Can Silicon Valley's Big Bet On Agriculture Help Small-Scale Farmers In Developing Countries?

A lack of reliable information is among the most frustrating obstacles to unlocking the potential of agriculture. But as investment in AgTech heats up, what value does big data offer small-scale farmers at the end of dirt roads in the hardest-to-serve markets on earth?
These days, farms throughout the American Midwest are flooded with new technology. From self-driving tractors and drones to advanced sensors and software, farming looks much different than it did when I was growing up in Missouri. It’s all part of a trend to help farmers become more efficient, productive, and profitable — replacing the guesswork and gut instincts of farming with data and diagrams.

Just how high-tech are we talking? Imagine remote sensors sending data to a digital dashboard that shows real-time analytics on soil temperature and moisture levels; drones flying overhead capturing high-resolution thermal and visual images that show yield variation row-by-row; iPhone notifications telling you the optimal time to apply fertilizer, where it’s most needed, and its estimated effect on this season’s harvest and on your bottom line. This is 21^st century precision agriculture in the United States, where one of the world’s oldest industries continues to evolve.
“Everything that a farmer once was and once thought about his business has completely transformed in the last 10 years,” said David Friedberg in a recent interview about the digitization of farms. Friedberg is the founder of the San Francisco-based Climate Corporation, which combines hyper-local weather data with agronomic models to help farmers make better informed decisions. In 2013, his company was acquired by Monsanto.

To many observers, that roughly $1 billion deal set the stage for what has since become a flurry of investment activity in the rapidly evolving and fertile field of agricultural technology, with funding rounds happening at a dizzying pace. For instance, Google Ventures recently announced investments in both Granular, a company that provides farm management software, and Farmers Business Network, an online service that allows farmers to compare the effectiveness of seeds and inputs.
Other well-known Silicon Valley firms like Andreessen Horowitz, Khosla Ventures, and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers are also embracing AgTech start-ups and increasingly looking to the Farm Belt to find the next unicorn. According to a report released by AgFunder, an equity crowdfunding platform, a record $4.6 billion of investment flowed into AgTech ventures last year, up from $2.4 billion invested in 2014 and outpacing growth in the broader venture capital market. Meanwhile, a number of AgTech conferences and specialized consulting firms have popped up alongside accelerators and incubators, like The Yield Lab and Farm2050.

By Willy Foote ,

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I write about agri-business and the impact of social entrepreneurship.http://www.forbes.com