How is Biotechnology used in Agriculture?
Biotechnology plays a crucial role in modern agriculture by enhancing crop production and improving crop traits. Through genetic engineering techniques, scientists can introduce desirable traits into plants, such as resistance to pests, diseases, or environmental stress. Biotechnology also enables the development of genetically modified (GM) crops with increased nutritional value or improved post-harvest characteristics. Furthermore, biotechnology aids in the production of biofuels and bio-based materials from agricultural feedstocks, contributing to sustainable farming practices. Overall, biotechnology in agriculture helps increase crop yield, enhance food quality, and promote environmental sustainability.
What are the Benefits of Agricultural Biotechnology?
Agricultural technology offers numerous benefits that positively impact the farming industry and global food production. Firstly, it improves efficiency by automating tasks, optimizing resource utilization, and reducing labor requirements. Secondly, it enhances productivity through precision farming techniques, such as GPS-guided equipment and sensor technologies, enabling farmers to make data-driven decisions for optimal crop management. Thirdly, agricultural technology improves sustainability by promoting sustainable farming practices, conserving resources, and minimizing environmental impact. Lastly, it facilitates access to information and markets, empowering farmers with real-time data, weather forecasts, market prices, and innovative platforms for selling their produce, thereby improving their economic viability.
The Agricultural Biotechnology Market
Agricultural biotechnology involves using different technologies applied to address and solve problems in all agricultural production and processing areas. These technologies include genetics, artificial intelligence (AI), microbiome research, and many more. The agricultural biotech industry has grown from $3 billion in 2017 to double that at $6.2 billion in 2020, with startups raising $262 million at the start of this year alone.
Agriculture Biotech Companies that are Currently Changing the World
Here are the top 20 agricultural biotech startups to watch out for in 2022:
Located in Wisconsin, USA, Agricycle transforms food wastes and agricultural byproducts into all-natural consumer-produced goods (CPG) brands sold in the US. It manufactures and sells technologies to rural farmers and teaches them how to preserve fruit with zero waste. It then buys the products created using its technology and sells them.
Located in California, USA, Blue River Technology develops smart agriculture equipment designed to optimize agricultural methods that serve as an alternative to chemically intensive agriculture. Using robotic systems to record crop yields, make decisions about which weeds to eliminate, and much more, Blue River Technology empowers farmers to practice sustainable methods for farming.
Located in Massachusetts, USA, FYTO develops plant-based feed technology for the sustainable production of agricultural products. They offer nutrient-dense crops, climate-friendly methodologies, agricultural products such as animal feed, plant-based proteins, and biofertilizers to promote long-term sustainability.
Located in Tel Aviv, Israel, Katif develops vertical robotic farms using open-source hardware to enable local farmers to grow high-quality crops that are affordable and healthy.
Located in North Carolina, USA, 5Metis is a marriage of Boragen and AgriMetis platforms. This union combines boron-based small molecule discovery and synthetic biology to create new modes of action for boosting crop protection and crop protection health.
Located in Massachusettes, USA, Indigo provides plant microbiome agricultural services to help increase crop yield and profitability. Using a vast genomic microbe database, Indigo can predict which microbes will be the most beneficial to the health of the crops and apply these in the form of a seed coating.
Microendo
Located in Jalisco, Microendo creates customized bio-fertilizers by utilizing the microbiota present in their customer's plants after understanding their needs. The tailored biofertilizers are organic, custom to each crop, and will naturally help increase the yield and health of crops.
Located in Nova Scotia, Canada, Reazent develops natural and safe agrochemicals for agriculture. Reagzent uses its technology to help growers achieve higher returns on their investments by empowering them to grow healthier crops that are protected from bacterial and fungal diseases.
Located in Rosario, Argentina, Bioheuris uses synthetic biology and gene editing to develop next-generation herbicide-resistant crops. This helps to reduce environmental impact and delay resistance evolution.
Located in Maharashtra, India, Biorprime uses targeted physiology-modulating biomolecules intended to build climate resilience in crops. These biomolecules can be used with any crop and are compatible with contemporary agricultural practices.
Located in Ecopôle, France, Toopi Organics uses its technology to create an alternative to regular fertilizer using human urine. The company depollutes, recycles, and enriches human urine with microorganisms, providing the farming community with a natural and cost-effective alternative to chemical fertilizer.
Located in Tamil Nadu, India, GreenPods Labs provides post-harvest solutions that extend the shelf life of fruits and vegetables using nanotechnology. This technology activates the natural defense mechanisms in fruits and vegetables, slowing down the ripening process and minimizing post-harvest losses.
Located in Andhra Pradesh, India, BluKhet develops soil-less farming techniques. This includes automatic nutrient dosing and automating other tasks using smartphones, giving farmers more control over their land.
Farmula
Located in Accra, Ghana, Farmula uses its platform to give farmers better access to the market by automating communication between farmers and businesses. This allows farmers to easily price their products while giving the businesses direct access to farmers to place an order.
Located in Manitoba, Canada, SoilReader provides on-the-go, real-time soil analysis data faster than the current soil analysis processes in the region. This helps farmers determine the level of nutrients and other components when planting their crops.
Located in Kiryat Shmona, Israel, Nutrilees produces affordable and sustainable superfoods containing proteins, fibers, and minerals out of the byproducts produced during the winemaking process. This paves the way for the food industry to utilize agricultural wastes and transform them into superfoods.
Located in Georgia, USA, CEA Fresh Farms operates indoor hydroponic farms. This helps reduce the ecological footprint and stress on the environment while also improving crop yields for farmers.
Located in Rehovot, Israel, Lavie Bio develops biopesticides and biostimulants for ag-biological products. Their BDD (Biology Driven Design) platform accelerates the design and development of microbiome-based products.
Located in Java, Indonesia, Tunas Farm focuses on creating sustainable food production through urban farming using IoT (Internet of things)and precision farming methods.
Located in England, UK, RootWave has developed weed-killing technology using electric shock to serve as a sustainable alternative to chemical herbicides.
Lab Management Software for Agriculture and Life Sciences Startups: Scispot.io
Scispot has become the primary lab management software of choice for numerous modern biotech companies, including agricultural biotech startups.
Scispot creates a connected digital replica of these innovative bioscience companies. It centralizes their company-wide data, templatizes routine research and automates non-scientific tasks. It makes other lab software such as electronic lab notebooks (ELNs) and lab information management systems (LIMS) redundant.
Agricultural Biotech Startups use Scispot's operating platform to manage their research projects, inventory, samples, and partners all in one spot. Request a demo to learn how you can accelerate your research using Scispot.
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