‘It’s a new dawn’: Insect farming finds second act in waste management
FlyBox is repositioning insect farming as waste management and deploying a new generation of systems designed to cut costs after drawing on lessons learned in China
Innovation & trends
Bayer-Aphea.Bio deal targets next-gen bioinsecticides as ag majors continue biologicals push
Partnership highlights the industry pivot toward nature-based crop protection, with bioinsecticides emerging as a key battleground for innovation and growth
AI’s hidden footprint: UN warns of soaring resource demands – but agribusiness backs net gains in the field
A new UN report delivers stark projections for AI’s land, water and energy use by 2030. Yet major agribusinesses such as Syngenta insist the technology’s environmental “cost” will be dwarfed by the sustainability gains it enables on farm
Rising demand for antibiotic alternatives as FAO study highlights productivity gap
A new FAO-led study shows boosting livestock productivity could halve antibiotic use by 2040, accelerating demand for innovations that improve animal health while reducing reliance on antimicrobials
Regenerative farms cut drought losses by two‑thirds in landmark France study
Early findings from a large-scale European dataset suggest regenerative agriculture can materially improve resilience to climate shocks, with farms in France losing up to three times less yield during recent droughts
‘From science project to scalable platform’: Cibus Capital on why Physical AI is reshaping investment
As capital discipline tightens across agtech, Cibus Capital’s Archie Burgess argues that a new wave of Physical AI – combining robotics, automation and adaptive intelligence – is moving beyond hype to deliver real on-farm returns, reshaping both investor...
May recap: Top 10 innovation, startups, industry trend stories
AgNavigator spotlights the most-read stories of the month, covering breakthrough innovations, rising startups, and the trends shaping the future of farming.
Farmers hit by ‘locked capital’ trap as machinery risks losing value faster, BNP research warns
Data from BNP Paribas Leasing Solutions shows capital lock-up is a major constraint on farm growth, while rapid technological change raises fears that today’s equipment may not deliver long-term returns
In the ‘Sea of Plastic’, Syngenta builds a frontline defence against global crop disease
A new $10m R&D Technology Centre in Spain’s Almería region places Syngenta at the heart of the world’s most intensive greenhouse cluster, aiming to halve breeding timelines and stay ahead of a pathogen landscape that is evolving at unprecedented speed
Biotalys funding highlights growing investor backing for next-gen biocontrols
Belgian agtech raises €12m as capital continues to flow into biological crop protection, with investors backing scalable alternatives to conventional chemistry
AgNavigator arrives: New name, same market-leading content
Today we have rebranded to AgNavigator to better reflect the broad range of content that is driving engagement across the wider ag landscape
AI and operational agility set to reshape agriculture trading, McKinsey analysis shows
Agricultural commodity trading is entering a new phase defined by volatility, digital competition and the growing influence of AI-driven decision-making, according to new analysis from McKinsey & Company
BASF scales up biologicals with new BioHub to boost resilience and flexibility
Fermentation facility at Ludwigshafen underlines strategic shift towards biotech crop protection amid supply chain and regulatory pressures
Mosaic cuts output as input costs soar, but bets on biosciences for future growth
Fertiliser major trims production and capex amid volatile markets, while positioning biologicals as a strategic growth pillar
PepsiCo and Fertiberia scale green fertiliser push across 400,000 acres of European farmland
PepsiCo and Fertiberia are expanding a long‑term partnership to deploy green hydrogen‑based fertiliser across Europe, supporting more than 1,500 farmers as the food giant targets deep cuts to agricultural emissions in its supply chain
Nutrien signals stabilisation in volatile fertiliser markets as retail arm cushions shocks
Nutrien’s first-quarter results point to a fertiliser market stabilising under geopolitical strain, with record potash volumes and resilient retail performance helping offset continued pricing and margin pressures across nitrogen and phosphate
War demands faster decisions: KSG Agro turns to AI to navigate Ukraine’s high‑stakes agriculture
With infrastructure under attack, exports disrupted and costs volatile, Ukrainian agribusiness is being forced to make faster, higher‑stakes decisions. KSG Agro’s adoption of a decision intelligence platform highlights how war is accelerating the shift...
Munters launches Speria brand as early deployments deliver measurable gains in livestock performance
Munters FoodTech is rolling out its new commercial Speria brand, with early deployments already showing improvements in feed efficiency, mortality and emissions – signalling a shift toward data‑driven optimisation in animal production
April recap: Top 10 innovation, startups, industry trend stories
AgTechNavigator spotlights the most-read stories of the month, covering breakthrough innovations, rising startups, and the trends shaping the future of farming.
Why wine can’t keep leaning on tradition alone
Digital tools are creeping into Europe’s vineyards, but real transformation in wine is being held back by culture, connectivity and long investment cycles. According to the WineWayLab organiser Timofey Golovin, the sector risks mistaking optimisation for...
Why Syngenta is betting on biology, AI and modelling to reinvent crop protection
As Syngenta commits $130m to a new bioscience R&D hub in the UK, Dave Hughes – the company’s global technology scout – explains why digital science, biologicals and soil innovation will define the next era of agtech
Smart timing, not savings alone: How Agrii’s host farm trials are rethinking fungicide strategy
Can digital tools help farmers spend less on fungicides without sacrificing yield? Agronomy firm Agrii’s latest host farm trials in the UK suggest the real value lies not in cutting chemistry outright, but in using better data to time applications more...
Study offers new way to stop global potato pathogen once linked to Ireland’s Great Famine
Scientists in Sweden say they have taken an important step towards combating potato late blight, a destructive plant disease historically linked to Ireland’s Great Famine and now spreading more widely as climate change reshapes growing conditions.
SAI Platform pilots point to ‘adaptable pathway’ for regenerative agriculture transition
After validating its four-step regenerative framework across 35 pilots in 25 countries, Geneva-based SAI Platform says the results offer global food and beverage supply chains a practical, flexible route to scale regenerative farming without losing local...
A greener path: Researchers engineer duckweed into a biofactory for pigments and proteins
Researchers from the Weizmann Institute have transformed duckweed into a biofactory that releases high‑value compounds ranging from pigments to proteins.
Agtech adoption isn’t a tech problem – it’s a systems problem
From trust and risk to interoperability and empathy, panellists on AgTechNavigator’s global webinar unpack the barriers to agtech adoption – and why the solution is less about technology and more about systems
Agtech blind spots: Why Desertech Ventures is targeting overlooked sectors for maximum impact
Abu Dhabi’s Desertech Ventures says agricultural blind spots that agtech has long overlooked have the potential to reap significant sustainability and food security rewards.
Is the future of ag Brazilian? How the country provides fertile ground for farming innovation
SP Ventures’ Managing Partner discussed the power of Brazilian agricultural innovation and why the EU-Mercosur trade deal could provide tailwinds to the sector
Clarkson’s Farm turns to variable-rate nitrogen as fertiliser crisis tightens
The severe global fuel and fertiliser crisis driven by the conflict in the Middle East will force farmers to rethink how they use fertilisers and accelerate uptake of newer, more efficient techniques, according to Charlie Ireland, agronomist at Jeremy...
Rovensa Next doubles down on AI and training to deliver more practical biosolutions support
Biosolutions company Rovensa Next is rolling out a global AI platform and training academy to help distributors and growers move from fragmented biosolutions data to more practical, crop‑specific and evidence‑based recommendations in the field
BetterSeeds and Caszyme target tissue culture bottleneck with viral delivery of ultra‑compact CRISPR tools
A new collaboration between BetterSeeds and Caszyme aims to bypass one of the most persistent constraints in plant gene editing: tissue culture. By combining ultra‑compact Cas12l nucleases with engineered plant viral vectors, the partners say they can...
AgriSound and Importaco put pollination under the microscope to de‑risk almond sourcing
A new European field trial aims to turn pollination from an assumption into a measurable performance indicator – helping almond growers and buyers make better capital decisions, improve orchard reliability and strengthen long‑term sourcing confidence
Agflation tightens its grip – and agtech without clear ROI is first in the firing line
As UK farming faces its sharpest cost squeeze since early 2022, Andersons’ latest agflation data suggests the agtech sector is entering a harder, more forensic phase – where resilience tools become infrastructure rather than innovation, but where...
U.S. farmer sentiment rises in March, despite increasing crop input costs
Growers grapple with higher crop input costs but remain optimistic about the long-term trajectory of the U.S. ag economy
Why first‑mile visibility is fast becoming a non‑negotiable for global commodity supply chains
As climate volatility, geopolitical disruption and input shocks converge, supply chain risk is increasingly shaped at the farm and forest level. Treefera’s new bi‑weekly commodity intelligence bulletin signals a shift toward first‑mile visibility as a...
March recap: Top 10 innovation, startups, industry trend stories
AgTechNavigator spotlights the most-read stories of the month, covering breakthrough innovations, rising startups, and the trends shaping the future of farming.
Fertiliser shock fuels interest in hyperspectral satellites for precision nitrogen use
As fertiliser prices surge following geopolitical turmoil in the Middle East, UK growers are under pressure to cut input costs without sacrificing yields. A new on‑farm collaboration between crop intelligence company Messium and a Northamptonshire grower...
‘Unicorn ambition, global impact’: Heritable Ag’s dual mission to accelerate crop innovation
Brad Zamft says that AI‑accelerated crop breeding can slash R&D timelines and speed development of new varieties – and that building a scalable, breakthrough, profitable agriculture business is the fastest path to maximising impact
Combined probiotic, curcumin feeds boost Asian seabass growth, disease resilience: Singapore study
Research from Singapore revealed that a combinatorial approach to functional fish feeds can significantly increase body weight and survival rates in aquaculture, offering a scalable, antibiotic-free alternative for the industry
Agentic AI in the spotlight at World Agri‑Tech as industry grapples with new power dynamics
At San Francisco’s flagship ag innovation summit, excitement over agentic AI mixed with urgency around data quality, decision intelligence, and the shifting role of human expertise
Precision ag adoption forecasts have been wrong for 20 years, landmark study finds
New analysis reveals systemic overestimation of digital farming adoption and warns adoption hinges on technology that easily fits into modern cropping systems with a “well presented and consistent” ROI for farm operations
South Korea accelerates AI deployment with U$27m marine and fisheries investment
South Korea will inject KRW40bn (U$26.75m) over two years to push artificial intelligence solutions out of the lab and into real‑world as part of a national move to build a globally competitive marine and fisheries industry.
French orchard growers turn to biocontrol, AI and climate‑smart varieties as pesticide squeeze tightens
Producers at SIVAL 2026 showcased a wave of innovations designed to keep orchards productive and competitive in the face of a future shaped by tougher chemical restrictions, volatile climate patterns and rising pest and disease pressures
AI for all: South Korea unveils national plan to democratise AI access down to every farmer
South Korea has unveiled national strategy to ensure that artificial intelligence becomes accessible to every farmer as part of a wider push to expand AI across the sector.
World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit San Francisco 2026
Supply-chain shocks and flat investment puts agtech at a crossroads
World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit discussions focused on volatility, AI, new funding models, and more
World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit San Francisco 2026
Syngenta takes the quantum leap to develop next-gen crop protection products
Syngenta partners with QuantumBasel to explore how quantum computing can be used to develop crop protection products that address sustainability while addressing weather, disease, and pest pressures associated with climate change
Why OEMs are betting on precision weeding: Kubota leads €6.5M round in Kilter to tackle labour scarcity, residue limits and ROI
With many farmers postponing equipment purchases and manufacturers cutting production, Kubota’s €6.5 million investment in Kilter shows where equipment makers still see near-term value: autonomy that reduces labour risk, slashes chemical use and offers a...
Syngenta’s paraquat exit underscores urgent need for novel weed‑control chemistries
As Syngenta winds down paraquat production, industry voices warn it highlights the crop protection sector’s long‑standing failure to deliver genuinely new modes of action as weed resistance accelerates worldwide
The next five years will eclipse the last 25: Steve McLean on agriculture’s defining decade
New UK Agri-Tech Centre CEO Steve McLean says the industry is entering a defining period that demands bigger thinking, harder commercial focus, and technologies proven on real farms, not just in labs
Investors back biologicals as Mycoverse raises €2.4m to tackle potato blight
Mycoverse secures €2.4m pre-seed round to accelerate AI‑enabled biocontrol platform, beginning with potato late blight