Investors turn to Israeli agritech as demand for food swells.

Investors turn to Israeli agritech as demand for food swells.Israel tech aimed at farmers has drawn 7% of global investment in on-farm technologies, raising $80m in the first half of the year, report says. Israeli agriculture technologies for farmers have attracted some seven percent of global investment in the first half of 2017, a new report shows. Israeli agritech firms, whose technologies are used by farmers to improve the yield of crops and better monitor produce — called on-farm technologies — raised $80 million in the first half of the year, according to data released by Start-Up Nation Central, a nonprofit organization that connects companies and organizations to Israeli technology firms. The amount raised by the whole agritech sector — which includes on-farm technologies and other products such as supply chain monitoring — totaled $131 million in the first nine months of the year, 35 percent higher than the amount raised in the full year of 2016, when the sector raised $97 million. In 2016, Israel placed among the top five countries in terms of number of investment rounds in agritech, and the amount raised in the sector per capita was double that raised by US firms, the report said.

SafeTraces and traceability technology.

SafeTraces and Trace-ability Technology.

Safe Traces manufactures biological tracers, or invisible, edible, odorless, and tasteless bar  codes that food producers and processors can apply directly to food.

The technology, which was developed at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, a US Department of Energy-sponsored research facility, was originally used as a bio-stimulant to enhance our response capability following an intentional or accidental release of a biological agent.

 Food processors and other parties handling food in the supply chain can spray SafeTraces’ seaweed-based DNA tag on individual food items so that their provenance and qualities can be traced and verified throughout the supply chain.

 The markers can be read with specific bar code readers, providing a traceability tool, but also a food safety tool as they will be able to detect some pathogens too.

 So far the technology is being used by a handful of food and farming customers across varying industries from apples to chocolate.

The invisible tagging system makes the tags themselves virtually tamper-proof and the tags can serve as verification for various qualities like geographical provenance, organic status, sustainable sourcing, or varietal.

How Can Farmers Benefit from Blockchain?.

From Bitcoin to Agriculture: How Can Farmers Benefit from Blockchain? We have all seen the use of (and hype about) blockchain in the context of bitcoin, the digital currency that first brought blockchain to mainstream media and investors.


 While bitcoin remains in the news, the applications and potential of blockchain are spreading well beyond cryptocurrency.

 Before we take a look at how the agriculture industry is using blockchain, let’s do a quick blockchain 101. 

 What is Blockchain? One way to think of blockchain is as a technology that allows users to transfer value, or assets, between each other without the need for a trusted intermediary. The exchange is recorded in a ledger that is shared by all users of that blockchain.

 Users rely on this shared, or “distributed,” ledger to provide a transparent view into the details of the assets, including who owns the asset, as well as descriptive information such as quality or location.
The running history of the transaction is called the blockchain, and each transaction is called a block.

Today, when you hear about blockchain, what most really mean is ‘blockchains.’ There exist multiple different forms of this distributed ledger technology, each suited to distinct use cases.

 One popular blockchain technology is Ethereum, which its founders launched around the idea that blockchains can do more than simply record information.

 This concept, called ‘smart contracts,’ is central to Ethereum and allows users to codify significant parts of a workflow process, agreement, or task.

 

When a transaction occurs, the software automatically executes an action, or set of actions, according to the specifications in the smart contract. One example is smart locks; locks that automatically open after receiving the correct fee.

Feed the Future Malawi Mobile Money Project uses DFS to advance their economy.

Feed the Future Malawi Mobile Money Project. Malawi's economy is built on the backbone of the smallholder farmer. Many farmers, however face obstacles in growing their businesses. They lack access to bank accounts, and cash is risky. Feed the Future Malawi Mobile Project uses digital financial services to improve the Malawi agriculture value chain and farmers' economic resilience. USAID can help missions and partners identify specific challenges in value chains and corresponding DFS solutions to increase digital financial inclusion for smallholder farmers. Digital financial services help USAID projects run more efficiently and allow farmers to connect to the financial ecosystem, giving them tools to support their economic livelihoods long after the projects have ended.

FEED THE FUTURE : the pumpkin business.

FEED THE FUTURE : the pumpkin business. Fatuma is the managing director of Byeffe Foods Company Limited, a food processing company in Uganda, using pumpkin as their raw material. Byeffe’s products include nutritious pumpkin mixed with soy, millet, and rice flour for porridge. Children love the porridge, and it’s giving them a vital nutrition boost. This is especially important for vulnerable households that have children who suffer from malnutrition. It puts a smile on my face to see that my products are enabling more young children in communities in Uganda to grow up healthy and strong. In addition to making affordable, nutritious food for the children in my country, Byeffe is helping young people to tap into the potential of agriculture for employment and growth. We are creating on- and off-farm jobs for thousands of youth just like me. We are also teaching young Ugandans in these communities entrepreneurial skills that can enable and empower them to start their own businesses. In agriculture, there are so many opportunities that young people can tap into, and I want to help them realize that our time is now, and the place is in the agriculture sector. It’s been two years since she started the company, and in that time, has provided more accessible and nutritious food options to communities across Uganda, created a variety of agricultural jobs that generate income for families, and empowered more people like me, especially young women, to create their own path in the agriculture industry.This is all thanks to a very vital crop -- pumpkin. As the business grew, she needed access to a larger supply of fresh pumpkins so Feed the Future helped mobilize more than 1,200 young farmers. These farmers are not only earning more by selling their harvest to Byffe Foods, but also extending the reach and offer of the company's nutrient-rich products to more consumers. FEED THE FUTURE : the pumpkin business.

Aerial yams turns farmer to millionaire.

In the heart of Kiriani in Mathioya constituency, Murang’a County, there is a small farm that has become the talk of the village. The farm measuring 100m by 50m belongs to Simon Ngure, and hosts aerial yams, which are also known as aerial potato. The plant is a semi-wild food that grows on vines climbing onto poles and trees. The bulb is eaten on peeling off the hard back after cooking. The plant’s heart-shaped leaves with slender twinning vines spread tenaciously on posts Ngure has erected. Some yams hang loosely on the vines, which Ngure, 49, stretches his hands and harvests. “The leaves and vines of the crop are currently dry, which means it’s harvest time.” Ngure says he went for them to carve a niche for himself. He is introducing farmers to the aerial yams, which according to him have turned his life for the better and helped him put his children through school. “I switched from coffee to the yams after seeing their potential some three years ago. A friend in Nyeri introduced them to me.” It was the start of his flourishing aerial yam business, which is gaining popularity among farmers. He planted the single yam and in six months harvested 15 yams. However, he did not sell the tubers and instead stored them for planting. “I replanted and expanded the farm and six months later made some good harvests. However, because the yam was not common in the market, I lacked a ready market making me explore other avenues.” To plant the crop, he places the seeds in a dark room to break dormancy. This allows the yam to sprout and ensures that the crop germinates after planting.“Unless it sprouts before you plant, the seeds may rot in the ground and fail to germinate.” Once he has the seeds, he tills the land, makes one-feet deep holes a meter apart, adds animal manure and mixes well with the soil. He then erects poles at the base of the plant to provide support for the vines and then plants. Since he went for the crop three years ago, his fortunes have changed. He hopes to expand his business through value addition as the yams can be milled and the flour used to cook ugali and porridge among other foods. The facts about the aerial yam :the aerial yam is also known as aerial potato, potato yam, aerial yam or air yam and is believed to be native to tropical Africa, Asia and Australia. According to experts, the tubers of edible varieties often have a bitter taste, which can be removed by boiling. They can then be prepared in the same way as other yams, potatoes, and sweet potatoes

Indigenous coy produces fertiliser from neem tree.

An indigenous company based in Kebbi State has produced organic neem fertilizer for optimum crop production. They are produced from the neem tree. The product was showcased at the just concluded National Agricultural show in Nasarawa State. The company also produces neem seed cake for animal feed, neem seeds, neem oil and biopesticides for prevention and control of insect pests. Managing Director of the company, Alhaji Musa Karaye, confirmed that the fertiliser boosts crop yield and that the nutrients stayed in the soil for a longer period. A breakdown of the soil analysis of the organic fertilizer confirmed that it contains nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, zinc, manganese and copper, including organic carbon and organic matter. In addition, he said the company has been registered under the Growth Enhancement Scheme (GES) programme of the Federal Government and supplies interested farmers with the new products.