IICA selects 16 AgTechs from 14 countries across the Americas to participate in-person at the 2024 Digital Agriculture Week

San José, 28 August  2024 (IICA) – Sixteen AgTech companies from 14 countries across the Americas have been chosen to participate in the third edition of Digital Agriculture Week, which will take place in person from September 23 to 27 at the Headquarters of the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA) in San José, Costa Rica.
 
The group of technology-based companies, whose digital solutions are focused on the agricultural sector, includes two AgTechs from Argentina, two from Colombia, and one each from Brazil, Bolivia, Canada, Costa Rica, Chile, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Peru, Trinidad and Tobago, Uruguay, and Venezuela (View list).
 
The selected companies are Satellites on Fire and Plataforma Puma from Argentina, Vega Monitoramento from Brazil, Hola Tractor from Bolivia, Verge Technologies from Canada, CurubaTech and INNTERRA SAS from Colombia, Demeter Innovation Lab from Costa Rica, and MIIDO from Chile.
 
Also included are Kaax from Guatemala, TRACIFY.IO from Honduras, Smartsoil py from Paraguay, Infoagro.Global from Peru, Tech4Agri 360 from Trinidad and Tobago, MetaBIX Biotech from Uruguay, and AgroCognitive from Venezuela.
 
The selected AgTechs offer solutions related to traceability, addressing climate change impacts, risk management, regenerative agricultural practices, remote technical assistance through data analysis to improve productivity and sustainability, artificial intelligence to enhance crop quality and yield, cost reduction, and precision agriculture, among others.
 
They were chosen from 152 companies across 21 countries that applied following a call for submissions launched by IICA between May and July. The event is organized in collaboration with the Consultative Group for International Agricultural Research (CGIAR), CAF-Development Bank of Latin America, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC), and Bayer, with the aim of exchanging and promoting ideas for a dynamic and inclusive digitalization of agri-food systems.
 
Digital Agriculture Week also has supporting partners such as investment funds, accelerators, academic institutions, and others, including the Cooperative Program for the Technological Development of Agri-Food and Agro-Industrial Sectors of the Southern Cone (PROCISUR), The Yield Lab, Innventure, Endeavor, SP Ventures, Activa, Pomona Impact, Fall Line Capital, Seedstars, Danta Fund, Bioenterprise Canada, the University of Córdoba in Spain, TechnoServe, and Vista Alta.
 
The 16 AgTechs were selected by a jury of 24 experts with extensive knowledge in key areas of agri-food digitalization, belonging to the organizing entities and promotional partners of the event. Notable members include Federico Garat, Industry Relations Leader at Bayer Crop Science Southern Cone; Laurens Klerkx, Professor of Agri-Food Innovation and Transition at the University of Talca in Chile and Wageningen University in the Netherlands; Mariana Vasconcelos, Founder of Agrosmart; Mónica Rodrigues, Economic Affairs Officer at ECLAC; Octavio Sotomayor, Consultant at the same institution; Eduardo Chomali, Principal Executive in Digital Transformation at CAF; and Andrea Gardeazábal, Manager of Evaluation, Learning, and ICT for Agriculture at the International Maize and Wheat Improvement Center (CIMMYT)/CGIAR.
 
The projects were selected following different criteria including the potential of the digital solutions to improve the production, sustainability, and inclusion of agri-food systems, as well as the scalability and applicability of the technologies, particularly for small-scale farmers. Diversity of countries and women-led AgTechs were also given special consideration.
 
During Digital Agriculture Week, the selected companies will have the opportunity to showcase their technological innovations, participate in industry discussions, and exchange ideas with international organizations for digital transformation. Those not selected will be linked to the AgTech network formed by IICA in 2022 and can participate virtually in the 2024 edition activities.
 
This event is an initiative of the Institute as part of its Hemispheric Program on the Digitalization of Agri-Food Systems. It offers a unique platform for key players in the digitalization of agri-food systems in the Americas to discuss and coordinate actions to advance this goal.
 
The Week will bring together international leaders and representatives of organizations working directly with AgTechs, multinational public and private organizations interested in agricultural digitalization, and high-level officials from Ministries of Agriculture.
 
This year’s event will also include representatives responsible for digital topics from Agricultural Research and Innovation Institutes (NARIs) of Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Costa Rica, Chile, Mexico, Panama, Paraguay, and Uruguay, as well as other actors from the region’s digital innovation ecosystem, thereby consolidating a top-tier critical mass in agri-food digitalization.
 
In addition to the 16 AgTechs selected this year, 10 other projects that participated in the 2022 and 2023 editions will also be present.
 
The event will cover topics in five major areas: innovation ecosystems, public policies, financing for AgTech development, technology utilization, and Artificial Intelligence.
 
The five-day agenda will include a session on the role of digital technologies in the agriculture of the future, part of a series of dialogues on this topic initiated by IICA at the Argentine No-Till Farmers Association (AAPRESID) Congress held in mid-August.
 
The Week will also feature debates and working groups to develop recommendations aimed at strengthening the region’s digital innovation ecosystems, enhancing the role of Science, Technology, and Education Centers, and formulating a new generation of public policies to promote the digitalization of agri-food systems.
 
It will also include a workshop to identify the main challenges for the development and utilization of AgTechs as a basis for formulating recommendations, a space for participating companies to define the projection and institutionalization of the IICA-driven AgTech Network of the Americas, a session on youth and digitalization, and a workshop on artificial intelligence applied to agriculture, the latter in collaboration with the University of Córdoba.
 
Digital Agriculture Week 2024 will be broadcast live on IICA’s YouTube channels in Spanish (@IICAnoticias), English (@IICAnews), and Portuguese (@iicanoticiaspt).

More information:
Federico Bert, Manager of IICA’s Hemispheric Program on the Digitalization of Agri-Food Systems.
federico.bert@iica.int