AGrowth Demo Day showcases innovations to transform future of Thai agriculture

          The National Innovation Agency (NIA) and Nest Group (Thailand) Co., Ltd. showcased proof-of-concepts (PoCs) from entrepreneurs of the first global AgTech programme ever to be held in Thailand to Thai and international investors, government officials, and corporate decision-makers at its reason "Demo Day" event.
The accelerator programme "AGrowth", supported by corporate partners, Siam Kubota Corporation and the Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC) under Magnolia Quality Development Corporation Ltd. (MQDC), officially launched on October 1st this year to provide a platform for 10 selected startups from Australia, India, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Nigeria, USA and Thailand - from a total of 240 applications - to further develop their innovative technologies in relation to plant technology, precision agriculture, automation, machine sharing, drones, indoor farming and farm management to help address the challenges that is facing the traditional farming practices in Thailand.
          "Agriculture is regarded as the backbone of Thailand's economic and social development. One out of three of our country's workforce is in the agricultural sector, reflecting 25 million people out of Thailand's total population. However, the efficiency in agricultural production is below those of other countries, and one of the reasons is because there is a lack of innovation and technology application in this sector. Therefore, in order to further stimulate and develop the Thai agricultural sector to become competitive and sustainable, these new technologies will become important tools to herald a new era for Thai agriculture. Coinciding with the government's BCG model, these participating startups will act as new economic warriors who have created innovative initiatives to better equip our farmers to cope with the future world of agriculture as well as enabling them to become global players on the world stage", remarked Dr. Krithpaka Boonfueng, Deputy Executive Director (Innovation Systems) of the National Innovation Agency (NIA).
          With regards to supporting the Government's agricultural policies, Mr. John Crane, Managing Partner of Nest Thailand, commented, "Nest is proud to be able to play a pivotal role in driving innovation and technology into the country's agriculture industry with the NIA. Having a global network spanning startup ecosystems in over 40 countries, we are fortunate to be able to access and engage with the world's best and most sophisticated startups; and were able to source an excellent group of 10 startups for this pioneering first global AgTech program in Thailand. And, needless to say, without the unwavering support from Siam Kubota Corporation and MQDC/RISC, our corporate partners, this programme could not have met with the success it enjoys today".
          During the past 12 weeks, Siam Kubota has been working with 6 of the selected startups namely, Poladrone from Malaysia, Hello Tractor from Nigeria, Cropin from India, Agrisource Data from USA and GetzTrac and Evergrow both from Thailand to help them fine-tune and localise their technologies to better assist farmers and resolve the key challenges that they presently face.
          "Working with such a multi-national varied group of young startup companies seemed to be daunting initially, but we were quickly impressed by how each showed their adamant wish to help Thai farmers to improve their yield, productivity and income. For instance, GetzTrac's farm equipment and machinery discount packages for combining harvesting and hay baling services has resulted in a modest estimation of 300 job conversion from a traditional booking system annually. With an average wait of 4 days for service, famers can save 1,200 days per year. Also, their service helps reduce production loss by 10%, which is estimated to be a cost-saving of THB 1.7 million and this is just for rice alone," said Mr. Somsak Mauthorn, Senior Vice President of Siam Kubota Corporation.
          Meanwhile, RISC has been mentoring and working closely with the urban farming-centric startups namely, FoodCube from Australia, Plant Cartridge from Malaysia, Farmacy from Hong Kong and Fresh Produce Kings from Thailand.
          Dr. Singh Intrachooto, Chief Advisor of MQDC's Research & Innovation for Sustainability Center (RISC), said, "As MQDC is committed to developing eco-friendly and sustainable real estate developments in Thailand, we are continually seeking ways to fulfill our vision, and focusing on urban farming will play a significant role in achieving this promise. It has been a truly worthwhile and inspiring experience to have been involved in this AGrowth programme with NIA, Nest and Siam Kubota Corporation and working alongside these young entrepreneurs, and needless to say, an effective short-cut and cost saving for our own R&D efforts".
          It is evident that the increasing impact of climate change has affected crop cycle production. RISC, therefore, is promoting urban farming as another source of food for people living in cities and surrounding areas. RISC has also given an opportunity for Plant Cartridge to not only set up a small farm in Aspen Tree, a MQDC residential project for seniors, to offer elderly residents an activity to take care of plants, while having daily access to fresh vegetables, but also to tenants of MQDC's other luxury residential projects as an added value. The result of growing plants with Plant Cartridge has resulted in 200 times less media used, 20% savings on preparation time, 30% faster growing rate, and a staggering 90% saving on water and nutrients. Furthermore, the cartridges used are 100% biodegradable and environmentally-friendly.
          The AGrowth programme has, thus, provided a milestone step to transforming the Thai agriculture industry to help ease poverty amongst farmers as well as offering a unique platform for international AgTech startups to access the Thai ecosystem. Furthermore, this programme will help stimulate more new gen and varied AgTech startups in Thailand.