Higher temperatures caused by climate change have reduced agricultural output by 20% in 60 years. Heat stress currently threatens 30% of global production and this figure is expected to increase by 70% in 2045 (~$2.8 Trillion value). When farmers lose income due to heat-related stress and other vulnerabilities (pathogens, pests, wilt, sunburn) they use more biocides, fertilizers, and water to try and restore yields. To effectively break this counterproductive cycle, we need to address heat stress, not just its symptoms.

Light is at the basis of the problem and also the key to the solution — light is essential for plant photosynthesis but it also transfers heat and harmful UV radiation. Nanoweave's technology transforms light in ways that protect crops from heat stress and helps farms adapt to global warming and enhance their productivity. Lilliput Shield costs $25/ha/yr, achieves Yield Increase > %30 and represents a return on $ Invested: ~ 35x-71x. It works by protecting crops from excessive radiation, andf increasing water-use efficiency. The technology can be applied to a variety of crops is easy to apply, water soluble and has a long shelf-life.

As a growing global middle-class demands more meat, existing livestock feed supply chains are struggling to keep up. Insects, 150x more space efficient than soy, are a great replacement. Insect farms are growing at 100% CAGR but all rely on the use of “wild type” insect strains.

Beta Bugs evolve better insects, using their world-first protocol for insect evolution to breed black soldier flies which are rich in Omega 3 for the aquaculture feed market. They have also designed modular, scalable breeding units that are 100x more space efficient than the trait development technology used in academia.

Despite advancements in precision agriculture, we are in the midst of a global decline in crop yields. The root cause is a lack of soil health data availability for farmers to make effective soil management decisions: from which fertiliser to use to whether they ought to employ “no till” strategies.

PES Technologies have developed an ultra-portable device capable of measuring microbial activity in soil. In contrast to sequencing, PES’s technology identifies what bacteria are doing, rather than which bacteria are present, by assessing emissions of volatile organic compounds, finally allowing farmers to gain a clear understanding of their soil health.

Trees are highly reliant on symbiosis with local mycorrhizal fungi strains. Reforesting clear-felled or ex-agricultural sites is challenging, with slower growth rates, higher tree mortality and lost potential for carbon sequestration.

Rhizocore Technologies produces locally-adapted mycorrhizal fungi to enhance tree planting success. By working with native fungi, we offer a sustainable solution to accelerate woodland regeneration, improve forest productivity, and increase natural capital benefits.

Marine fish and shrimps require proteins to grow. However, natural sources like forage fish and zooplankton are limited and fully exploited. 90% of marine protein supply is already overexploited, while the performance of plant based marine aquaculture is not providing enough protein for optimal marine fish and shrimp performance.

Aquanzo is pioneering the first scalable Zooplankton farming system. The process uses aquaculture recirculating systems and agricultural byproducts to produce zooplankton biomass and process it to a high-quality protein-rich powder to sell to marine aquafeed manufacturers. This will allow the aquaculture industry to access the first ocean-independent sustainable marine ingredient.