Agri-tech: heralding a new agricultural revolution
The basic economics of a rising global population (predicted to be 9 billion by 2050) and the potential for climate change to negatively impact farming conditions, puts agriculture in the unenviable position of having to produce more with less. Whilst, on the one hand, there could be cause for alarm, on the other, there is an obvious spur for innovation in a market not traditionally associated with high-tech developments.
From self-driving harvesters to laser guided weeders, precision seeders to autonomous drones, it may not be long before farmers are managing their fields straight from a smartphone.
The financial markets seem to agree that agri-tech is hot. It’s clear global financing of ag-tech deals have picked up considerably in recent years with deal activity more than doubling in 2014 and remaining high ever since.
With R&D investment in agri-tech at an all-time high and with significant market disruption on the horizon, the applications and possible approaches can seem overwhelming. We take a romp through the agricultural fields of the US, Asia, and Europe to see what’s driving this new agricultural revolution.
