After fintech (financial technology) and edutech (education technology), the next big buzzword in the startup world is agritech. As you may have guessed, agritech stands for agriculture technology. Startups focusing on this field – developing solutions that will help the agriculture industry as a whole – are popping up across the globe.
Agritech is quickly becoming a lucrative field to explore. More investors are backing agritech startups and they are putting in big bucks to support the top companies. At the same time, the field is wide open, especially since it is relatively new. So, is agritech a field worth exploring for those thinking about starting a new company?
More than a trend
The best way to start a business is by creating a product that solves a problem or meets a need. In agritech, that is exactly what you will be doing. There is a huge demand in the industry and there are a lot of problems to solve. You can start with the most basic issue of getting products to customers without going through a lot of middlemen.
Technology designed to preserve the produce in a healthier, better way is also in high demand. Companies are doing substantial research in this department to come up with the next big thing. Better storage capabilities also enable farmers to connect with global customers and ship internationally, which is a great way to expand their businesses.
The list of problems that need to be solved goes on. We have the need for new and better seeds, fertilizers, easier access to farm equipment, and many other issues just waiting to be solved. Do you have what it takes to jump in and solve some of these issues using technology? If the answer to this question is a YES, then agritech is certainly worth exploring.
Low entry barrier
The most successful startups in agritech didn’t start their journeys with a lot of capital and plenty of resources. This is another great thing about agritech: you don’t have to worry about complex entry barriers that you need to navigate to start a business in this field.
All you need to start an organic food startup is a capable greenhouse and some basic knowledge. Looking at catalogs of the best California greenhouses, it is easy to see how founding an agritech startup is as exciting as it gets. Greenhouses are far more advanced today. They have automation and new technology supporting the interior ecosystem.
Yes, they are affordable too. As mentioned before, there is no need to rely on big capital or invest a lot of money to get started. This is a factor that attracts more companies in countries like India and China.
Government support is plentiful
Speaking of countries like India and China, agricultural problems in Asia are often more severe and require quick solutions. With the boom of agritech companies, governments see the opportunity to tackle their agricultural problems head-on by offering incentives to companies that solve them. You may be the next recipient of a government grant with your agritech product.
Grants are also available from European and even the US government. The need for better agricultural solutions isn’t just seen in Asian countries. It is a global challenge that we have to solve together. Through the use of technology, you can help solve food crises and allow for better, cleaner, and more effective agricultural operations.
More backers than you can handle
The biggest challenge in agritech – just like starting a new company in other fields – is finding a hero product. It takes a lot of research and development to come up with a product that doesn’t just solve a problem but improves an entire industry at the same time. That said, many have done it and there are endless opportunities for you and your startup to do the same.
You will need support to get to that point of launching a hero product, and there are a lot of backers ready to get you there. Angel investors to VCs are looking at agritech as a sexy new field to explore. Experts are entering the field and joining startups’ R&D teams, while support professionals that can help keep the business going are a couple of messages away.
The ecosystem is perfect. There is no better time to start an agritech startup than today. By the time you find a product that will take over the agriculture world, you have all the support and resources you need; taking the product all the way is just a matter of getting it to the right users.