The agtech industry is on the rise; does your campus’ current offerings meet the needs of these companies? In this article, our team will provide insights into why universities should prioritize forming partnerships with agricultural technology companies in this burgeoning sector.

The agriculture industry was once labor-intensive, but with advances in agricultural technology, such as agricultural robots and crop protection techniques, that is no longer the case. The use of precision agriculture, vertical farming, and sustainable agricultural practices have led to improvements in yield, efficiency, and profitability. Owing to its advantages, the industry has experienced massive growth, with the market size being worth $21.89 billion dollars as of 2022 and is projected to reach $43.37 billion dollars globally by 2030.

Currently, some top trends in agriculture technology include IoT, regenerative agriculture, blockchain, and controlled environment agriculture. These processes help to effectively produce more crops, which is essential as the world population continues to grow. Agriculture companies, including ag tech companies and farming startups, are needed to perform these innovative and important services. At this time, some of the top agtech companies in the industry include Cargill ($177 billion dollar revenue), AGCO Corporation ($12.651 billion dollar revenue), and Syngenta ($16.14 billion dollar revenue).

On the other hand, government spending on agriculture research and development is trending downward. In 2002, spending in the category was $7.64 billion dollars, and data shows that in 2019 it lowered to $5.16 billion dollars. Inversely, venture capital funding grew by 19.1% quarter-over-quarter in 2023, and this data is trending upward. This information shows that more researchers and more universities are competing for less government dollars. Thus, it is vital for universities to turn to companies as a source of funding.

There are over 1000 agriculture tech companies in the U.S. This is 1000 unique opportunities for your campus to reach out and form a partnership for sponsored research, experiential learning, licensing, and more. FirstIgnite can help your university become a market leader in agriculture technology through enhancing your marketing efforts.