Investment Highlight: Regenerative Farming 🌱

Agtech had a record funding year in 2021, raising over $5BN from investors. The industry spans the gamut from robot farmers, to vertical crops, to the buzzworthy sector known as regenerative agriculture. Today, we're looking at this soon-to-be booming industry within an industry.

The basic premise of regenerative agriculture is a holistic approach that emphasizes the interconnectedness of farming systems, from the food cows eat to the fertilization of the soil upon which they graze. The goal is to utilize farming practices that are not only carbon neutral but also capture carbon in the soil in a process called carbon sequestration.

   

The technique is, in some ways, a return to the pre-modern farming principles of working with the "world's natural systems instead of against them." As we've seen with conventional farming, industrial mono-crop farming is detrimental to the soil, is not very resilient against pests, and contributes to climate change. How, then, are startups appealing to investors when promoting a 'pre-modern' technique?

Cooks Venture, for one, is using heritage breeds of animals and regenerative farming practices but packaging the idea as a D2C brand for a modern customer. CH4 Global is onboard to create zero methane agriculture by growing Asparagopsis armata, a seaweed that reduces methane emissions from cows and other farm animals. BeeHero combines generations of beekeeping experience with new technologies to pollinate almond crops. Using natural methods, combined with tech, these companies are catching the interest of investors looking for a greener future–in both sustainability and cash returns.

For more agtech innovators, search our fundings using the keyword "agtech."