What if plants could talk to farmers and tell them when they are in trouble? This would not only help plants, but also reduce the amount of agricultural waste that threatens the health of the planet.
Much of agriculture may seem green, but the industry is one of the world’s biggest carbon offenders. It accounts for at least 10% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to 2021 data from the Environmental Protection Agency. Agricultural waste adds to the problem.
Even with the use of pesticides, up to 40% of most food crops worldwide are lost to diseases and pests, according to a 2023 report from the National Institute of Food and Agriculture. agriculture. Today, companies like SatAgro, Climate FieldView and a California startup called InnerPlant are working to reduce agricultural waste.
Using genetic engineering, InnerPlant helps crops communicate with their farmers. The technology uses fluorescent lights that emit a signal into the leaves when a plant is in distress. This signal is detectable from devices that can be connected to satellites, drones or tractors.
“As the plant responds to stresses in your environment, like fungal insect pressure or nitrogen deficiency, it will start to emit a signal and we can then help farmers understand which areas of the field need something and which areas are good and don’t need additional chemicals,” said Shely Aronov, CEO of InnerPlant.
Thanks to this signal, farmers know what to treat, which means they do not waste money on chemicals, which are applied in excess by up to 30%, Aronov said.
“We want to eliminate all unnecessary applications of chemicals in our food system, in our soils, as well as additional costs that fall on farmers from which they do not benefit,” Aronov added.
This technology is highly scalable and could be licensed to major seed companies. InnerPlant reportedly generates royalty income, making it attractive to investors.
“If you can put this technology into every corn or soybean seed in North America and South America, that’s several hundred million acres, and you can think of a few dollars per acre from a revenue standpoint “All of a sudden, it’s generating a lot of revenue for this company,” said Tom Biegala, founding partner of Bison Ventures, an InnerPlant investor.
In addition to Bison Ventures, InnerPlant is backed by John Deere, MS&AD Ventures, UpWest VC and Bee Partners. Its total funding amounts to $22.3 million.
InnerPlant now works closely with small farmers and some of the largest agricultural producers in the country. Some have paid for early access to this technology, which will start with soybeans and then expand to other crops.
— CNBC producer Lisa Rizzolo contributed to this article.
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