By Corey Carleton
The seventh annual Ag Innovation Showcase, which opens today and continues through Sept. 16 at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center in St. Louis, spotlights some of the most promising start-ups pursuing ag technology solutions in organic crop cultivation, water purification and management, bioenergy, biodegradable plastics, sustainable construction products, and animal disease prevention.
More than 350 innovators, researchers, government and corporate executives, investors and others involved in ag tech from 21 countries are attending the event, which is the world’s premier forum on the convergence of agriculture and technology.
“Ag Innovation Showcase is a global platform for encouraging the creative thinking and innovation we need to address the profound challenges facing global agriculture while realizing its great opportunities,” said Rohit Shukla, chief executive officer of Larta Institute, which is directing the Showcase and is one of its three organizers. “If we are to achieve both, we must accelerate the commercialization of technology as it applies to agriculture and promote adoption of that technology worldwide.”
The Showcase has been an effective forum for promoting the commercialization and transfer of ag tech and increasing ag tech investments. To date, companies presenting at the event have raised more than $430 million in investments. Nearly 85 percent of them found new investor leads and 97 percent were introduced to new partnership opportunities. Six have been acquired by larger agribusiness and ag technology firms.
“The global ag industry faces a tremendous challenge in meeting a worldwide food demand that could double by 2050, when the world’s population is expected to reach nearly 10 billion,” said Sam Fiorello, chief operating officer of the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center and president of Bio Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park. “Ag technology will play a vital role in helping the industry provide safe and sustainable food supplies amid an increasingly complex and rapidly changing global climate environment.”
2015 Event Highlights
- Presentations by 19 companies – including four women-owned start-ups – from Canada, India, Israel, Netherlands and the U.S. Session topics include:
- Renewable and sustainable biomass/biofuel alternatives and food waste-to-fertilizers;
- Biologicals that are increasing photosynthetic efficiency and yield, improving soil and crop health, and enhancing stress resistance;
- Farm innovations that are improving productivity and yield, disease mitigation, pest control, and waste and contamination reduction; and
- Precision ag tools, including data visualization and management, input predictive models, and water-management detection.
- Nine panel and special interest sessions are focusing on a variety of issues, including:
- Baselining the global food supply chain biome to provide greater traceability and transparency, improve food contamination warnings, and enhance responses to food-borne disease outbreaks;
- Naturally occurring biologicals that are improving plant health, increasing productivity, and complementing – and sometimes replacing – traditional fertilizers and chemicals;
- The use of data generated by increasingly sophisticated technology to develop highly responsive climate-adaptive field, food and crop approaches; and
- Emerging-market ag tech startups and innovators that are scaling up to reach 1 billion smallholder farmers globally.
About Ag Innovation Showcase
Established in 2009, Ag Innovation Showcase is the world’s premier event
focusing on the convergence of agriculture and technology. It brings together those with a significant stake in agriculture and agricultural technology – innovators, researchers, government agencies, corporations, investors and others – to promote investment in cutting-edge technology and biotechnology to meet the world’s growing food supply needs. Follow the event on Twitter: @agshowcase with event hashtag #aginshow2015.
Ag Innovation Showcase Organizers
Larta Institute, founded in Los Angeles in 1993, is an internationally recognized technology accelerator that has helped more than 10,000 companies transform ideas into commercialized, socially beneficial innovations in science and technology, particularly in agriculture and the life sciences. With a global network of entrepreneurs, mentors, investors, industry leaders, research institutions, government agencies and support organizations, Larta conducts commercialization assistance programs throughout the U.S. and in more than 20 countries. Twitter: @LartaInstitute
Founded in 1998, the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center is a not-for-profit research institute with a mission to improve the human condition through plant science. Research aims to feed the hungry and improve human health, preserve and renew the environment and position the St. Louis region as a world center for plant science. The Center’s work is funded through competitive grants and contract revenue from many sources, including the National Institutes of Health, U.S. Department of Energy, National Science Foundation, U.S. Department of Agriculture, U.S. Agency for International Development, the Bill & Melinda Gates and Howard G. Buffett Foundations. Twitter: @DanforthCenter
Bio Research & Development Growth (BRDG) Park at the Danforth Plant Science Center helps life science companies bridge research, resources and relationships to achieve commercial success. In addition to providing world-class wet laboratories, office space and a prominent incubator, BRDG Park’s location on the Danforth Center’s campus facilitates access to the intellectual capital of top scientists, as well as to greenhouses, growth chambers, microscopy and proteomics facilities and other vital resources. Located in suburban St. Louis County, Mo., BRDG Park is being developed by Wexford Science+Technology LLC, a BioMed Realty Company, a development company led by a seasoned team of real estate, finance and engineering experts specializing in major university facilities and science research parks nationwide.