cloud services that directly store the data
ing innovative sensor solutions that combine IoT technology and detailed metrics measured by these sensors. Further,
with drones, robots, and computer imaging to increase the they facilitate remote monitoring in a wireless ecosystem
agility, accuracy, and precision of farm processes. These send with the help of connectivity technologies like 4G LTE-M, Wi-
on-time alerts and improve the response time for areas that Fi, or LoRaWAN networks. This allows farmers to get insights
need attention. into their farm data and identify problem areas in real-time.

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Agricultural Robotics
US-based startup Advanced.Farm is leveraging robotics
Shortage of labor is a critical problem farmers face, and
technology to develop solutions for autonomous harvesting
this is amplified in the case of large field operations. So, start-
and navigation in fields. They deploy robots equipped with
ups are manufacturing agricultural robots to assist farmers
stereo cameras to identify and pick fresh produce based on
with numerous farm operations, including fruit-picking, har-
size and ripeness. Additionally, they create food-safe grippers
vesting, planting, transplanting, spraying, seeding, and weed-
for separating the fruit from the plants. They also manufac-
ing. Farmers are increasingly relying on robots to automate
ture autonomous tractors and hybrid-electric drive systems
repetitive tasks in the field. They deploy smart agricultural
which enable farmers to automate large-scale operations
machines, such as GPS-enabled autonomous and semi-au-
with less time and effort.
tonomous tractors for harvesting. Tractors also come with
auto-steer technology for easier navigation across the field. Canadian startup Nexus Robotics develops Le Chevre, a
Moreover, robots are used in automated systems in livestock robot that detects and removes weeds from fields. The robot
management as well. This includes automated weighing makes use of deep learning algorithms and cameras to differ-
scales, incubators, milking machines, auto feeders, and many entiate between weeds and crops. This enables the robot to
more. Robots allow farmers to focus more on improving over- correctly identify the weeds, which are then removed without
all productivity, without having to worry about slow farm pro- damaging the crops. It also collects data about the growing
cesses. They also prevent human-induced errors and provide conditions of the crops and enables farmers to leverage the
convenience through automation. data into making informed decisions.

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Artificial
Intelligence
Incorporating artificial intelligence in agriculture provides
farmers with real-time insights from their field, allowing them
to be proactive. AI offers predictive insights for forecasting
weather data, crop yield, and prices, thereby helping farmers planning. The startup creates a software interface that aggre-
make informed decisions. Chatbots, like a farmers’ Alexa, give gates all farm data to perform detailed analysis on genetics,
suggestions and input recommendations to farmers. AI and soil fertility, climate, harvest, and yield. They offer intelligent
ML algorithms automate anomaly and disease recognition solutions of soil and climate classification specific to the crops
in plants and livestock. This allows timely detection and cor- grown in the field. Moreover, they facilitate harvest analytics
rective response if required. Biotechnology also deploys ML by generating farm-level report cards that enable farmers to
algorithms for gene selection recommendations. Further, AI identify the limiting factors and analyze the performance of
provides easy access to finance to creditors who are denied field inputs on the crops.
mainstream credit. Startups are exploiting AI in several ways
Ask Attis is a Belgian startup that offers plant disease
to come up with innovative solutions that improve overall ag-
detection through their app, Planticus. Powered by artificial
ricultural quality. For example, harvest quality vision (HQV) is
intelligence, their mobile application identifies diseases and
a recent agritech innovation that scans and determines the
detects pests in plants. The startup ensures food security by
quality and quantity of fruits and vegetables.
developing identification technologies and crop monitoring
US-based startup Arwa Intelligence leverages artificial in- solutions that enable farmers to secure their crops before
telligence to provide customized recommendations for crop possible damage occurs.

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Drones
Wakan Tech is an Omani startup working on innovative
Increasing farm productivity while saving costs is chal-
drone solutions for aerial pollination of date palm trees. They
lenging. But drones, also known as unmanned aerial vehicles
develop drones for crop health monitoring, targeted spraying
(UAVs), help farmers overcome this hassle in an effective way.
of pesticides and pollen. Their drones pollinate the trees by
Drones collect raw data which translates into useful informa-
using liquid or dry pollen and are much faster than conven-
tion for farm monitoring. Drones equipped with cameras fa-
tional pollination methods. These drones are equipped with
cilitate aerial imaging and surveying of near and far-stretched
AI and computer vision technology for the detection of pests
fields. This data optimizes the application of fertilizers, water,
and diseased date palm trees. This allows faster and more
seeds, and pesticides. Moreover, drones along with GPS tech-
accurate targeting and spraying, especially in the case of large
nology, are used for livestock tracking, geofencing, and graz-
farm operations.
ing monitoring. They fly over fields to capture images that
range from simple visible-light photographs to multispectral Indian startup Equinox’s Drones leverages drone technol-
imagery which helps in the analysis of crop, soil, and field. ogy to offer numerous services like crop surveillance, aerial
One drawback is they are not fit for poultry monitoring, as inspection, data processing, and data analysis. They provide
birds tend to get frightened by their movement. However, for drone aerial mapping solutions with the help of ortho-mosa-
others, like cattle or livestock monitoring, grazing monitoring, ic maps, 3D point clouds, digital models, contour maps, and
and crop cultivation, they are a cost-effective and invaluable more. The startup processes images and videos from the
tool for farmers to survey their lands. Startups are also work- drones to facilitate aerial inspection of crops and data analy-
ing on drones capable of measuring the chlorophyll level, sis. They also provide crop yield estimation based on the data
weed pressure, mineral and chemical composition of soils. acquired from drones.

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Precision Agriculture
Environmental degradation prompts calls for sustainable
solutions across all industries. Sustainability in agriculture Agronomist, includes tools such as satellite images, soil map-
refers to the use of eco-friendly methods and inputs which ping, auto-zone, and much more, empowering farmers with
have zero or minimal negative impact on the environment. actionable insights into the field. The solution offers free soil
An example of this is site-specific crop management (SSCM), mapping with NDVI, high-resolution satellite imagery, and
commonly known as precision agriculture. It is a method in variable rate technology. The variable-rate application en-
which farmers use exact amounts of input, such as water, sures that the rate of application of farm inputs is based on
pesticides, and fertilizers, to enhance the quality and produc- the precise location, thereby establishing precision farming.
tivity of yield. Different tracts of land across the field have dif-
Agricolus is an Italian startup that develops numerous
ferent soil properties, receive different sunlight, or have dif-
tools for precision farming to improve farm management.
ferent slopes. The same treatment for the whole farm, thus,
They deploy satellites and drones for calculating parameters
is inefficient and leads to a wastage of time and resources.
relating to vigor, water stress, and the quantity of chlorophyll.
Consequently, many startups are developing solutions in pre-
They also develop maps that facilitate variable rate applica-
cision agriculture to improve profitability while addressing
tion of fertilizers and other inputs. Further, the startup offers
sustainability challenges.
traceability of the farm operations and performance analysis
Australian startup Data Farming delivers digital solutions via their hardware, AgriPlug. Overall, the solutions optimize
in the area of precision agriculture with the help of pay-per- production with the right treatment and inputs, while lower-
use cloud services. Their cloud-based platform, The Digital ing the management costs incurred.

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Agricultural
Biotechnology
A lot of crop yield gets wasted due to pests and plant dis-
eases. Although agrochemicals are utilized in fields, they are
not the best solution when it comes to sustainability. On the
AgGene is a Canadian agri-biotech startup that exploits
other hand, the application of biotechnology in agriculture
plant breeding techniques to develop seeds and tissues with
improves the quality of crops and livestock. Scientific tech-
increased protein content. They specialize in manipulating
niques like plant breeding, hybridization, genetic engineer-
genes for the accumulation of proteins. The startup address-
ing, and tissue culture facilitate the identification of better
es the surge in demand for plant proteins across the globe.
traits in plants more rapidly. CRISPR-Cas9 is a genome editing
They also deploy genetic editing platforms including CRISPR
technology that allows high target specificity with improved
and MAD7 to incorporate desired traits in commercial crops.
speed and precision. It produces transgenic plants with de-
sired qualities like disease tolerance, drought tolerance, pest Australian startup XytoVet is working on breeding tech-
resistance, and high yield capacity. This enhances the profit- niques for sheep, cattle, and aquaculture. Their DNA technol-
ability of farm production. Startups also leverage agri-biotech ogy assigns the right parentage to sheep and cattle, which
methods to provide solutions such as biopesticides, bioherbi- helps farmers identify the good flock quickly. The startup also
cides, biofertilizers, and bioplastics for fields. These solutions works to improve aquaculture by selecting genes with higher
address soil toxicity concerns and ensure a minimal negative growth rates and disease resistance. They provide a range of
impact on the environment. genetic analyses to assist farmers in livestock decision-making.

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Big Data & Analytics
Fyllo is an Indian startup that leverages cloud services for
Large volumes of farm data are generated every day,
the analysis of farm data. Their devices are installed across
which is of no good if not analyzed. Big data and analytics
the farm for data sensing and reporting. The startup builds
techniques transform this data into actionable insights. Sta-
models with real-time farm data to empower farmers with an
tistics of crop area, crop production, crop forecasts, land use,
understanding of their crop needs, irrigation requirements,
irrigation, agricultural prices, weather forecasts, and crop dis-
pests, and diseases. They also provide a personalized fertiliz-
eases, lay the foundation for the next farming season. Ana-
er schedule for crops based on the analysis of soil data.
lytical tools make the use of data on weather events, farm
equipment, water cycles, quality, and quantity of crops to Dutch startup AgriData Innovations facilitates the collec-
extract information relevant to farm operations. This helps tion, analysis, and visualization of farm data, especially of
identify patterns and relationships that may otherwise re- greenhouses. ADI develops embedded data transfer and con-
main hidden. Several startups are developing solutions in the trol software. They specialize in compartmentalization from
area of farm analytics that enable farmers to take advantage an image up to a specific leaf of the crop, thereby enabling
of their field data. For example, analytical data fosters an un- farmers to make accurate decisions. Further, the startup also
derstanding of the nutrient levels of the soil, soil acidity and deploys neural networks and image processing to measure
alkalinity, fertilizer requirements, and several other parame- crop health, leaf size, and more. Their insights from data an-
ters, which allow farmers to make the right choices for their alytics and visualization improve the overall productivity and
fields. operations of greenhouses.

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Controlled
Environment Agriculture
Fluctuating and extreme weather events constantly ham-
per conventional farming methods. Further, growing crops niques to come up with space-saving, water-saving, and la-
in populated cities, deserts, or other unfavorable conditions bor-saving solutions. Further, they deploy hyperspectral
pose significant challenges. This is overcome by controlled high-resolution imagery to analyze plants on the farm. The
environment agriculture (CEA). In CEA, plants are subjected to startup also provides personalized farming and nutrition ser-
a controlled proportion of light, temperature, humidity, and vices to farmers.
nutrients. There are different growing environments, namely,
Lithuanian startup Baltic Freya identifies existing prob-
indoor farming, vertical farming, greenhouses, among others.
lems in the field of hydroponics and aeroponics to give rise
There is an increased deployment of techniques like hydro-
to a new and improved fogponics technique. Plants grown
ponics and aeroponics which involve growing soilless plants
through hydroponics are likely to acquire root diseases, while
in a liquid nutrient medium or steam. Another such technique
aeroponics often deploys several nozzles. Existing fogponics
is aquaponics, where plants and fish are cultivated simulta-
techniques may overheat the nutrient solution or crack the
neously. Fish provides nutrients to plants, while plants purify
piezoceramics discs. So, the startup has come up with Fog-
the water for the fish. CEA methods reduce pests and diseas-
ponics 2.0, where they ensure optimum fog generation so as
es, increase yield, and establish sustainable farming practices.
to not overheat the solution or crack the discs. This sustains
US-based startup OnePointOne builds a vertical plane and improves the maintenance and operability of the envi-
aeroponics farming space. They deploy vertical farming tech- ronment where plants grow.

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Regenerative Agriculture
Conventional farming practices lead to long-term erosion
and crusting of soil. Often, the plowing, tilling, and overgraz- is applied to the soil, it is naturally selected by the plants, and
ing don’t allow much time for the soil to revive before the next this ensures its applicability to multiple crops. They also add
cropping season. Regenerative agriculture, on the other hand, microorganisms to the soil on a regular basis. This enhances
causes minimal soil disturbance while focusing on improving the symbiosis between plants and microbes and ultimately
soil biodiversity and topsoil revival. It involves different prac- leads to nutrient-rich soil. Thus, their solution enables plants
tices like no-till farming, reduced tillage, crop rotation, and to grow in healthier soil, making them more resilient to dis-
more. For example, cover crops are planted to cover the soil eases.
between cropping seasons to restore soil fertility. Further,
Canadian startup Acterra specializes in fermentation tech-
regenerative farming facilitates fields to act as a carbon sink
nology for composting, seed, soil, and residue treatments.
through sequestration. This leads to fewer carbon emissions
They develop a compost additive that accelerates matter
into the atmosphere and a lesser negative impact on climate
breakdown, reduces the need for chemical fertilizers, and
change.
also enriches the existing manure with nutrients. Moreover,
Freesoil is a Dutch startup that develops high-quality plant- their method sequesters carbon into the soil making it a sus-
based compost extract for the soil. Once the compost extract tainable solution.

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Connectivity Technologies
A lack of connectivity via an established network or broad- technologies such as LoRaWAN, low-power satellite, Sigfox,
band is a problem in rural areas globally. Smart farming is not and low-power WiFi, among others. These network technolo-
possible without connectivity technologies like 5g, LPWAN, ru- gies support battery-powered devices used for the measure-
ral broadband, or satellite-enabled connectivity. 5g facilitates ment of pressure, flow, level, water quality, and temperature.
different IoT devices, robots, and sensors to communicate This helps in on-time monitoring of the farm with farmers
the data at ultrafast speeds. This enables farmers to monitor easily accessing accurate data.
the data more accurately in real-time and take the required
AgriLinx is a US-based startup that develops its FLEX net-
actions. High-speed internet using fiber optic cables enables
work, a LoRaWAN network that provides up to 5 miles of
the exchange of field data in real-time, which is crucial when
low-bandwidth data coverage. It helps farmers access farm
it comes to improving accuracy. Connectivity technologies
data on their mobile devices and track irrigation, farm equip-
support other technologies like IoT, which ultimately work in
ment, and more. The startup also provides wireless backhauls
coordination to form connected farms.
to connect remote farm locations with internet services. This
Australian startup Ellenex offers a wide range of agri- ensures full connectivity across the fields for proper farm
cultural sensor products that are powered by connectivity management.

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Discover all Agriculture
Technologies & Startups
The agriculture industry is experiencing disruptive tech-
nological developments, especially in developed countries. In
developing countries, the rate of adoption is quite slow, but
still on the rise. Smart farming makes agriculture more profit-
able for farmers. Access to site-specific information, weather
forecasts, and yield predictions empower proactive approach- Among others, IoT solutions, agricultural robotics, and
es to farming. Several technologies work in coordination to agri-biotechnology will transform the sector as we know it
facilitate easy, accurate, and faster farm operations. Today’s today. Identifying new opportunities and emerging technolo-
agriculture facilitates even farmers to work from home with gies to implement into your business goes a long way in gain-
the deployment of IoT devices, sensors, and automated sys- ing a competitive advantage. To explore more agricultural
tems. The Agriculture Trends, Technologies & Startups out- technologies, simply get in touch to let us look into your areas
lined in this report only scratch the surface of trends that we of interest. For a more general overview, you can download
identified during our in-depth innovation and startup scout- our free AgriTech Innovation Report to save your time and
ing process. improve strategic decision-making.

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Identify What’s Next
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making it the world’s largest resource for data on emerging companies. The SaaS Platform enables
you to easily, quickly, and exhaustively scout relevant companies, technologies, & trends
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