Given our interest in agriculture, it is great to hear about governmental, institutional, and private efforts towards efficient and sustainable food production. Below are a few articles that detail this progress, with a focus on Africa.
Denmark to invest in African agriculture by Christian Wenande on The Copenhagen Post
Denmark’s trade and development minister recently announced earlier that the department is launching an agriculture investment fund targeting developing nations. The fund will be dedicated to making investments in the farming sector and will focus on Africa in particular. The DKK40 million fund ($7.3 million) will contribute to the higher goal of total Danish investment in African crops reaching DKK900 million ($164.6 million).
Africa To Attract $880bn Agric Investment by Ugochukwu Onyeocha on Daily Times NG
In a report by the Agriculture and Agro-industry and Development research departments, the African Development Bank projects that Africa could attract $880 billion of investment in agriculture by 2030. Accounting for 60% of the uncultivated arable land in the world, Africa has the potential to more than triple the value of its annual agricultural output, currently $280 billion. Continued innovation and investment in precision agriculture products and services will be crucial in order to meet this lofty goal.
Africa: China Contributes to African Green Revolution by Kizito Sikuka on AllAfrica
During a visit to Africa earlier this month, Chinese Premier Li Keqiang announced that agriculture would be a priority area for development moving forward, outlining plans to train 2,000 agricultural technicians and management personnel in Africa in the next five years. Under the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation (FOCAC), China has worked with Africa to increase agricultural productivity and improve food security. Agricultural demonstration centers have been set up, and over 3,000 students and farmers have been trained in the past two years alone. Initiatives like this will be essential to developing Africa’s agricultural sector and keeping pace with the growing population, expected to reach two billion people by 2050.
Venture capital fund being organized to invest in agtech by Mark Anderson on Sacramento Business Journal
We’re excited about John Selep’s AgTech Innovation Fund in Davis, California, which is designed to invest in early-stage agriculture companies in the region. The $50 million fund will focus on making seed round investments between $250,000 and $500,000 in select companies, and will potentially make further investments in the future for those companies that are successful. Managed by two former corporate technology executives, the fund will work closely with the people and research programs such as the Sustainable Ag Tech Innovation Center at the University of California Davis.
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