MONT DE MARSAN, France and ITHACA, N.Y., Nov. 12, 2020 — MAS Seeds and Nature Source Improved Plants (NSIP) announced today the formation of a long-term research partnership. This strategic collaboration will benefit from the expertise of both sides to further accelerate the application of breeding technologies. The partnership will initially focus on maize breeding but may expand to other crops in the future.
MAS Seeds and NSIP will work together to improve the application of an Integrated Package of NSIP’s Breeding Technologies and Services. The collaboration will combine well-established breeding programs, germplasm, trialing networks, and predictive analytics of MAS Seeds with NSIP’s advanced analytics and comprehensive suite of computational breeding technologies and expertise. This new partnership expands and deepens the relationship between the two companies, which has been ongoing for more than 6 years.
With a joint technology platform, both companies aim to further develop predictive breeding technologies to bring genetic innovation into the world market faster and more precise to help farmers increase productivity. This will be accomplished by increasing the rate of genetic improvement, streamlining, and optimizing R&D costs.
Steven Tanksley (Chief Technology Officer, NSIP): "NSIP is excited to be providing both its expertise and advanced analytical tools in this partnership with MAS Seeds to develop higher performing maize varieties for the benefit of farmers and consumers worldwide."
Michaël Fourneau (Head of Research and Development): "We are delighted to combine our efforts in breeding. This partnership will allow us to create new hybrids combining our genetic with native germplasm to meet new sustainable agriculture challenges."
About Nature Source Improved Plants (NSIP) Established in 2006, Nature Source Improved Plants (NSIP) is an advanced optimization analytics company located in New York, USA and Chiapas, Mexico; and dedicated to the conservation, evaluation and utilization of natural genetic resources to deliver high performing plant materials and creating value and efficiency through innovative and sustainable cutting-edge technologies for the global community. NSIP is focused on maximizing genetic performance via a unique pipeline of new breeding technologies based on genomics, operations research and other advanced fields of mathematics and computer science. NSIP’s advanced genetics and breeding technologies have resulted in significant increases in productivity and quality across a wide variety of field, vegetable, perennial and orphan crops, while minimizing R&D costs. NSIP is also focused on the development of high throughput and high-fidelity in vitro propagation techniques to meet the needs of growers – especially those involved in the production of perennial plantation crops. Management: Suresh Prabhakaran (Chief Operating Officer), Alfonso Romo Jr. (CEO)
About MAS Seeds MAS Seeds is the subsidiary of MAÏSADOUR Group in the South-West France. With 70-year experience in seed business, today, MAS Seeds is structured around three professions: hybrid breeding (maize, sunflower and oilseed rape), seed production and commercialization. As one of Europe’s leading hybrid seed producer, the company holds 25,000 ha production capacity representing 2.5 million bags of seeds (corn, sunflower, winter oilseed rape, alfalfa, sorghum, cereals and fodder) whereas two thirds of its production is made in the South-West France. MAS Seeds has 13 subsidiaries and makes 85% of its turnover outside France in 50 countries in Europe, Africa, Asia and Americas. In fiscal year 2019/20, around 700 full time employees working in 23 countries has generated around 155 million € turnover, of which 12% was invested in research and development. MAS Seeds’ mission is to provide high quality seeds and innovative solutions to help farmers increase the value of their production and their land in a sustainable way. Management: Michael Fourneau (Head of Research and Development), Jacques Groison (CEO) and Jean-Luc Capes (Chairman)
OSLO, Norway, Nov. 4, 2020 — Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser, a division of Nel ASA (Nel, OSE:NEL), has been selected as preferred supplier by Iberdrola for a 20 MW PEM solution for a green fertilizer project in Spain. Contract award is subject to mutual agreement on the final commercial terms. The hydrogen plant is scheduled to commence operations in 2021.
"We are very excited and honored that Iberdrola prefer to use a PEM electrolyser solution from Nel for this landmark green fertilizer project. It is a true testament to our PEM platform, which has been deployed all over the world for several decades. We continuously work to develop larger systems, and with this project our PEM platform will be designed into a 20 MW solution. We have over the course of the last year been working on both alkaline and PEM large-scale solutions, which serve different customer needs, and we look forward to provide our PEM solution for this project," says Filip Smeets, SVP Nel Hydrogen Electrolyser, Nel Hydrogen Fueling.
Iberdrola, one of the largest electricity utilities in the world, has together with a world-leading fertilizer manufacturer Fertiberia launched a project to establish the largest green hydrogen plant in Europe. Located in Puertollano, Spain it will feature a 100 MW photovoltaic plant, a battery installation with a storage capacity of 20 MWh, and a 20 MW electrolyser. The hydrogen produced in the project will primarily be used for green fertilizer production. The 20 MW electrolyser is scheduled to commence operations in 2021.
Contract award is subject to mutual agreement on the final agreement on terms and conditions, technical details, and board approval.
Nel is a global, dedicated hydrogen company, delivering optimal solutions to produce, store, and distribute hydrogen from renewable energy. We serve industries, energy, and gas companies with leading hydrogen technology. Our roots date back to 1927, and since then, we have had a proud history of development and continuous improvement of hydrogen technologies. Today, our solutions cover the entire value chain: from hydrogen production technologies to hydrogen fueling stations, enabling industries to transition to green hydrogen, and providing fuel cell electric vehicles with the same fast fueling and long range as fossil-fueled vehicles – without the emissions.
– Financing was co-led by Wheatsheaf and GV with broad participation from strategic and environmental, social and governance (ESG) focused investors across the food and agriculture value chain.
– Benson Hill will use the funds to scale its commercial operations and its platform food innovation engine CropOS™ across multiple food and ingredients markets.
ST. LOUIS, Oct. 29, 2020 — Benson Hill has announced the close of a $150 million Series D funding round led by Wheatsheaf Group and GV (formerly Google Ventures). The company’s leading food innovation engine CropOS™ taps nature’s genetic diversity to develop and commercialize healthier and more sustainable food and ingredient options that benefit farmers, food companies of all kinds, and ultimately, consumers. This funding round will accelerate the food tech company’s efforts to deploy its platform technology, expand partner development across the supply chain, and scale product commercialization efforts.
The funding round attracted diverse investors recognizing the company’s strategic business model and potential to impact the health and well-being of people and the planet through advances in the food system. New and returning investors included Argonautic Ventures, Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ), Emart, GS Group, Louis Dreyfus Company, iSelect Fund, Fall Line Capital, Mercury Fund, Prelude Ventures, Prolog Ventures, S2G Ventures, and additional strategic and family office investors.
Benson Hill leverages Cloud Biology®, a discipline combining the power of data science, machine learning and AI techniques with plant biology and genomics. CropOS™ is the platform that makes this discipline actionable, significantly accelerating the precision and speed of product development. Benson Hill’s technology platform and collaborations empower the creation of healthier and more sustainable feed, food and ingredient options that consumers are seeking, while also delivering strong crop performance that farmers demand.
"As a firm, we are focused on investing in innovation that delivers the right calories and nourishment for a growing global population in a less commodity-driven food system," said Stephan Dolezalek, Executive Director at Wheatsheaf Group. "We feel the culture and partners propelling Benson Hill forward will have a significant impact on the health and sustainability challenges that burden our current food system in a way that benefits society and our environment."
"We are excited to contribute to the scale-up of Benson Hill’s work to advance a sustainable future of food by realizing the value creation potential of technology-enabled innovation," said Max Clegg, Head of Louis Dreyfus Company’s corporate venture capital program, LDC Innovations. "The power of genomics and genetic diversity is largely untapped, and we believe that the company’s technology and collaborative model unlocks efficiencies and new product differentiation for stakeholders across the value chain, from farmers to end-consumers."
"The plant-based protein movement is global in scale," said Hewie Kang, CEO of Emart, Shinsegae Group. "Benson Hill’s product innovations, particularly in the area of protein and nutrient density, are poised to help further accelerate the adoption of plant-based alternatives. Our investment reflects a strategic intent to help realize the vision of delivering a steady stream of more sustainable and healthy food options to a global consumer."
With this new round of funding, Benson Hill will continue to advance Cloud Biology® and its innovation engine CropOS™, amplify partner development efforts, continue to recruit top talent, and propel the commercial launch of the first Ultra-High Protein soybean varieties in 2021, among other product launches. The company’s portfolio of high-quality soybean varieties delivers a full range of in-demand premium attributes, including better digestibility, heart-healthy omega fatty acids, and higher protein that serve the plant-based food, healthy oils, animal feed and aquaculture markets.
"As a society, we’re at a crossroads made more evident as the pandemic has revealed strengths and vulnerabilities in our food system," said Matt Crisp, Benson Hill CEO. "Food choices that create enjoyment, make us stronger, and help preserve our environment need to be accessible to everyone, and the power of plant diversity and technology innovation can help fuel that evolution. We’re grateful for the growing coalition of investors, stakeholders, farmers and partners who recognize the urgency and opportunity of this moment to think collaboratively and modernize food production."
About Benson Hill Benson Hill moves food forwardwith Cloud Biology® and the CropOS™ platform, a leading food innovation engine that combines data science and machine learning with biology and genetics. Benson Hill empowers innovators to unlock nature’s genetic diversity from plant to plate, with the purpose of creating healthier, great-tasting food and ingredient options that are both widely accessible and sustainable. More information can be found at bensonhill.com or on Twitter at @bensonhillinc.
About Wheatsheaf Group Wheatsheaf Group invests in food and agriculture businesses using capital and expertise with a far-sighted perspective to deliver lasting commercial and social benefit. With one of the largest and longest established investment teams in the sector, Wheatsheaf partners with its portfolio companies to create efficiencies in the production and distribution of food; developing innovative business models and technologies to deliver affordable, nutritious and safe food that sustains both human health and the health of the planet. Through deploying such business models and technologies commercially at scale, Wheatsheaf works to deliver enduring solutions to address one of modern society’s most pressing challenges – supplying healthy, nutritious food to meet the demands of a changing global population. Wheatsheaf Group is part of the Grosvenor Estate.
About Louis Dreyfus Company (LDC) LDC is a leading merchant and processor of agricultural goods. Leveraging its global reach and extensive asset network to serve customers and consumers around the world, the company works to deliver the right products to the right location, at the right time – safely, responsibly and reliably. Its activities span the entire value chain from farm to fork, across a broad range of business lines (platforms). Since 1851, its portfolio has grown to include Grains & Oilseeds, Coffee, Cotton, Juice, Rice, Sugar, Freight and Global Markets. LDC helps to feed and clothe some 500 million people every year by originating, processing and transporting approximately 80 million tons of products. Structured as a matrix organization of six geographical regions and eight platforms, the company is active in over 100 countries and employs approximately 18,000 people globally.
About Emart Emart, a Korea-based company, is a multi-format retailer that includes Emart Hypermarkets, Emart Traders, a warehouse retail model, Shinsegae Food, which owns manufacturing facilities, food distribution channels, international restaurant and beverage franchises, Emart24 convenience stores, Emart Everyday small grocery stores, upscale mall complexes, Starbucks Korea, and SSG.COM (online mall). Its portfolio provides extensive consumer interactions, derived from monthly visits by half of the population of South Korea, and 20 million active members of its loyalty card. Apart from Korea, Emart also has retail footprints in Asia including Vietnam, Mongolia, Philippines and China. Emart, through its Global Sourcing division, operates several overseas offices, including Emart America Inc., a U.S.-based entity that introduces products for export/import on behalf of all Emart Affiliates. In the U.S., Emart operates premium grocery stores under the name of Bristol Farms, Metropolitan Market, New Seasons Market and others through its subsidiary Good Food Holdings. More information can be found at emartcompany.com.
A high-performance solution integrating the Livox Horizon laser scanner
MONTPELLIER, France, Oct. 28, 2020 — YellowScan, a global leader in UAV LiDAR solution, today launches its updated Mapper product offer. The YellowScan Mapper sets a new standard for LiDAR scanning by integrating Livox’s Horizon laser scanner into a solution benefiting from YellowScan’s years of experience. The disruptive pricing and high performance of the Horizon scanner allows YellowScan to offer an integrated solution that lives up to its high standard of technical capabilities and customer support, at a price point affordable to a larger base of professional users.
Drone M300
Unlike other YellowScan solutions, the YellowScan Mapper is a purely a aerial LiDAR solution that is ideally flown at 70m above ground level. It is designed to fit all DJI professional drones (M200, M210, M300, M600) and comes with an integrated camera module. YellowScan Mapper is ideal for general topography projects and is particularly suited for archaeology, forestry and post-disaster missions. The YellowScan Mapper seamlessly integrates with existing YellowScan’s software solutions, LiveStation and CloudStation, making it easy to remotely check data while the system is flying, and comprehensively post-process, visualize and export survey data.
"We wanted to upgrade our Mapper product by applying the learning and experience we gathered over the years. The Livox Horizon scanner showed impressive performance, and allowed us to offer a quality system at a price that makes it more accessible to a wider user base. Whether you purchase the Mapper or any of our other solutions, you will get the same level of training and support that YellowScan has come to be known for around the world", stated Tristan Allouis, YellowScan’s CTO.
YellowScan will be holding a Demo Day on November 26, 2020 and January 20, 2021. Register on our site to learn more about the YellowScan Mapper and the rest of our hardware and software offerings.
About YellowScan
At YellowScan we design, develop, and build our UAV LiDAR solutions to exceed the expectations of professionals requiring performance, robustness and accuracy. Our complete range of hardware and software solutions are compact, easy-to-use data collection tools, that come with an unparalleled level of training and support from our experts.
Founded in 2012, YellowScan has customers around the world that use its technology for surveying, forestry, environmental research, archaeology, industrial inspection, civil engineering and mining sectors. YellowScan is headquartered in France, with offices in the United States and Japan, along with sales and support teams around the globe.
YANGLING, China, Oct. 21, 2020 — Frequently referred to as China’s Agricultural City, Yangling was the first in China to be declared a national agricultural high-tech industry demonstration zone. The 27th CAF will be held here between Oct. 22 and 26.
Exhibition Area of the China Yangling Agricultural Hi-Tech Fair
First held in 1994, the CAF provides a platform for the demonstration of the latest achievements in agricultural science and technology, and also a window for agricultural professionals from around the world to engage in exchange and cooperation.
With the theme ‘Innovation Leads High-quality Development’, the exhibition area of the fair will cover 160,000 square meters and will have 2,000 booths. The event will feature more than 40 special exhibitions including the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) Agricultural Exhibition, the Agricultural Hi-Tech Exhibition, and the International Seed Industry Exhibition. The China ambassadors of Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and other countries, and the heads of the United Nations World Food Program, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization and other international organizations in China will attend the fair. The China-based representatives of companies from 29 countries, for example Germany and Switzerland, among others, will also be in attendance.
In response to COVID-19 prevention and control measures, the organizing committee developed China’s first online digital agricultural exhibition with the CLOUD OF CAF platform, which enables the integration of offline and online exhibitions. With the CLOUD OF CAF app, people can watch this event online without having to leave their home or office, and can participate in a range of activities such as app-based contract negotiation and execution, and live streaming of conferences.
As a result of China’s open and inclusive approach and its pursuit of win-win cooperation, agricultural exchange and cooperation between China and other countries is increasingly robust, thereby facilitating agricultural developments in the context of strengthening regional integration.
Since 2014, Yangling has been actively involved in the development of agricultural science and technology throughout the world with the delivery of several training programs to agricultural management organizations. For example, the city conducted eight workshops for SCO member states, covering a range of topics from modern farming techniques, water-conservation irrigation, and planting and breeding, attracting nearly 200 participants.
To date, Yangling has established cooperative relations in the field of modern agriculture with more than 60 countries, and has signed agreements to strengthen agricultural cooperation with government departments of more than 20 countries, most recently with the Ministry of Agriculture of the Republic of Kazakhstan.
SHANGHAI, Sept. 18, 2020 — As the world’s leading enterprise friendly blockchain platform, VeChain has officially joined the China Animal Health And Food Safety Alliance (hereafter referred as CAFA) as one of the council members. VeChain will be the sole public blockchain technology provider in the alliance, providing technical and infrastructural support for the council members.
All Members of CAFA
CAFA is a government-backed organization directly under the Chinese National Agricultural Science Technology Innovation Alliance initiated by the Ministry of Agriculture of the People’s Republic of China, which aims to build a trustworthy platform that connects the government, industry associations, producer enterprises and research institutes in the food sector.
Since its launch, CAFA has revealed more than 130 members that are already signed up as official members of the alliance. These members consist of massive companies and bodies across upstream and downstream parties in the food industry, including supermarkets, food and beverage manufacturers, e-commerce platforms and more. Other members also include major players in the CTI industry, research labs, agricultural and animal supplies.
As a council member of CAFA, VeChain intends to enhance CAFA’s strategy of "building a from-farm-to-table traceability system across the entire country".
By using VeChain ToolChain™, all enterprise members of the alliance will be capable of logging key processes of food products onto the blockchain in an immutable and secured way, bridging trust between consumers and the enterprises. Traceability can start from cultivation, processing, packaging, logistics, to retail and more, which perfectly assists CAFA’s vision of "providing consumers with safe, high-quality and healthy food of animal origin".
VeChain ToolChain’s scalable and easy-to-implement technology has already captivated the enterprise world, and the technology has already on-boarded its first alliance member as a user of the platform since the inception of CAFA, with more expected to join.
Launched in 2019, VeChain ToolChain™ has become a powerful tool for business owners to integrate the VeChainThor public blockchain into existing business processes. Based on the experience of collaborating with big enterprises such as Walmart China Food Traceability Platform and Foodgates, VeChain ToolChain™ provides built-in, ready-to-use templates and customizable tools, which enables every food enterprise to quickly achieve full lifecycle traceability for their supply chains in a controllable cost.
Positioned as the enabler for the real economy, VeChain continues to promote exponential mass adoption of blockchain technology and drive tangible value for businesses. By powering traceability platforms for alliances such as CAFA and other similar partners, the VeChainThor blockchain would be used by hundreds and thousands of businesses without needing VeChain to approach them individually.
About CAFA
Established in 2009, CAFA focuses closely on animal health and food safety issues as well as solving major technical problems and bottlenecks involved throughout the industry chain. Members of CAFA include scientific research institutes, industry associations, aquaculture enterprises, testing and certification enterprises, veterinary medicine enterprises, consulting enterprises, catering enterprises and supermarkets. The alliance is committed to providing consumers with safe, high quality and healthy animal source foods.
Launched in 2015, VeChain connects blockchain technology to the real world by providing a comprehensive governance structure, a robust economic model, and IoT integration. VeChain is the pioneer of real-world applications using public blockchain technology, with international operations in Singapore, Luxembourg, Tokyo, Shanghai, Paris, Hong Kong, and San Francisco. Together with our strategic partners PwC and DNV GL, we have established cooperative relations with many leading enterprises in different industries, including Walmart China, BMW, BYD Auto, Haier, H&M, LVMH, D.I.G, ENN, AWS, PICC, ASI etc.
Enhancements to farm management platform give growers greater visibility to financial performance
MINNEAPOLIS, July 9, 2020 — Conservis, the global leader in enterprise farm management software announces enhanced financial management capabilities to its robust platform. Developed in collaboration with Rabo AgriFinance, the Financial Management suite connects the dots between an operation’s field data and its finances. The result delivers a real-time, economic, bird’s-eye view of the farming operation.
“With all the uncertainty and volatility created by COVID-19, there has never been a more critical time for growers to understand the direct economic impact of their decisions,” says Sherman Black, CEO at Conservis. “We’re fortunate to have partnered with the world’s largest food and ag lender, providing us visibility into what ag lenders need. On the flip side, we understand what growers want because we’ve spent the last decade developing farm management software with our clients to harness data to improve efficiency and profit. The fruits of this partnership deliver a new way of doing business that benefits everyone.”
Conservis’ Financial Management suite enables growers to create complete and dynamic financial plans necessary to:
Gain visibility to field-level plans, operational plans, loan and land management.
Make profitable in-season operational and marketing decisions quickly with less potential for error than traditional methods.
Streamline access to credit and financial tools.
Confidently align with business partners.
Ryan Christensen, General Manager of BKR Farms in Grace, Idaho, has experience with the enhanced Conservis platform. “In a few clicks, I can send something to my Rabo AgriFinance lender at any point in time, and they’ll have everything they need to see where I’m at, and I have everything I need to make smarter, more timely decisions,” says Christensen. “The report automation took me no time, and I was able to have more meaningful and analytical conversations than any I’ve had with a lender before.”
“Accurate, timely, relevant information is the holy grail to ag lenders,” says Curt Hudnutt, head of Rabo AgriFinance. “Even as precision ag adoption has proliferated, the industry has struggled to collect, analyze and share data, especially when a need for capital arises mid-year. It’s great to see our partnership with Conservis produce a tangible advancement in a farm’s ability to easily translate its data into financial insights. We know and trust that reports generated by our clients through Conservis accounts are high-quality and reliable.”
Conservis is an independent software platform that meets growers where they are and provides a clear path forward to get to where they wish to go. Farmers own their data and control when Rabo AgriFinance, or any other party receives information. The Financial Management suite is available through Conservis and can be used with any ag lender.
About Conservis
Conservis is the leading independent farm management service, providing growers the digital tools and farm management software needed for success. The web and mobile platforms deliver comprehensive planning tools, real-time data capture and insightful analytics to support better decision making and efficient reporting. Conservis was founded in 2009 with and for farmers in the row and permanent crop markets and is dedicated to advancing the business of agriculture.
About Rabo AgriFinance
As a leading financial services provider for agricultural producers and agribusinesses in the United States, Rabo AgriFinance adds value using industry expertise, client-focused solutions, and by creating long-term business relationships. Rabo AgriFinance offers a comprehensive portfolio of services that gives producers the right products to prepare for, and take advantage of, market opportunities. This comprehensive suite of services includes loans, insurance, input finance and effective risk management products. Rabo AgriFinance is a subsidiary of Rabobank, a premier bank to the global agriculture industry and one of the world’s largest and strongest banks. Rabobank is an equal opportunity provider.
LISHUI, China, July 7, 2020 — Farmmi, Inc. (“Farmmi” or the “Company”) (NASDAQ: FAMI), an agriculture products supplier in China, today announced it has been expanding the use of online and cloud-based sales and marketing platforms to drive growth in sales of its Shiitake mushrooms, Mu Er mushrooms, other edible fungi and agricultural products. The Company has attended various online fairs and sales events, such as the Cloud Canton Fair (the Canton Fair held online), the Cloud Live Sales Event held by the Economic and Commercial Bureau of Liandu District, Liandu District Fusion Media Center, and Liandu District Market Supervision Administration, and the 2020 Online Export Agricultural Products Fair held by the Zhejiang Export Agricultural Products Virtual Expo (Global Station). Farmmi also joined the government’s procurement cloud computing service platform The Company’s increased focus on strategically using online marketing tools and platforms is helping to drive sales with new customers and has resulted in multiple additional repeat orders in China, the U.S. and Israel, and other markets worldwide.
Ms. Yefang Zhang, Farmmi’s Chairwoman and CEO, commented, “With the onset of the global COVID-19 pandemic, we quickly prioritized the health and safety of our employees and customers. Temporary business shut-downs, social distancing and the implementation of broader safety measures made traditional marketing based on large gatherings no longer practical. From there we made the strategic decision to upgrade and accelerate our use of digital technology and platforms, and our online and cloud-based sales and marketing efforts. Farmmi has fully embraced and supported the move online for important events like the newly renamed Cloud Canton Fair and the 2020 Online Export Agricultural Products Fair. These sales and marketing platforms are helping us to move additional products online, find new markets, develop new business opportunities, and inject new momentum to further promote the digital transformation of enterprises.”
Ms. Zhang continued, “We are working to take advantage of online trading, broaden online cooperation channels and increase sales, as we leverage our online, cloud and digital programs to transfer sales channels online through limited promotions, while implementing group purchase discounts and other online marketing programs, ranging from webcasts to intuitive 3D product presentations. We view this as a major driver of future economic growth. We are encouraged by the positive, broad customer support for the new technologies and Cloud-based apps, which allow the customers to communicate and make purchases more efficiently and conveniently, while enhancing their overall buying experience. Over the long-term, we remain committed to maintaining an integrated online and offline presence, innovating our business model, and achieving our fully upgraded digital transformation, as we build value for the Company and shareholders.”
About Farmmi, Inc.
Headquartered in Lishui, Zhejiang, Farmmi, Inc. (NASDAQ: FAMI), is a leading agricultural products supplier, processor and retailer of Shiitake mushrooms, Mu Er mushrooms, other edible fungi, and many other sought-after agricultural products. The Company’s Farmmi Liangpin Market serves as a global trading platform for Chinese geographical indication agricultural products and is one of the largest platforms for consumers to access locally sourced agricultural products. For further information about the Company, please visit: http://ir.farmmi.com.cn/.
Forward-Looking Statements
This announcement contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the safe harbor provisions of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. All statements other than statements of historical fact in this announcement are forward-looking statements, including the potential impact of COVID-19 on our business within and outside of China. These forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks and uncertainties and are based on current expectations and projections about future events and financial trends that the Company believes may affect its financial condition, results of operations, business strategy and financial needs. Investors can identify these forward-looking statements by words or phrases such as “may,” “will,” “expect,” “anticipate,” “aim,” “estimate,” “intend,” “plan,” “believe,” “potential,” “continue,” “is/are likely to” or other similar expressions. The Company undertakes no obligation to update forward-looking statements to reflect subsequent occurring events or circumstances, or changes in its expectations, except as may be required by law. Although the Company believes that the expectations expressed in these forward-looking statements are reasonable, it cannot assure you that such expectations will turn out to be correct, and the Company cautions investors that actual results may differ materially from the anticipated results.
PIETERMARITZBURG, South Africa, July 6, 2020 — Drones, with specialty spraying technology, was deployed for a recent sugarcane ripening trail in South Africa, showing an evident increase in the amount of sugar extracted from these canes. This might signal a potential improvement in profit margin for the cane growers, who have been incurring loss from the country’s ailing sugar industry.
XAG P Series drone on the work of sugarcane ripening in South Africa
Primarily grown in tropical and subtropical regions, sugarcane is the type of perennial, high-value cash crop that serve as juicy fruit as well as the major feedstock for sugar production. South Africa ranks the world’s top 15 sugar producing countries that provide cost-effective, high-quality sugar products. However, due to a series of interweaving threats, mainly the influx of cheap imports and the imposition of sugar tax, South Africa’s$833 million sugar industry has been struggling to stay competitive in the global market. Crop-spraying drones, meanwhile, gently tap in and get prepared to give a new lease of life to this industry.
Drones outperform to reap recoverable value
This June, in Seafield Farm, located at the Midlands South region of KwaZulu-Natal, a new round of sugarcane harvest arrived. What made this harvest season special was that a commercial ripening trial was conducted for the first time to compare the efficacy of drone and helicopter. Ripening refers to the process of applying chemical ripener to enhance the content of sucrose in the sugarcane plants usually six to nine weeks before harvest. The ripening application has been widely adopted as a routine management that proves to effectively improve cane quality and sugar yield.
In this trial, different fields of the Seafield Farm were selected, each of which divided into two areas between 1 to 5 hectares assigned to different ripener applications. The drone used was XAG P20, which carried a custom spraying attachment and 12-litre smart liquid tank designed in a modular fashion. It followed the pre-set flight route, operated at a fixed height 2 to 3 metres above the crops, and sprayed accurately into the target fields. Results show that the traditional manned helicopter was considerably outperformed by XAG drone in both cane yield and quality of the harvested crops.
The areas ripened with drones had a small, yet significant 1% increase in recoverable value (RV), compared to those ripened with helicopter. In South Africa, RV is the accepted measure of the amount of sugar recovered from every ton of cane crushed in the mills.
“This means a lot to us. With higher sugar extracted from every tons of sugarcane, we get paid higher and my farms become more profitable,” said Kim Hein, the licensed operator of XAG drone as well as cane grower who has been testing the feasibility of drone spraying solution in sugarcane cultivation.
Under the RV Cane Payment System since 2000, the South African farmers are remunerated for their harvested sugarcane based on recoverable value. As RV% generally falls within 9% to 14%, the more than 1% increase is a relatively satisfactory progress for sugarcane growers to obtain a greater return on investment. This smallest breakthrough could mean a great deal to individual farmers facing an ailing sugar industry.
The recent two years have seen a considerable drop in the market price of RV, which means that farmers are payed less for the sugarcane of the same recoverable value. This is largely attributed to the flood of low-priced sugar import and the introduction of tax on sugar-sweetened drinks (or health promotion levy) that brings down the demand for local sugar.
Small-scale growers being the early adopters
Despite the market chaos of the sugar industry, South Africa has granted the legal take-off of agricultural drones last year which could innovatively transform the labour-intensive farming ecosystem. Kim Hein, the man behind the Seafield Farm ripening trial, has purchased agricultural drones from XAG to tend its self-owned 200ha sugarcane field as well as those of his farmer counterparts.
“Drone, imagery, and smart agriculture system can help us solve many environmental and labour problems,” Hein said. Drones with precision spraying ability can address the increasing pressure to use less chemical, while reducing labour usage to tackle the rising labour cost that is disproportionate to the quality of work done. As the advantages of drone technology start to shine through, there has been a growing acceptance of drone-based treatment by cane farmers, who has been dealing with difficulties to manage this specialty crop.
Sugarcane plants can reach 3 to 7 metres high, that ground equipment such as tractors are inapplicable. Manual option with knapsack sprayer can expose field workers directly to the chemicals. This leaves manned aerial approaches, such as helicopter and airplane, to be used for sugarcane ripening over the past 20 years.
According to Heim, helicopter spraying can treat large areas very quickly, but the downside of it was that most sugarcane fields are quite small in size. According to South Africa Sugar Association (SASA), small-scale farmers constitute 90% of the nation’s 22,949 registered sugarcane growers, predominantly located in two provinces namely Mpumalanga and KwaZulu-Natal. They form the backbone of the sugar industry value chain.
“We usually end up with problem with the helicopter company which offer a minimum spray of 50 hectares a day, but we only want to do 2 to 3 hectares a week. This does not allow any flexibility in the ripening process which means the outcome might fail,” explained by Hein. Large airplane and helicopter can only be subject to blanket spray, which means they work on huge areas at a time that does not match well with farmers’ harvesting schedule.
Instead, the drones that Hein uses are designed by XAG to facilitate precision application in agriculture. They can smoothly operate on various terrains, no matter steep slopes or irregular-shaped plots, which are common places where most South African sugarcane plants are grown. Owing to real-time kinematic (RTK) positioning and the special atomised nozzles, XAG drones can spray more precisely and evenly on target areas without affecting the neighbouring fields not yet ready for ripening. This help cut down the use of chemicals by 30% and converse agricultural water by 90%.
Get ready for the Sugar Master Plan
The introduction of precision drones into farming complements government’s determination to rejuvenate the sugar industry. The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition has announced the Sugar Masterplan this June that marks a major milestone in efforts to ensure the health and longevity of the industry.
The sugar industry makes important contributions to South Africa’s economic activities and rural employment. Its direct and indirect employment is estimated at 435,000 jobs, as well as representing over 11% of the total agricultural workforce. However, based on the SASA statistics, the annual sugar production has declined by 25% over the past 20 years, while the number of sugarcane farmers experienced a decline by 60% along with a reduction by 45% in sugar industry-related jobs.
The Sugar Masterplan aims to reverse this industry downtrend and protect tens of thousands of livelihoods in rural areas. As SA Cane Growers’ Association chairperson Rex Talmage introduced, the warmly welcomed plan includes the actions to enhance import protection, diversify sugar by-product production (i.e. biofuel) and support small-scale cane farmers, which would increase demand in the local market.
Amid the industry reconstruction, smart agriculture technology such as drones could play a new role in the upstream part of the sugar value chain. Through generating higher recoverable value, reducing labour costs, and minimising the use of chemicals, drones could help to guarantee sustainable supply of sugarcane and improve the profitability of small-scale growers.
When talking about his future plan, Kim Hein expressed positive attitudes towards the scale-up of smart agtech. “The number of tasks that can be done with drones have growing. We are now testing new applications to treat sugarcane crops at different stages in ways we could never image in the past.” In South Africa, sugarcane is harvested in an 18 to-24-month rotation, when agricultural drones can apply throughout the period from field mapping, fertilisation, controlling diseases, weeds, and pests, to ripening.
About XAG
Founded in 2007, XAG is a world-leading agriculture technology company with 13 years of technical experience in unmanned aerial system (UAS) and seven years of practical experience in innovative field applications. Up to 30 April 2020, XAG has over 51,000 agricultural drones in operation, having empowered 8 million farmers with precision crop protection services on 28 million hectares of farmland. With a global mission to advancing agriculture, XAG is devoted to building digital farming infrastructure, developing precision farming equipment, such as robots, drones, AI and IoT, and creating smart agriculture ecosystem.
SINGAPORE, June 25, 2020 — Singapore-based biotech company TurtleTree Labs today announced the completion of a fresh round of funding from global investors. TurtleTree Labs is the world’s first-cell based biotechnology company creating real milk from mammalian cells, without the need for animals. As a platform, the company’s focus is on high value human breast milk followed by cow milk.
TurtleTree Labs Founders Max Rye and Fengru Lin
Over the past year TurtleTree Labs has attracted world class talent, currently boasting a team of more than 20 full-time scientists and engineers. With multiple cross-functional teams working in parallel, co-founder and CEO Fengru Lin says, “Our team is hungry, passionate and knows what it takes to accelerate to market. I’m so inspired when even the most junior scientists are sharing ideas of cutting costs or identifying better suppliers.”
With support from the Singaporean government, the startup has been privy to an array of resources that provided TurtleTree Labs with a tremendous financial boost, enabling it to continue working during the COVID-19 pandemic. Co-founder Max Rye, originally from the San Francisco Bay area explains, “Our teams are firing on all cylinders thanks to Enterprise Singapore and the support from our investors. We remain as focused as ever, and we aim to continue hitting milestones.”
“TurtleTree Labs’ goal of creating milk from animal cells provides a novel solution towards sustainable dairy production globally, and would also help to strengthen Singapore’s long-term food diversification efforts. We are encouraged that Singapore’s foodtech infrastructure has enabled homegrown startups like TurtleTree Labs to push technological boundaries and obtain quick access to capital. We will continue our efforts to develop a vibrant agri-food tech ecosystem in Singapore to encourage the creation of more innovative solutions,” said Ms Bernice Tay, Director, Food Manufacturing Division, Enterprise Singapore.
Investors taking part in the TurtleTree Labs seed round are Green Monday Ventures, KBW Ventures, CPT Capital, Artesian, and New Luna Ventures.
“Food tech innovation in Asia is way overdue. If the rapidly deteriorating climate change situation isn’t enough to convince the world, the pandemic surely hammers home the urgency that we need to overhaul the food system for the sake of public health, food safety, and food security. That explains why Green Monday Ventures is so excited to invest in and collaborate with TurtleTree Labs. We see immense possibilities in their biotech innovation platform, as well as enormous impact we can drive together,” says David Yeung, founder, Green Monday Group
“KBW Ventures has invested in the seed round building on our initial commitment during TurtleTree’s pre-seed raise. We see the founding team commitment and the potential of this company and its technology as a winning combination. Now more than ever, people are waking up to the benefits of food technology and the massive positive implications of innovations in cellular agriculture,” said Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, Founder and Chief Executive Officer of KBW Ventures.
TurtleTree Labs raised its initial investment which was led by New York–Hong Kong based Lever VC in 2019, with investors from various geographies. “This fresh round of funding will enhance our scale up development, bringing us one step closer to commercialization,” said Max Rye.
TurtleTree Labs – TurtleTree Labs is the first biotech company in the world with the ability to create milk from all mammals. Using their proprietary cell-based methods, they will shape the future of not just how we get dairy milk but how humans will feed their infants. To maximise impact, the team will work with industry leaders to adopt their sustainable and safe methods to create milk. Their focus on impact will disrupt this multi-billion dollar industry while reducing the carbon footprint on this planet, while creating milk free of contaminants. Their innovation will provide millions access to safer, reliable and higher quality dairy products.
Green Monday Ventures – Green Monday Group has an overall mission to “Make Change Happen, Make Green Common” since its establishment in 2012. It is achieved by promoting plant-based eating and environmental protection through its multifaceted social venture model, in hopes of tackling climate change, global food in security and promoting public health. Green Monday Foundation, Green Monday Holdings and Green Monday Ventures are the three main branches of Green Monday Group. Green Monday Ventures is the impact investment arm aimed at accelerating the growth of mission-aligned entrepreneurs and startups globally.
KBW Ventures – KBW Ventures, founded by Chief Executive Officer HRH Prince Khaled bin Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud, invests in companies with transformative technologies and business models and the potential for significant financial returns while also delivering positive social impact. The KBW Ventures portfolio spans the venture capital spectrum from earlier stage ventures, to more established companies looking to expand into the Middle East.
CPT Capital – CPT Capital is the venture arm of a leading private family office. As a long-standing dedicated investor in the alternative protein space, CPT Capital has unmatched experience and expertise investing in companies disrupting the food system.
Artesian – Artesian is a full-stack VC firm investing from seed stage through to exit. The Artesian portfolio comprises over 400 investments across Australia, China, South East Asia, South Asia and the Americas.
New Luna Ventures – New Luna Ventures is a leading impact venture capital advisor and investor in the food 2.0, agriculture, energy, community enrichment, and enabling software industries. We help entrepreneurs build sustainable ventures and connect disruptive ideas with investors and partners. Together, we provide actionable plans, enhanced communications, and expanded access to markets.
