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Agtech incubator Reservoir Farms continues to expand beyond California.

Former UK Defra secretary George Eustice has warned that food prices are set to rise as climate change causes more frequent crop failures and reduces global agricultural production, necessitating greater investment from farmers. He cautioned that closer regulatory alignment with the EU on sanitary and phytosanitary rules could undermine the UK’s ability to lead in agricultural innovation, particularly gene editing. Eustice also highlighted that slow EU approval processes are prompting agtech companies to seek faster commercial opportunities outside Europe. He urged the EU to grant member states more regulatory freedom over new agricultural technologies to address these challenges.

Antony Yousefian of The First Thirty argues that agtech start-ups should move beyond selling software and insights to directly delivering measurable outcomes for farmers, even if it means competing with established agribusinesses. He highlights a trend toward start-ups owning customer outcomes, shifting into roles such as agronomy and seed businesses, and capitalizing on market gaps created by industry consolidation. The firm’s investment strategy centers on “agri-health,” linking agriculture and food to preventative healthcare, with a focus on transparency from soil health to human wellbeing, enabled by advances in AI, sensors, and genomics. While capital remains a challenge, Yousefian sees growing opportunities for businesses that can profitably improve both agricultural and health outcomes.