It’s a Small(holder) World
We often think about scaling adoption of regenerative agriculture and the technologies and tools that make agriculture sustainable. We think about growth. We think about big changes to a broken system.
This month, however, we are contemplating the power of small in agriculture. Specifically, how much of the world relies on smallholder farms for food and how these farms can help address malnutrition.
According to the book, The Role of Smallholder Farms in Food and Nutrition Security, published by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, more than 80% (475 million) of the world’s farms operate on less than two hectares of land. Small holder farms work just 12% of global farmland, yet these farms provide an estimated 80% of the food produced in Asia and in sub-Saharan Africa. They produce four-fifths of the food supply for the developing world and are key to improving nutrition in these regions.
Smallholder farms are also a critical piece of the transition of agriculture, even as they face increasing challenges from climate, market access, and financial risks.
The Nest Journal
Smallholder farms characterize the agriculture system of India, as we learn from Mark Kahn, co-founder of Omnivore, in this month’s Journal article. The interview includes examples of how Omnivore’s portfolio is addressing challenges for smallholders and a hopeful look at the opportunity for India to become one of the most sustainable agriculture systems globally.
Foundation
The newest episode in our Regenerative Aquaculture series is featured on Investing in Regenerative Agriculture and Food. The episode features Sowmya Balendiran, co-founder and chief business officer at Sea6 Energy. She explains the beginnings of the regenerative aquaculture industry and how we can restore the ocean seven as we use them more to reduce the pressure on land systems, reduce fossil-fuel based fertilizer and plastics, and produce food.
Portfolio News
Latest Omnivore News
Direct-to-consumer dairy brand Sid’s Farm has raised $10 million (about Rs 83 crore) in a funding round led by Omnivore and the family office of Ambuja Cements founder Narotam Sekhsaria.
Omnivore’s investment, Niqo Robotics, is featured in Your Story, with an article on Niqo’s robotic sprayer that uses AI for precision application. The technology reduces use of pesticides and increases profitability for smallholder farms.
Buoyant Ventures
Buoyant Ventures, a female-owned venture firm, released their impact report for 2023. Highlights for their portfolio includes
· 1.45 million metric tons of Co2e avoided
· 182k gallons of water usage avoided
· 30k metric tons of food produced
Buoyant’s climate fund investments include innovations for energy, food, and insurance solutions such as Raptor Maps, ReelData, and Flood Flash. View the report at this link (email requested).
ReelData
Aquaculture technology solution ReelData introduced their ReelVision camera in July. The solution solves for problems with existing cameras, providing reliable performance under the harshest of conditions and unmatched reliability and scalability.
Latest News from Ardo
Introducing Sabine Sagaert new Ardo CEO
Ardo Champions Regenerative Agriculture Through 'The carrot collective'
Monarch Tractor
Monarch Tractor shared their latest case studies, “MVP Dairy Cuts Costs & Boosts Efficiency through Electrification” and “MK-V Helps Freshman Vineyard Owner Find Success in First Year”.
Monarch Tractor also announced a strategic partnership to support more sustainable farming practices with Verizon as a network provider for Monarch’s autonomous tractors.
Other Posts and Updates
Growing Black Locust Fenceposts from Propagate.
Synthesis Capital published a new report, “What the Alternative Protein Industry Can Learn from EV Companies” in partnership with Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and The Good Food Institute(GFI).
Biotope by VIB launched its podcast, Harvesting Innovation. The first two episodes cover “Raising the Next Funding Round,” and “Finding the Right Mentors.”
Agricarbon’s CEO Annie Leeson shares her insights on the Savills Rural Insights Podcast about the transformative potential of soil carbon in mitigating climate change.
Opportunities
Sixty-five open positions with Astanor and their portfolio.
Walden Mutual is hiring for General Interest and Credit Analyst roles.
Edacious is hiring for Head of Food Science & Lab Technician roles.
Monarch Tractor has 15 job openings including Director of Product and Enterprise Sales roles.
Omnivore’s portfolio has 184 job openings across their investments.
Buoyant Ventures portfolio companies are hiring for nine positions.
Trace Genomics has roles open in Sales, Research, Agronomy, and Customer Success.
From the Farm
This month, we take a moment to highlight the rotational grazing practices at Domaine de Graux. Rotational grazing is one of the principles of agro-ecology in practice here to help the Domaine restore, protect, and fertilize soil, increase pasture health and provide more nutritious forage for the cattle. Grazing areas at the farm include the orchards and fields.
