7 TRENDS THAT PROPEL INNOVATIVE AGRICULTURE AND PROMOTE THE EXPONENTIAL GROWTH OF AGTECH IN THE FUTURE

Teaming up with 4 top-notch universities, NIA will brainstorm with agricultural gurus to study and observe 7 Thai agricultural trends arising from from-farm-to-consumer production chain. The aim is to build new career opportunities and further traditional wisdom with deep tech and innovation. Thai startups will spearhead the change, taking traditional agriculture to a whole new level- innovative agriculture. Unicorn startup companies from other countries will be studied and serve as guidelines while NIA will support successful AgTech startups in Thailand, which will be the models that bring about the rapid growth of Thai agriculture.   

NIA’s (Public Organisation) Agro Business Creative Center, or ABC Center, join forces with Suranaree University of Technology, Maejo University, Kasetsart University and Chulalongkorn University as well as experts and networks in agricultural industry provide “7 Upcoming Innovative Agriculture trends suitable for Thailand”. These trends encompass the entire production chain from farms to consumers.

The objective in compiling these trends is to suggest ideas about how to build new careers in agriculture, how to practice agriculture by further expanding traditional wisdom with the use of technology and innovation. It also aims to provide guidelines for conducting researches and set policy for innovative agriculture in the next phase.  This will be greatly beneficial to those who want to enter into agricultural industry and take Thai agriculture to the next level by building AgTech startups. Armed with deep tech, these startups will bring about change and new business models, resulting in exponential growth.

7 Innovative agriculture trends that should be adopted in Thailand are

1.  Agricultural Biotechnology. The concept is to apply and use biodiversity to create new businesses and solutions for safe food, production efficiency and cost reduction. Indigo, the successful Unicorn agriculture startup from the U.S develops products that utilize microbes in soil to improve drought resistance in plants. This results in effective cost reduction as well as fertilizers and herbicides reduction
2. Digital Agriculture will enormously help support farming. Digital technology like sensors, AI and BlockChain will be put into practice. Blue River, the thriving American startup, has used AI to differentiate weeds in agricultural plots so that weeds can be effectively killed. Another example is FarmAI mobile app, developed by ListenField, the Agtech startup. This app can help farmers to access weather and risk information, providing actionable data and predictive analysis so farmers can reduce risks and maximize their yield.
3. Modern farming practices will make your investment worthwhile and profitable. Take a look at Wangree Fresh Plant Factory. The company is now building a plant factory called Siam Punsook Plant Factory in Lopburi which has production capacity at around 18 tons per month and will be in full operation at the end of this year.  Moreover some innovations will be put into practice to produce key active ingredients found in herbs and marijuana on which many universities are now conducting researches. Urban farming will also be promoted. In Singapore, the government implements the policy to promote rooftop farm (meaning the rooftops of buildings and car parks will be utilized to grow vegetables and other food crops.) Or take a look at YNsect. This French insect farming startup has a large 24- hour automated system for growing edible insects in indoor environment, with the production capacity of 20,000-25,000 tons per year.
4. Agricultural machinery and robots altogether with automated systems will encourage people to start farming and help reduce labor costs. For instance, ARUGGA, an Israeli AgTech startup, successfully introduces the first autonomous ground robot and its pollination technology replicating bubble bees’ buzz pollination to be used in greenhouse. The AI will recognize flowers that are ready for pollination and the pollination robot will work when temperature and humidity reach appropriate levels. In Thailand, the startup like “TEVADA Corp” effectively uses drone when it comes to rice cultivation, resulting in a twofold increase in rice production.
5. Agricultural business services.  It’s necessary to develop platforms for e-commerce and automated logistics systems in order to meet the needs of consumers and to provide express delivery for food and agricultural goods. For instance Chinese startups like “MissFresh” and “Yigau” successfully raise over $1000 million. In Thailand, agricultural business services are developed in several ways. For example the platform like Talad App serves as a market place where we can buy and sell agricultural products and gain access to farm workers and mechanics.
6. Postharvest handling and transportations. Thai agricultural products are easily prone to decay and hard to store. In order to solve this problem, we need to apply new technology and innovation. The American startup called “PurFresh” uses the active form of oxygen, or Ozone, to enhance the atmosphere inside the container. With the use of active atmosphere technology, we will be able to ship berries via boat transportation instead of air transportation. While Thai startup like EDEN AgriTech starts to use coating substances to extend the post-harvest life of agricultural products.
7. Biorefinery business and agriproduct processing with the use of biotechnology. This mean we will use biological systems, living microorganisms, bacteria, yeasts, enzymes to produce value-added biotechnology products. MycoWorks, an American startup, crafts a new class of fine leather from natural mycelium and agricultural waste. The Reishi leather will be a great substitute for genuine leather made from animal skin and an interesting alternative to plastics. Thai startup like “BioDiversity” uses essential oils from Musketeer insects, which are rich in omega and Lauric acid, in cosmetics and produce animal food rich in protein from their leftovers.