Social enterprises push forward Agritech practices
Uncovering the social entrepreneurs seeking to support one billion farmers using new AgriTech.
Chipsafer, the finalist from Uruguay, is a platform that can track and detect anomalies in cattle behaviour in an autonomous, remote way in real time. It then sends all this information directly to the farmer, who can access it on a laptop or phone. Japan’s finalist is SenSprout, whose mission is to help farmers understand crops and fields through the use of low-cost sensing technologies. The wireless field-monitoring system makes it possible to monitor soil conditions and environmental information in real time. These finalists along with 14 other global finalists will pitch in July in Silicon Valley, for a share of $1m in funding
With approximately one billion people worldwide employed in the agricultural sector – equating to one third of the global workforce (Source: ILO, 2011) – more and more social entrepreneurs from across the world are developing new technology solutions that help maximise farming yields and financial benefit the local communities who rely on agriculture for their livelihood.
70% of the world’s poorest live in rural areas (Source: IFAD), and agriculture is the main source of income for the vast majority, so there is a pressing global need to help communities and individuals maximise their efficiency and productivity using what little they have. With wider global smartphone penetration also enabling small producers access to new, low cost technology (research carried out by The Successful Farming Research Panel showed that 1 in 5 farmers own a smartphone), an exciting new crop of FarmTech products and services are pushing the boundaries of what was – until recently – seen as a very basic industry in developing countries.
IFAD President Kanayo F. Nwanze stated:
“It is time to look at poor smallholder farmers and rural entrepreneurs in a completely new way – not as charity cases but as people whose innovation, dynamism and hard work will bring prosperity to their communities and greater food security to the world in the decades ahead.”
Chivas Regal’s global competition, The Venture, which is providing aspiring social entrepreneurs access to a $1m fund, has uncovered enterprises from across the world (Japan and Uruguay) that are dedicated to bringing cutting edge technology to the farming industry. These Venture finalists are aiming to contribute to agricultural productivity in varying ways across both arable and pastoral communities.
Japan’s finalist is SenSprout, whose mission is to help farmers understand crops and fields through the use of low-cost sensing technologies. The wireless field-monitoring system makes it possible to monitor soil conditions and environmental information in real time. While there are other irrigation sensors on the market, what’s unique about SenSprout’s is that it is created using “printed electronics” technology which greatly reduces the cost of the sensor, making it affordable for a wider audience.
Chipsafer, the finalist from Uruguay, is a platform that can track and detect anomalies in cattle behaviour in an autonomous, remote way in real time. It then sends all this information directly to the farmer, who can access it on a laptop or phone. Farmers can not only learn where their animals are and receive warnings if an anomaly is detected, they can also obtain stats about the animals’ performance, helping them to improve herd production and in turn their profits. This is of vital importance in poorer communities, as livestock are a key source of income.
The innovative ideas and technologies that these social entrepreneurs are introducting into the AgriTech industry stem from a drive to help communities capture more of the value they create, and solve existing bottlenecks of development, rather than simply profiteering at others’ expense. As can be seen from Chipsafer, the priority is – first of all – to provide a workable solution to a local problem. Cattle is Uruguay’s principle export and in 2001, an outbreak of foot and mouth disease devastated the country’s economy causing huge economic losses, poverty and unemployment. The most affected communities also happened to be the poorest and Chipsafer’s founders were inspired to ensure there was a way to prevent this happening again. Following success on a local level, they plan to scale their business model to help as many affected communities as possible worldwide.
These finalists are part of a group of 16 start-ups from as many countries who have been selected as the finalists for The Venture. In July, they will take part in an Accelerator Week in Silicon Valley, the epicentre of the start-up world, where they will be mentored by global business leaders and successful social entrepreneurs. Five of them will then pitch in front of a live audience and the global judging panel for a share of $1Million in funding. Finalists will be judged on the viability of their business and the scalability of their impact model.
Key Statistics
- 70% of the world’s poorest live in rural areas, placing an even higher rate of dependence on the farming industry in the poorest sections of societies (Source: IFAD)
- 55% of the developing world population live in rural areas (Source: IFAD)
- South Asia, with the greatest number of poor rural people, and sub-Saharan Africa, with the highest incidence of rural poverty, are the regions worst affected by poverty and hunger. (Source: IFAD)
- More than 25,000 farming robots will be in use by 2015 (Source: International Federation of Robotics)
Surveyed: Over 2,000 young professionals, 550 social entrepreneurs and business leaders from six major developed and emerging economies (Source: Redefining Success in a Changing World, 2014)
- 91% believe business can be a force for good if conducted in the right way
- Four main barriers to growing social businesses: lack of access to funding (32%); lack of government support (21%); legal barriers and red tape when starting up (21%) and industry competition (19%).
- 81% of young professionals believe that large businesses should put as much effort and resource into creating a positive social impact as they do in creating profit for shareholders.
- Young professionals (73%) say that they want a job that allows them to make a direct positive impact on the local community.
- 70% of young professionals say they’re seeking to start their own business in the next 5-10 years
