Technology has changed how we communicate. Social media has connected people in a way that twenty years ago, no one could have predicted. It has given consumers more power. They are more informed and are demanding change in a range of industries – including agriculture.
This industry, which has been stuck in an old-school, industrial-age model, is now facing calls for substantive change from consumers who want a more sustainable, environmentally friendly and toxin-free process. This provides an exceptional business opportunity for companies like AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd.
People want to know where their food and other ingestibles – from plants and plant-based pharmaceuticals to nutraceuticals – come from and how they are grown. Health and safety and environment sustainability are key drivers in their purchasing decisions as well. Everyone wants toxin-free products, and no one likes that the products they buy must be decontaminated with irradiation in order to be consumed. Globally, consumers have become advocates – demanding a better approach to farming.
Commoditization, margin compression and high growing costs are also pressuring the agriculture sector. Traditional approaches to land management, resource use, and labour and transportation costs are no longer effective. The industry runs on an outdated model, focusing on large-scale factory farms with massive output. This approach is done without consideration to the environmental cost, the local community and the overall sector. That needs to change.
Cultivators and growers need to meet these evolving consumer demands. They also need to make a living, which means finding new and innovative ways to be profitable. Farmers are looking for increased yield per square foot (we all know that land identified for agricultural use is shrinking) and, in order to decrease environmental impact and operating costs, they want to use less energy and water. Automation helps in these areas. Doing this right is not easy – and it requires a full-blown culture change and technological revolution in this industry.
Governments, responding to an increasingly vocal electorate demanding change, have begun imposing more stringent constraints of water and power usage in every industry, including mass farming. The negative impact on the environment and the genetic manipulation of plants must become important to agricultural brands, yet it is unclear how they will be able to achieve this given how entrenched in an industrial model they are. The status quo in the agriculture industry must change. Now.
Globally, media coverage tells us that it’s hard to make a living as a farmer today – unless you are a multinational, multibillion-dollar corporation. This shows a substantial gap in the sector, given that people are increasingly concerned about the source, safety and environmental impact of how their food is grown – and for good reason. At this point, no one is winning. In fact, the local farmer is being driven out of business.
It is clear that the current methods of commercial farming aren’t working, and we are entering an agricultural revolution of sorts. The current way of doing business in this sector is not sustainable for the earth, farmers or communities. This is where AgriFORCE Growing Systems comes in.
AgriFORCE offers an exciting new path for the agriculture sector – one that is focused on:
- Allowing for amplified plant growth and higher crop yield;
- Substantially decreasing the impact of cultivation on the environment;
- Delivering a growing system that virtually blocks out all toxins, which means no pesticides and no need for irradiation;
- Mimics nature in a controlled environment; and
- Lowering operating costs.
AgriFORCE is set to leverage its proprietary growing systems and facilities; developing an environmentally friendly and clean form of growing high-value crops to EU GMP standards that can be utilized in almost any extreme weather environment. Our intellectual property focuses on four pillars that together create leading agricultural technology for pharmaceutical and agricultural crops.
The four pillars are:
Facility and Lighting Design
- Proprietary facility and lighting solutions developed specifically to help the plant thrive.
Automation and Artificial Intelligence
- Proprietary automated grow technology and integrated artificial intelligence; and
- Self-learning of input factors to create highest yielding, lowest impact cultivation.
Fertigation and Nutrients
- White label and proprietary organic blends/products tailored to use and conditions, focused on improved yields and reduced impact cultivation.
Micropropagation and Genetics
- Optimized clean and pure cellular cloning to ensure reduced impact cultivation.
We are set to revolutionize the agriculture industry by making evidence-based decisions with the goal of redefining the standards, which have been in place and unquestioned in the agricultural sector for decades. It’s time for change. It’s time for innovation. It’s time for AgriFORCE.
Our proprietary facility and growing system are designed to address the serious issues plaguing the agriculture industry, beginning with the hydroponic sector. Our business expertise provides the ability to implement our business strategy, which will redefine the agriculture industry; making it better for everyone involved, from the grower to the retailer to, most importantly, the consumer.
The agriculture industry needs a revolution out of the industrial age and into the digital age. AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd. is set to establish itself as the leader in this area.
By Ingo Mueller, CEO, AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd.