Vertical Farming Startup Oishii Raises $50m In Series A Funding

By Sian Yates

03/11/2021

Oishii, a vertical farming startup based in New Jersey, has raised $50 million during a Series A funding round led by Sparx Group’s Mirai Creation Fund II.

The funds will enable Oishii to open vertical strawberry farms in new markets, expand its flagship farm outside of Manhattan, and accelerate its investment in R&D.

“Our mission is to change the way we grow food. We set out to deliver exceptionally delicious and sustainable produce,” said Oishii CEO Hiroki Koga. “We started with the strawberry – a fruit that routinely tops the dirty dozen of most pesticide-riddled crops – as it has long been considered the ‘holy grail’ of vertical farming.”

“We aim to be the largest strawberry producer in the world, and this capital allows us to bring the best-tasting, healthiest berry to everyone. From there, we’ll quickly expand into new fruits and produce,” he added.

Oishii is already known for its innovative farming techniques that have enabled the company to “perfect the strawberry,” while its proprietary and first-of-its-kind pollination method is conducted naturally with bees.

The company’s vertical farms feature zero pesticides and produce ripe fruit all year round, using less water and land than traditional agricultural methods.

“Oishii is the farm of the future,” said Sparx Group president and Group CEO Shuhei Abe. “The cultivation and pollination techniques the company has developed set them well apart from the industry, positioning Oishii to quickly revolutionise agriculture as we know it.”

The company has raised a total of $55 million since its founding in 2016.

Study On Analytic Tools To Measure Future Plants Stress

New work from the Singapore-MIT Alliance for Research and Technology (SMART), MIT’s research enterprise in Singapore, and Temasek Life Sciences Laboratory (TLL) highlights the potential of recently developed analytical tools that can provide tissue-cell or organelle-specific information on living plants in real-time and can be used on any plant species.

In a perspective paper titled “Species-independent analytical tools for next-generation agriculture” published in the journal Nature Plants, researchers from the Disruptive and Sustainable Technologies for Agricultural Precision (DiSTAP) Interdisciplinary Research Group (IRG) within SMART review the development of two next-generation tools, engineered plant nanosensors and portable Raman spectroscopy, to detect biotic and abiotic stress, monitor plant hormonal signalling, and characterize soil, phytobiome, and crop health in a non- or minimally invasive manner. The researchers discuss how the tools bridge the gap between model plants in the laboratory and field application for agriculturally relevant plants. The paper also assesses the future outlook, economic potential, and implementation strategies for the integration of these technologies in future farming practices.

Crop loss
An estimated 11-30 per cent yield loss of five major crops of global importance (wheat, rice, maize, potato, and soybean) is caused by crop pathogens and insects, with the highest crop losses observed in regions already suffering from food insecurity. Against this backdrop, research into innovative technologies and tools is required for sustainable agricultural practices to meet the rising demand for food and food security — an issue that has drawn the attention of governments worldwide due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Sensors
Plant nanosensors, developed at SMART DiSTAP, are nanoscale sensors, smaller than the width of a hair, that can be inserted into the tissues and cells of plants to understand complex signalling pathways. Portable Raman spectroscopy, also developed at SMART DiSTAP, encompases a laser-based device that measures molecular vibrations induced by laser excitation, providing highly specific Raman spectral signatures that provide a fingerprint of a plant’s health. These tools are able to monitor stress signals in short time-scales, ranging from seconds to minutes, which allows for early detection of stress signals in real-time.

“The use of plant nanosensors and Raman spectroscopy has the potential to advance our understanding of crop health, behavior, and dynamics in agricultural settings,” says Tedrick Thomas Salim Lew SM '18, PhD '20, the paper’s first author. “Plants are highly complex machines within a dynamic ecosystem, and a fundamental study of its internal workings and diverse microbial communities of its ecosystem is important to uncover meaningful information that will be helpful to farmers and enable sustainable farming practices. These next-generation tools can help answer a key challenge in plant biology, which is to bridge the knowledge gap between our understanding of model laboratory-grown plants and agriculturally-relevant crops cultivated in fields or production facilities.”

Early detection
Early plant stress detection is key to timely intervention and increasing the effectiveness of management decisions for specific types of stress conditions in plants. Tools capable of studying plant health and reporting stress events in real-time will benefit both plant biologists and farmers. Data obtained from these tools can be translated into useful information for farmers to make management decisions in real-time to prevent yield loss and reduced crop quality.

The species-independent tools also offer new plant science study opportunities for researchers. In contrast to conventional genetic engineering techniques that are only applicable to model plants in laboratory settings, the new tools apply to any plant species, which enables the study of agriculturally relevant crops previously understudied. Adopting these tools can enhance researchers’ basic understanding of plant science and potentially bridge the gap between model and non-model plants.

Technologies in agriculture
“The SMART DiSTAP interdisciplinary team facilitated the work for this paper and we have both experts in engineering new agriculture technologies and potential end-users of these technologies involved in the evaluation process,” says Professor Michael Strano, the paper’s co-corresponding author, DiSTAP co-lead principal investigator, and the Carbon P. Dubbs Professor of Chemical Engineering at MIT. “It has been the dream of an urban farmer to continually, at all times, engineer optimal growth conditions for plants with precise inputs and tightly controlled variables. These tools open the possibility of real-time feedback control schemes that will accelerate and improve plant growth, yield, nutrition, and culinary properties by providing optimal growth conditions for plants in the future of urban farming.”

“To facilitate widespread adoption of these technologies in agriculture, we have to validate their economic potential and reliability, ensuring that they remain cost-efficient and more effective than existing approaches,” the paper’s co-corresponding author, DiSTAP co-lead principal investigator, and deputy chair of TLL Professor Chua Nam Hai explains. “Plant nanosensors and Raman spectroscopy would allow farmers to adjust fertilizer and water usage, based on internal responses within the plant, to optimize growth, driving cost efficiencies in resource utilization. Optimal harvesting conditions may also translate into higher revenue from increased product quality that customers are willing to pay a premium for.”

Collaboration among engineers, plant biologists, and data scientists, and further testing of new tools under field conditions with critical evaluations of their technical robustness and economic potential will be important in ensuring sustainable implementation of technologies in tomorrow’s agriculture.

For more information:
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
www.mit.edu 

VIDEO: Potato Seeds Made Without Soil With Little Help From Peru

Parveen Arora

Potato Technology Centre, (PTC) Shamgarh, in the district in collaboration with Central Potato Research Institute (CPRI) in Shimla and International Potato Centre (CIP), Peru, has started producing potato seeds in the air with the help of aeroponic technique.

Scientists show a potato breed at Potato Technology Centre at Shamgarh village in Karnal district. Sayeed Ahmed

In this technique, there is no need for soil and other growing media like coco-peat for production. The scientists say that in aeroponics technique, potato seeds are grown in mist environment. They claim potato seeds grown through this technology are free from soil-borne diseases.

“We have started the process of growing minituber (potato seed) plants with the help of aeroponic technique. It is the latest technique for growing plants and potato seed production in an air or mist environment. There is no need for soil and this technology is free from soil-borne diseases,” said Dr Prem Chand Sindhu, Deputy Director, PTC, Shamgarh.

He maintained that they have established three units which have the capacity to grow 10 lakh minitubers in one crop cycle which is for three months. The scientists claimed that the production of seeds through this technique is much higher than conventional methods.

Dr Manish Sainger, the senior consultant at PTC, said that on an average, 30 minitubers and maximum 50-60 minitubers can be obtained from each plant. He said that through this technique, 7-10 times more minitubers can be obtained in comparison to conventional methods like net-house or open field.

About the technology, Dr Sainger said they planted tissue culture plants in the grow chambers which have pipes and nozzles for mist spray on the roots of the plant. “The roots of the plant hang in the air in the chamber and all the nutrients are provided through the mist, which consists of all the required elements for plant growth and tuberisation, periodically. The upper part of plant remains at the top of the chamber,” he added. He said that the size of minitubers is uniform at 3-4 gm.

Dr Sainger said it is easy to transport minitubers at minimal cost. “These seeds will be given to growers at subsidised rates by the Department of Horticulture. Later, seed growers will cultivate these seeds in the soil for the multiplication of seeds.”

"We Have Barely Scratched The Surface In The MENA AgTech Sector"

"Badia Farms is the first commercial vertical farm to launch in the GCC. We officially started operations in the heart of Dubai in 2016, but the seeds were planted further back. My background is in engineering and banking. I first took the entrepreneurial leap in Saudi Arabia in the hospitality sector by opening multiple unique restaurant concepts." That's how Omar Al Jundi, Founder & CEO of Badia Farms, introduces himself.

Mesmerized by hydroponics
When he decided to enter his next venture, he says "I knew it had to be both challenging and able to add value and make a difference to our society and communities. When I was introduced to the concept of hydroponics, I was mesmerized with this new technique of growing where we don’t require any soil, we can recycle 90% of the water, and it can be grown in a fully closed environment, without even sunlight!  Years before we launched I learned as much from experts, conferences, courses, and by working in a high-tech greenhouse facility in Holland."

View fullsize

Sustainability
Food security is one of the main issues in the MENA region, and the development of sustainable farming is crucial. "We have seen this first hand during the early days of the Covid pandemic," Omar says. "Produce supply chains were halted, and many countries (especially in MENA) had to reassess their long-term plans and fast-track their commitment to AgTech models such as vertical farming."

The choice to go vertical
Vertical farming and AgTech is needed in the GCC. Why? Omar explains: "Over-dependence on imported produce and the simple fact that traditional framing does not work in our arid desert climate. I want to tackle an issue that will make a difference to society while preserving our natural resources such as water. Badia products are pesticide and herbicide-free. Since our crops are grown naturally in sterile, soil-free mediums, along with the controlled environment, it removes the need for harmful additives. We can also harvest fresh produce all year round. Our harvest yields 4-8 times the amount of crops in the same space compared to conventional soil farming. As a former restaurateur, it has been amazing to be able to work with the top chefs and restaurants in the UAE and be able to supply them with fresh, better than organic flavourful products that wouldn't be available to them otherwise. The journey from food to table is much shorter."

View fullsize

Optimal growth conditions
In this vertical farming environment, Badia Farms is able to control every aspect of the ecosystem to ensure optimal growth conditions are provided for each crop. "For example, our facilities utilize LEDs, artificial lighting to replace the sunlight, we control and monitor all environmental inputs (humidity, temperature, CO2), and we use computer linked dosing units to schedule the irrigation and feed formulas," Omar points out. "Lastly, our hydroponic growing methods use 90% less water compared to open field growing, and since we recirculate our water there’s no wastage."

Support needed
There were also some challenges along the way to achieving this, as AgTech and modern farming are still very new to the region. "The biggest challenge is there aren’t off the shelf solutions that we can purchase and implement immediately," Omar says. "In the case of vertical farming, which is still at an infancy stage globally, we had to design our own grow system to form our IP and ensure we have a commercial operation that will yield high-quality products and profits to ensure we stay in business.

We surely need a lot more support from the government and private sectors for this industry to see the light. For example, the government can support the industry by introducing cost-effective initiatives that reduce the operational cost that will ensure the viability of the projects. Educating the public and consumers on the benefits of modern farming and vertical farming is very important to ensure the continuity of this new industry. We are seeing more regional and global VC's and investment funds interested in the AgTech sector in our region, but they haven’t made the big investments yet!"

View fullsize

Opportunities in the Middle East
Asked what advice Omar would give to people looking into breaking into the UAE food/ag market, he says: "What's great right now is that we have barely scratched the surface in the MENA AgTech sector, so there are so many opportunities, which has been propelled by the pandemic. The UAE is an open economy, I suggest whoever is interested to enter the market to come and meet with the different governmental entities, to meet with distributors, understand the market dynamics, pricing, etc. Come and do the work themselves vs hiring a consultant to do the job. The journey won't be easy. But even with the advent of technology farming is still what it was hundreds of years ago: to grow something needs constant attention, passion, and patience."

View fullsize

E-commerce platform
Badia Farms has a lot in store for the future, like increasing their product offering, expanding their facility in the UAE, and growing their team. "We are also excited about the launch of our own e-commerce platform! The crop will be harvested only once a customer places an order and will reach them within a couple of hours. We are also raising our next round of funding. So a lot is going on", Omar concludes.

Omar Al Jundi will be one of the speakers during the upcoming Agritecture Xchange. When registering, you can use the code 'HDaily10' to get 10% off tickets.

View fullsize

For more information:
Badia Farms
www.badiafarms.com

View fullsize

Publication date: Fri 23 Oct 2020
Author: Jan Jacob Mekes
© HortiDaily.com

VIDEO: How To Optimise Plant Growth In Vertical Farms

Back to overview Print webpage

VIDEO: How to optimise plant growth in a vertical farm

• 08 September 2020

• GreenTech

• Lisanne Meulendijks, Researcher at Delphy Improvement Centre, Mike Zelkind. Co-founder and CEO 80 Acres Farms and Mariska Dreschler discuss the latest insights in Vertical Farming.

• Climate control in vertical farms

• What have we learned from the transition from conventional farming to vertical farming

• What should you optimize in your vertical farm

• Difference between horticulture and a vertical farm

• The impact of wind and lights

• Plant processes, how can you optimize this in vertical farms

• Which innovations are needed in vertical farming

• The necessity of interdisciplinary approaches to reach common goals in vertical farming

You can watch the video, or listen to the audio on one of our podcast platforms »

Share your horticulture stories with us

Do you have an innovation, research results or other interesting topics you would like to share with the international horticulture industry? The GreenTech website and social media channels are a great platform to showcase your stories!

Please contact our Brand Marketing Manager Murkje Koopmans.

Are you a GreenTech exhibitor?Make sure you add your latest press releases to your Company Profile in the Exhibitor Portal for free exposure.

+31 (0)6 264 34 601

m.koopmans@rai.nl

BioLumic Raises $5 million Series A to Commercialize UV-based Crop Enhancement Tech

View fullsize

BioLumic Raises $5 million Series A to Commercialize UV-based Crop Enhancement Tech

MARCH 14, 2018 EMMA COSGROVE

New Zealand agtech startup BioLumic has raised a $5 million Series A round to commercialize its ultraviolet light-based seed and seedling treatments. The round was led by agtech VC Finistere Ventures And Radicle Growth Acceleration Fund.

Also participating were Rabobank Food and Agri Innovation Fund and existing investors.

BioLumic has created a seedling treatment using UV light that it says boosts the yield of specialty crops by up to 22% while also making plants heartier and more pest resistant.

“Light is an extremely powerful biological tool that can safely manipulate plants without the concerns often associated with genetic modification, chemical usage, and other unnatural treatments,” said BioLumic CEO Warren Bebb. “BioLumic is the only company using light as an Ag treatment at the beginning of a plant’s life. Exposure to a short-duration treatment of UV-enriched light at a critical stage in a plant’s development turns on characteristics to help the seed or seedling more effectively defend itself against disease or pest attacks and more efficiently use water and nutrients from the soil for its entire lifespan.”

The method was discovered at Massey University in New Zealand when Dr. Jason Wargent (now BioLumic chief science officer) was studying how increased exposure to UV spectrum of light would effect plants — research at the time which was linked to climate change and the shrinking ozone layer.

Researchers discovered that limited exposure to UV spectrum at a particular time in the life cycle of a seedling could pull certain levers within the plant genetics and lead to a heartier plant in a process called UV photomorphogenesis.

“By upping the UV dose to react in a certain way, the plant is reapportioning resources towards areas that we’re targeting and stimulating secondary metabolism and hormone signaling,” said CEO Warren Bebb to AgFunderNews.

Bebb explained that with a few days of UV treatment, plants which are sprouted in a greenhouse fare better when transplanted to the field and benefit from more efficient photosynthesis. Bebb says that the treatment an also be designed to influence traits like color and flavor.

“In indoor growing systems we’ve been able to improve color and also flavor profiles with a late-stage treatment,” said Bebb.

“I fully expect this technology will have applications in vertical farming because you can get better uniformity,” added Arama Kukutai of Finister Ventures, which is also invested in indoor farming company Plenty. Kukutai also believes that this technology could be helpful in converting growers to automated harvesting because BioLumic says that it can contribute to more consistent plant size — a pre-requisite when considering robotic harvesting of any crop.

BioLumic has been conducting two pilot studies on its seedling treatment: one with Taylor Farms Mexico and one with a European grower. These pilots have focused on lettuce, broccoli, strawberry and tomato seedlings.

“We’re coming to the end of those trials and have a seedling treatment system that we’ll be able to scale,” said Bebb.

This funding round will be put to use commercializing the seedling treatment process (which is administered by a thin metal arm equipped with UV lights passing over tables of seedlings). The company will also be looking to develop a seed treatment process using the same concepts that would expand its reach beyond horticulture to broad acre crops.

“Some of the most valuable technologies to date in our space have been seed treatments,” said Kukutai.

Both Kukutai and Radicle’s Richard Haney will join BioLumic’s board.

photo: BioLumic