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Agritech: How can we adopt automated solutions?
There have been some truly pioneering advances within agritech over the last ten years, through the development and integration of sensors, digitisation, and artificial intelligence. These advances also bring challenges to overcome, including how different technologies and data can be integrated across the production system. As part of the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit I recently…
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World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit 2021 – State of the industry
I recently attended the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit 2021, where Thomas J Vilsak, U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, gave the opening remarks. He stated that the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s origins were rooted in science, and he sees that as the path forward for this sector. The Department of Agriculture was formed in 1862 when Abraham Lincoln…
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FinTech Alliance: The Investment Landscape Post-Covid
Following the pandemic, digitisation has accelerated rapidly, and industries have seen changes in just a few months that might otherwise have taken years. The FinTech sector is no different, and the FinTech Alliance held an insightful panel this month on ‘The Investment Landscape Post-Covid’. The panel discussed the areas of focus within FinTech, including the…
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The Economics of Cultured Meats
Jim Mellon, experienced food-tech investor and entrepreneur, has made the prediction that cultured meat will eventually be more affordable than both factory farmed and plant-based meats. This could become a reality within the next five years, according to Mellon. As an investor in the food-tech industry myself, a statement like this is incredibly interesting. Cultured…
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The Covid-19 Pandemic, Consumer Habits, and Plant-Based Meats
I recently attended a fascinating talk from Fiona Lavelle (Queen’s University Belfast) titled “From the pandemic to the pan: A cross-continental overview of changes in consumers cooking and food practices during COVID-19”. She spoke about her research which gives a cross continental overview of changes in consumers cooking and food practices during covid-19. Pre pandemic…
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Women Entrepreneurs in AgriTech
There’s no question that technology is revolutionising farming. Agriculture is now infinitely smarter thanks to the many ‘Agripreneurs’ whose companies offer sensors, robotics, 3D printing, cloud-based computing, and artificial intelligence. Drones and connected machines are more affordable, giving rise to smart devices for farming suppliers and service providers, allowing the exchange of vast amounts of…
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The Impact of the Pandemic on Art and Culture
The year 2020 has been a time of crisis and innovation for all business areas, especially for the art world. As the virus spread across the globe, cultural institutions were forced to close. The Metropolitan Museum of Art closed on March 13th, ten days before New York went into lockdown. By the time Britain imposed…
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Catalysing Finance for Young Food Entrepreneurs: Independent Dialogue
As part of the United Nations Food Summit 2021, Bettina Marta Prato, Senior Coordinator of SAFIN, chaired a discussion on how to catalyse finance for young food entrepreneurs. SAFIN, the Smallholder and Agri-SME Finance and Investment Network, is comprised of 48 institutions across agricultural finance, who share a commitment to accelerating access to finance for…
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Innovation and Global Food Systems — UN Food Systems Summit
I recently attended the UN Food Systems Summit ‘Lever of Change Innovation Public Forum’. The forum asked key experts how innovation could be strengthened to improve global food systems, both in the face of the growing climate crisis and in the response to the fragilities of our food systems as emphasised by the Covid-19 pandemic.…
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Nicole Junkermann and Real Madrid: the Future of Broadcasting Services in Sport
The rise of technology has transformed the way we are consuming all forms of media, and the sports industry is no exception. A report from Drake Star Partners forecast that the global sports technology sector will reach $31.1billion by 2024. However, in these unprecedented times, the restrictive lockdown measures in place across the world have…