20 Oct 2023 --- Innovation from young entrepreneurs trying to tackle the big issues in agri-food transformation was highlighted earlier this week as part of the FAO’s World Food Forum. Start-up ventures from India, Nigeria, the US and the UK were commended for harnessing the power of technology to drive an eco-friendly shift toward sustainable agri-food systems.

Food Ingredients First looks into some of the ventures taking part in the Startup Innovation Awards and how their innovations are poised to take on challenges like developing alternative proteins to feed the world’s growing population, boosting food and agriculture supply chains and reducing food-related GHG emissions which damage the planet. Zebra CropBank, Sustainable Planet, Organicin Scientific and Stellapps were among the early-stage companies awarded for their innovations.

Electronic warehouses uplift farmers
One of the winners is Nigerian start-up Zebra CropBank, which has developed a tech-enabled post-harvest service platform that farmers can use to turn their crops into tradable commodities. By leveraging real-time or future market value of their products and a network of electronic warehouses, the company gives farmers a way to grow financially, especially in remote areas of Africa.

The technology lets them decide the time, volume and selling price of their produce by using the banking platform.

We spoke to the start-up about the main issues impacting farmers in Africa. 

“African smallholder farmers tend to be remote and, as a result, disconnected. In most of the rural farm areas, there is a significant gap for last-mile post-harvest management infrastructure. The resulting effect is that Africa farmers lose over 1.3 billion tons of produce a year to post-harvest spoilage. Add climate change to this scenario and the problems multiply because the food spoilage process is often expedited,” Zebra CropBank CEO Buffy Okeke-Ojiudu explains.

“The result of this is that farmers are then forced to sell what they can quickly at huge discounts or risk having their produce rot away. Keeping them trapped in a poverty cycle.”

Zebra CropBanks accessible micro warehouses put all the power firmly in the hands of the farmer, by allowing them to store their produce directly at the farm gate immediately after harvest. once stored, the farmers are given Electronic Warehouse Receipts against their stored produce and their produce is instantly digitized. 

“Farmers are then able to either sell instantly to a global pool of buyers or sell at a later date when the price is higher. They are also able to access credit hedged on their stored produce,” Okeke-Ojiudu continues.

“Food processing companies can then tap into this pool of stored produce. This process also helps local FMCG companies shore up their raw material supply, since quality and consistency of supply are usually a challenge.”

Going beyond soybean
Another winner is the London-based and female co-founded company, Sustainable Planet. The company’s green initiative is focused on growing water lentils, which are 45% protein, to help meet the global food and protein supply. 

This high protein produce will give opportunities to African and Middle Eastern regions to secure nutritious food grown on non-arable land.

Susan Payne, COO of Sustainable Planet, flags that meat remains the first choice of protein source, for which livestock needs feed, which is usually over 80% soybean.

“There is insufficient arable land globally to grow this higher level demand of soybeans without further destruction of rainforests. The result is that we will hit a global protein shortage,” she tells Food Ingredients First.

"We have seen a positive reaction to our protein bars, protein pasta and supplement powder and expect to make these publicly available in the coming months."

Sven Kaufmann, CEO of Sustainable Planet,  underscores that the water usage and sustainable footprint of the plant is 15 times better than soybeans. Moreover, it doubles in biomass daily.

“They can be sold as an organic, nutritious meat alternative, protein pasta or protein date bars. A second-grade date bar can be used by humanitarian organizations to address malnutrition in underdeveloped countries."

The start-ups patented protein isolate, an “odorless, colorless and tasteless powder” can be sold in the food industry to companies like Nestlé and Unilever.  "The demand for this type of protein is massive and growing," he adds.

Nature-friendly farming
US-based Organicin Scientific was another awardee that works to minimize reliance on chemical antibiotics in farming by developing bacteriocins, which are naturally occurring antimicrobial proteins, as a sustainable alternative.

“When antibiotics are applied in farming to combat diseases, they not only target harmful bacteria but also disrupt the crop’s microbiome. This microbiome is crucial for supporting health, functionality, and overall well-being of the crop, as well as the surrounding environment,” Mathew Mitchell, co-founder of Organicin Scientific, tells us. 

“What we urgently require are highly targeted antimicrobials, preferably those that dont accumulate in the environment and cause collateral damage.”

He adds that Organicin’s bacteriocins can outperform antibiotics “without fostering resistance or harming microbiomes” and claims that they have potential to enhance the crop’s and human’s well-being.

“As these proteins are produced via fermentation, the scalability conundrum most feed ingredients deal with has not been an issue for us and bodes well for bacteriocin usage across the board,” he continues.

The start-up’s innovation has garnered positive response from the industry, especially the shrimp aquaculture market.

“The market has recognized the value bacteriocins bring, notably in terms of enhancing survival rates and zootechnical performance. Our shrimp feed additive product, in particular, has garnered appreciation for the thermostability of the protein, allowing for seamless incorporation into heat-extruded feed.”

“As the US and EU have introduced stricter antibiotic residue testing, farmers are moving away from antibiotic treatments, making them more receptive to innovative solutions that can protect their crops without compromising their values,” he concludes.

Digitizing dairy
Indian start-up Stellapps was also awarded for its efforts in enhancing milk productivity, quality and traceability by employing data acquisition and machine learning. Its IoT-based technology aids cattle monitoring, milk procurement and cold chain management. 

The start-up operates with rural farmers, livestock and milk in India to help increase farmers’ profits and reduce carbon footprint along the supply chain.

Stellapps works with more than 3.1 million farmers in India, out of which 68% are women. Its innovations have driven increments in farmers’ income across the region. It also claims to be the only agritech company in India that has been granted a patent for its innovation “Herd Management System.”

Young people with “transforming ideas” 
Other finalists included CropScan (Kenya), GK AQUA (Malaysia), Koolboks (France) and WeavAir (Poland).

“These start-up ventures epitomize the capabilities and leadership of young people transforming ideas into tangible solutions around the world. Harnessing technology, they have come up with sustainable innovations to tackle a priority aspect of agri-food systems which encompass the journey of food from farm to table and beyond,” says the FAO. 

“This World Food Forum annual awards event incentivizes young minds to present out-of-the-box solutions to help solve today’s issues. It connects innovators with influential industry leaders and experts who can help further bring their vision to life.”