How this Company is Leading the Agtech Revolution
Chris Gallagher
Contributor
Human beings have been practicing organized agriculture for an estimated 8,500 years and have constantly innovated to beat the challenges of changing climates, pests and predation and population pressures. The world is currently in the opening stages of a massive new agricultural revolution that is combining recent advances in high tech and data sciences with traditional agricultural methods to meet the challenges of the 21st century on a sustainable basis.
Standing behind this new AgTech revolution is the goal to ensure food security and reduce hunger worldwide. One of the pioneers at the forefront of AgTech innovation is ICL Group. The company is channeling research and development into a range of game-changing technologies that are transforming farming and food production around the world.
Disruptions to the Food Supply Chain
The massive ongoing challenges of global warming (and associated extreme weather events) and the need to feed a growing world population that is expected to reach 9.1 billion by 2050 have all impacted food security and have caused major global food shortages.
The rate of global population increase may be slowing in the long term; however 10 billion people will still need to be fed before the end of the century. Projections vary, but some agronomists anticipate a need to double current agricultural production.
The Shift to Sustainable Agriculture
There is a shift to sustainable agriculture that places environmental protection and the efficient use of existing resources at the forefront of this industry.
The emphasis is on obtaining higher yields from existing lands and reducing negative environmental impacts and operating costs. The goal is to be able to produce more with less.
Leading AgTech Innovations
ICL Group is a global specialty minerals company and has been developing and creating innovative Agtech solutions that have been impacting the industry. The company also places sustainability at the forefront of its core activities. Its biggest production plants are even currently undergoing conversion to circular economies powered by locally generated green energy.
According to Elad Aharonson, President of ICL's Growing Solutions: 'Through cutting-edge technology and continuous innovation, we strive to create sustainable solutions that are revolutionizing the future of agriculture.'
ICL Group has made a long-term commitment to align its strategies with the climate change goals of the Paris Agreement and also with the wider objectives of the United Nations 17 Sustainable Development Goals (17 SDGs). The UN SDG 2 Zero Hunger is an inspirational challenge that ICL group is addressing through AgTech innovation, particularly in the field of precision agriculture and sustainability. Precision agriculture, driven by artificial intelligence, big data, biogenetics, the internet of things (connected to robotics, autonomous vehicles, and drones) is turning farming units into the agricultural equivalent of smart factories.
One of ICL Group's next generation controlled release fertilizers eqo.x, is an environmentally friendly fertilizer.
Its unique biodegradable release technology delivers nutrients throughout each crop growth cycle - without wastage or environmental damage from excess nutrients leaching into soil or groundwater, leaving no harmful residue. eqo.x can reduce nutrient losses by up to 50% and increase nitrogen use efficiency by up to 80% via its temperature-based controlled release mechanism. This translates into major savings for growers and reduces their carbon footprint.
ICL Group Partnerships for Strategic Growth
Through ICL's FoodTech and AgTech accelerator 'The Planet Startup Hub'- ICL's knowledge, experience, strengths, and resources connect with external innovation in order to bring innovative ideas to market. In fact, the Agtech market is expected to grow exponentially in the coming years and will become increasingly competitive, as can be seen in the chart below.
Innovative Startups in the Agtech Field
Agmatix is an agro informatics company that is part of ICL's AgTech digital solutions. The startup offers apps and platforms that leverage big data to provide growers with data-based insights and solutions for crop plans. Interestingly, Agmatix pitches its products towards agronomists.
Another key area where Agmatix is delivering much needed innovation is field trials. Agmatix Agronomic Trial Management software streamlines the design and implementation of field trials, standardizing data and securely connecting stakeholders and participants around the world. Agmatix software can reduce the cost and duration of trials, expand their parameters and reduce the multi-year journey to market for vital AgTech products.
Growers, another one of ICL's AgTech solutions, connects farmers and their advisors to the rest of the agriculture ecosystem through its software platform, and empowers agricultural professionals with augmented decision-making capabilities and executable data-driven recommendations.
The Future of AgTech
AgTech is evolving as rapidly as its high-tech equivalents in industry and finance. Smart agriculture is nowhere near as high profile as other branches of the high-tech sector, but it is arguably the world's most vital industry: without a stable food supply nothing can function.
The ability to feed a growing human population - in a sustainable and environmentally friendly fashion - depends on continual technological innovation and a steady stream of breakthrough ideas. This is how ICL operates.
Programs like ICL's BIG (Business Innovation for Growth) internal accelerator are designed to develop ideation and a culture of innovation and channel employee ideas into active projects. With over 13,000 employees worldwide, ICL invests strongly in developing employee engagement initiatives.
Transparency is a core value of ICL. According to ICL's recent ESG report, the company recognizes the value of lessons learned in shaping its decisions and actions. While its commitment is to always strive to do the right thing, in the right way, the company acknowledges that mistakes can happen. ICL Dead Sea is working to minimize its environmental footprint and to restore, as much as possible, open areas that have been environmentally and ecologically disturbed.
Companies can devote financial resources and create new R&D facilities for AgTech research, but ultimately it's the commitment and dedication of people who want to end world hunger and create a new sustainable agricultural ecosystem that are driving the future of AgTech. ICL is an example of a company that continues its mission to seek innovative AgTech and sustainable agriculture solutions that help support the agricultural ecosystem.
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