Robots farmers; intelligent crop monitoring; vertical city farms; algae- or lupine-based ingredients; and sustainable methods for growing, nutrient extraction and waste valorization – if the latest crop of F&A Next finalists is any indication, all of these could be revolutionary new components of our food and agriculture systems in the near future.
F&A Next — the first European platform connecting cutting-edge startups with investors and corporates in the food and agriculture space — will shine a spotlight on startups creating food and agriculture innovations that are sure to whet investor and corporate appetites. Its next event brings the three together on May 25-26, 2016, at Wageningen University in The Netherlands.
May 25: Early and Mid-stage Startups
On Wednesday, May 25, 20-30 early and mid-stage startups will pitch and/or demonstrate their business ideas and products in front of a jury of investors. A selection committee has selected them from a large group of applicants.
Preserving rice for generations to come through regenerative water-use practices
Hear how Mars and its Ben's Original brand are working with Delta Harvest to greatly reduce water use in rice cultivation while improving crop yields, at the SB Regenerative Ag Summit — Thursday, Oct. 17, at SB'24 San Diego.
International startups competing in the pitching competition include:
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FoPo Food Powder [Germany] – Turns food into powder to increase shelf life
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GrowX [Netherlands] - Vertical farms for growing food in cities
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Prolupin [Germany] - Food ingredients made of Blue Sweet Lupine
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Mosavali [Georgia] - Distance learning and online consultancy for farmers in emerging markets
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Roots SAT [Israel] - Root zone temperature optimization for increased yield
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Smart Dairy Cooperatief UA [Netherlands] - Dairy companies in East Africa, India and Latin America that focus on quality milk and a prosperous future for people
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The Algae Factory [Italy / Netherlands] – Chocolate bars packed with spirulina for extra nutrition, which help support the communities in Africa that produce the algae
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VitalFluid [Netherlands] – Plasma-Activated Water for agriculture, water-purification and medical purposes
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CrowdFooding [UK] – Crowd investment in food companies
May 26: Scale-ups, Trends and Opportunities
The following day focuses on important trends and opportunities in the industry and features later-stage startups (scale-ups) that are growing fast (see the full program).
Entrepreneurs will pitching that day include:
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Mazza Innovation [Canada] - Water-based nutrient extraction technology
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In Ovo [Netherlands] - Gender selection in eggs
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Naïo Technologies [France] - Robots for agriculture
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Nutrileads [Netherlands] - Food ingredients with clinically demonstrated health effects
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Iden Biotechnology [Spain] - Biotechnology as a tool to solve technological problems
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CROPX [Israel] - Adaptive irrigation systems based on sensors and software
Fixes for our broken food system represent massive market opportunities for those with sustainable, scalable solutions. Everyone from Unilever, Campbell’s and General Mills to the Biomimicry Institute to Real Food Media have launched recent competitions seeking such solutions.
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Published May 4, 2016 7pm EDT / 4pm PDT / 12am BST / 1am CEST