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Investors flock to food and agriculture technology

A new report from AgFunder (an online venture capital middleman) presents evidence of a surge of private money going into food and farm technologies. In 2015, investors put $4.6 billion into the field, up from $2.3 billion in 2014.

The biggest chunk of that money went to food e-commerce. Startups are working on robots that weed fields, satellites that monitor plant health, and sensors that tell farmers what’s going on in their soil. Investors have also been interested in companies working on “biologicals” — which means using microbes to fine-tune soil ecology in order to eliminate destructive organisms or improve growth.

Biologicals, AgFunder notes, “do not suffer the same stigma as GMO or chemicals and can achieve organic certification.” There are also companies working on indoor farming, efficient irrigation, seed biotechnology, meat substitutes, and food safety.

Read more at Grist
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