Google on Tuesday pumped $15 million into a farming-focused technology start-up, the latest in a surge of investment applying Internet innovations to growing food. The funding round led by Google's investment arm brings to nearly $28 million the total amount of money pumped into Farmers Business Network (FBN) by backers including powerhouse Silicon Valley venture capital firm Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers.
"Farmers are quintessential entrepreneurs; they are on their own and are mechanics, hackers, managers, animal specialists and more," FBN co-founder Charles Baron told AFP.
"Agriculture has always seen lots of innovation. What you are seeing more of now is venture-backed companies pushing into agriculture."
Silicon Valley-based FBN is part of a flourishing sector known as agricultural technology, or "AgTech' for short.
FBN is a platform that lets farmers pool and share data gathered from arrays of sensors and computers involved with tilling the soil.
Data is analysed by computers in the Internet cloud to extract insights on anything from which seeds grow best in which soil to optimising irrigation tactics or anticipating weather patterns, according to Baron.
"FBN connects the world's farmers together and allows them to share knowledge to farm better," Baron said.
TECH-POWERED HARVESTS
Modern farming has grown technologically advanced, with sensors and computing chips woven into operations and equipment, according to FBN. For example, tractors dispensing seed or fertilizer are typically self-guided using GPS mapping.
FBN helps farmers put such data to work in plans for handling fields, and to see for themselves which seeds or fertilisers meet their needs instead of relying on marketing pitches from sellers.
"We allow them to consult with each other about optimising products," Baron said. "Now, a single farmer has access to more information than they ever had."
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