COVID-19 will speed development of new ag technologies

Industry interest in ag-tech, one of the fastest-growing sectors of technology, will accelerate further as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Robert Walker, European growth officer at Alltech and CEO of KEENAN.

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Natali_Mis | iStock.com
Natali_Mis | iStock.com

Industry interest in ag-tech, one of the fastest-growing sectors of technology, will accelerate further as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, said Robert Walker, European growth officer at Alltech and CEO of KEENAN.

Walker moderated the panel discussion, “Farming the Future: The Alltech 2020 Ag-Tech Insights Report,” held on July 29. The panel discussion was part of the Alltech One Virtual Experience.

VC trends

Many expect that COVID-19 will result in a worldwide recession. Because ag-tech is so new, no one quite knows how the sector will react to a downturn, however Walker shared a few predictions based upon the 2007-08 recession:

“First, there’s a six-month delay in venture capital (VC) downturn and we should expect to see corporate VC’s pull back earlier than their public counterparts,” he said.

“Early stage start-ups continued to get funding during the 2007-08 recession, whereas there was a decline for later stage investments.”

During the discussion, Walker highlighted six VC trends that he sees happening in 2020.

  • VCs focus on portfolio
  • Longer due diligence
  • Variations go down
  • Pandemic response plans
  • Profits first
  • SaaS to be tested

Technology trends

COVID-19 exposed vulnerabilities in the poultry and meat supply chain, highlighting a need for further automation and supply chain traceability.

“Regulators are pulling for solutions to issues caused by the pandemic and are looking to work with start-ups in ways that have never been done before,” explained Patrick Walsh, panelists and the founder and managing director of start-up hub, Dogpatch Labs.

Investors will also be on the lookout for new or improved ways to save money and reach consumers directly through ecommerce.

“Ag-tech is still very much in it’s infancy, but the underlying industries are huge. Technology will help drive a better, stronger industry for all of us,” said Nicky Deasy, panelist and co-founder and managing partner, The Yield Lab, Europe.

Ultimately, the pandemic will drive new innovations and ideas that will benefit food production.

“Recessions create entrepreneurs. We can expect that some of the entrepreneurs coming out of this recession could potentially be the big businesses of the future,” Walker said, noting that Alltech was created during an economic downturn.

View our continuing coverage of the coronavirus/COVID-19 pandemic.

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