The farmer ploughing across the fields with his small tractor or milking his cows by hand – idyllic country life has long since ceased to look like this. Agriculture has been undergoing a process of change for years, which is challenging farms considerably in some cases. According to the Agricultural Policy Report 2023, more than 36,000 farms went out of business between 2010 and 2020. Demographic change, global warming and globalization are increasing the pressure to take action to future-proof agriculture. And this is precisely where agtech startups come into play as they try to master the ecological, climatic and ethical challenges with their innovations.
Agtech, short for ‘Agriculture Technology’, describes the use of technology and digital solutions in agriculture and forestry. The intention is to make agricultural processes more efficient, sustainable and productive. Agtech is a rapidly growing field that is becoming increasingly important in both industrial and smaller agricultural businesses. Ideal conditions for startups whose solutions can be brought to market quickly and efficiently.
Innovation for modern agriculture
The areas in which agtech startups are active are as diverse as the problems they face. These include, among others:
- Precision agriculture: Use of sensors, drones and GPS technology to collect detailed information on soil conditions, plant health and weather conditions. This data enables farmers to optimize the use of water, fertilizers and pesticides. This allows yields to be maximized and resources to be conserved at the same time.
- Automation and robotics: Development of autonomous machines and robots that can take over tasks such as plant care, harvesting, weeding and irrigation. These technologies reduce the workload and improve efficiency.
- Indoor farming and vertical farming: using LED lighting, hydroponics and automated systems to grow plants in controlled, vertical environments. This makes it possible to grow food regardless of seasonal and climatic conditions and can take place closer to urban centers. This reduces transportation costs and CO₂ emissions.
- Biotechnology and genetics: development of genetically modified plants and microorganisms that are more resistant to diseases, pests and climate change. These innovations are aimed at securing food production in a changing environment.
- Sustainability and environmental protection: Development of technologies that reduce the ecological footprint of agriculture, for example by reducing water consumption, minimizing the use of chemical fertilizers or promoting regenerative cultivation methods.
- Digital platforms and marketplaces: Development of apps and online platforms that connect farmers with markets, suppliers and advisors. These platforms enable better access to knowledge, resources and sales opportunities.
Agtech startups from Munich
Farminsect: Farminsect focuses on the area of animal feed. The startup has developed an automated machine system that farmers can use to breed feed insects themselves. The system uses crop residues or leftovers from food production. In this way, farmers can produce their own protein feed instead of having to resort to imported soy or fishmeal.
FoldAI: The startup FoldAI has developed an IoT solution specifically for forestry. Using sensors that are attached directly to trees, the system monitors important parameters such as air and light quality, CO2 content, humidity and biodiversity. This enables it to detect potential threats to the forest at an early stage and predict their development. This technology can also be used in urban areas to optimize traffic planning.
Inplanet: Inplanet uses Enhanced Rock Weathering (ERW) to combine advanced agriculture with climate protection. This method involves spreading large quantities of rock flour on fields in tropical regions, which has the potential to sequester gigatons of carbon from the atmosphere. In addition, ERW regenerates tropical soils and fertilizes crops. This enables farmers to reduce the use of limestone, synthetic fertilizers and pesticides.
Nearbees: Nearbees brings local beekeepers and end consumers together with its online platform. Consumers can search for local honey from registered beekeepers and have it delivered to their homes by post. The platform not only aims to help beekeepers – who usually only keep bees as a hobby – to market their products, but also to help combat bee mortality.
Nomaze: With the help of advanced phenotyping and machine learning, plant breeders have the ability to accurately predict values such as yield and disease resistance. Until now, many of these techniques have only been available to technologists and global corporations. Nomaze has therefore set itself the task of democratizing these high-tech tools with its software and also allowing small farms to benefit from them.
Orbem: Since 2022, male chicks that have no use in the egg industry may no longer be killed in Germany. To prevent them from being hatched in the first place, Orbem combines imaging technologies such as magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) with artificial intelligence. The ‘Orbem Genus’ makes it possible to classify chicken eggs before the chicks even hatch.
Varolis: Varolis is also concerned with the extinction of the bee species. The startup is working on the approval of lithium salts as a veterinary medicine against Varroa mites, which are endangering bee colonies worldwide. By saving bees, Varolis wants to make a contribution to securing the agricultural food supply as well as ecological diversity and stability.
Zero Ex: What Inplanet does in tropical regions, Zero Ex brings to local fields. Here, too, rock flour binds CO₂ on arable land during weathering and also improves soil properties. The bound CO₂ reaches the ocean in dissolved form via rivers, where it remains stably bound for several thousand years. Farmers also generate additional income: They receive compensation for making their fields available and for spreading the rock flour.
