Following the Cycle Momentum Accelerator Agtech and Innov’agtech programs, powered by Zone Agtech, seven companies presented their solutions to support the transition of the agriculture and agri-food sectors at Demo Day, the closing event highlighting the success these companies have had in completing their program. In front of a panel of more than 20 industry players, investors and funding agencies from the agricultural and cleantech industries, the companies captivated the event’s audience with their innovative, high-potential solutions, designed to increase the consumption of local produce, improve the use of precision farming tools, reduce energy consumption, improve performance, reduce the consumption of non-renewable inputs and support the emergence of a new agricultural sector.
Let’s zoom in on the seven innovative solutions presented:
DEMO DAY: 7 REVOLUTIONARY SOLUTIONS TO SUPPORT TRANSITION IN AGRICULTURE
Following the Cycle Momentum Accelerator Agtech and Innov’agtech programs, powered by Zone Agtech, seven companies presented their solutions to support the transition of the agriculture and agri-food sectors at Demo Day, the closing event highlighting the success these companies have had in completing their program.
In front of a panel of more than 20 industry players, investors and funding agencies from the agricultural and cleantech industries, the companies captivated the event’s audience with their innovative, high-potential solutions, designed to increase the consumption of local produce, improve the use of precision farming tools, reduce energy consumption, improve performance, reduce the consumption of non-renewable inputs and support the emergence of a new agricultural sector.
For some, Demo Day represents the end of the support cycle. For Zone Agtech, which is dedicated to the development and growth of innovative agtech and plant bioproduct companies, the Demo Day was the starting signal for even more intensive support to be given to companies setting up in the territory of L’Assomption regional municipality in the coming months. Let’s zoom in on the seven innovative solutions presented.
INCREASE LOCAL PURCHASING AND REDUCE FOOD WASTE IN DISTRIBUTION NETWORKS
Offering a marketplace platform for agricultural producers and distributors in the agri-food chain, Neobox simplifies order taking and management while increasing the proportion of local products in Quebec’s food chain. Incorporating sales process automation tools, Neobox enables chefs and food shops to access a centralized online catalogue of Quebec suppliers and distributors, automate their ordering and better plan the management of their inventory and delivery schedules.
Equipped with a multi-channel and data analysis platform, the system enables users to chat with each other in real time, receive automated alerts and obtain personalized reports on their sales and purchases. The benefits are numerous, enabling users to reduce errors, delays and food waste by better forecasting orders and inventories. The platform is available as a monthly or annual subscription at www.neobox.io.
INCREASE GREENHOUSE PROFITABILITY AND ENVIRONMENTAL PERFORMANCE
Available growing substrates and energy consumption have long been an issue for greenhouse growers looking to increase their profit margins and reduce their environmental impact. That’s where HerbiaEra and MMSK come in, offering completely new solutions for growers looking to produce in a controlled, sustainable environment.
A substrate made from bio-sourced inputs
Substrates available to the industry are made of rock wool – which prevents greenhouse growers from receiving their organic certification – and coconut fibre – which has a heavy ecological impact due to being imported. Faced with this challenge, HerbiaEra has been concentrating for several years on developing a bonded, earth-based growing substrate made entirely from bio-sourced inputs. The results have been convincing, with the company confirming in 2021 that its sustainable substrate outperforms competing substrates on 27 different crop varieties, leading to the receipt of its patent and FCC certificate for export. A major added value for greenhouse growers and nursery operators, the substrate is produced in Quebec and, as well as being sustainable, makes it easier to automate and standardize production. These are available at www.herbiaera.com.
A GREENHOUSE INSPIRED BY BIOCLIMATIC CONCEPTS
Driven forward by an architect with a keen interest in food development and the environment, MMSK is focusing on developing and marketing a new, more sustainable, energy-efficient and affordable rooftop greenhouse concept. Inspired by bioclimatic concepts, the new solution, called Nubes, is an inflatable greenhouse that is easy to install on the roof or on the ground, is highly energy-efficient and allows production directly on the ground without the need for a concrete slab.
It is made from ETFE resin, an emerging material renowned for its durability and performance, and offers unrivalled sunlight coverage of 99%. Particularly interesting for permaculture, biointensive agriculture and microcultures, the first pilot greenhouse will be demonstrated directly on the roof in the Agtech Zone in the coming weeks. More information is available at 31szym@gmail.com.
IMPROVED CONNECTIVITY AND QUALITY OF FIELD DATA
Following a 17-year career in Norway dedicated to data analysis for turtle conservation, Gaspésie native John Bornardelli returned to Quebec to found GroundUp Data, a company dedicated to developing a sub-gigahertz (non-WIFI, LORA-type) telecommunications solution capable of capturing quality data deep in the ground. The solution that’s been developed will be of particular interest to farmers who want to install data collection equipment without fear of it getting caught in passing farm machinery, or who don’t want to remove it before winter (because it’s below the frost line).
The undeniable advantage of this telecommunications solution is that it operates off grid and can therefore be installed in remote areas or areas poorly served by traditional telecommunications service providers. Following a number of conclusive trials in different crop varieties and climatic conditions, the company is now embarking on a major round of financing that will enable it to start marketing its solution on a large scale. Further information is available at www.groundupdata.ca.
ROMAINE LETTUCE FROM A CONTROLLED ENVIRONMENT
Many vertical farming systems are now able to produce micro sprouts, shoots and leafy vegetables profitably. Even so, very few, if any, have managed to produce romaine hearts, a lettuce known for the complex environment it requires to avoid disease. Most of Quebec’s supply of romaine lettuce comes from California, a region severely affected by climate change. Last autumn, a particularly intense period of drought pushed the cost of romaine lettuce to a record high in Quebec.
With its high-performance vertical production system, RVEST Upculture aims to bring agri-food production closer to the point of distribution in order to reduce Quebec’s vulnerability to imports of agri-food products. As well as producing a variety of micro-sprouts, sprouts and leafy vegetables, it has successfully tackled the major challenge of producing romaine hearts. Backed by Oliva Capital, the company already operates a showcase site in Greater Montreal and plans to set up a systems manufacturing plant in the coming months. www.upculture.com
BIO-SOURCED BUILDING MATERIALS WITH HIGH DISTINCTIVE VALUE
The hemp industry in Quebec is developing at breakneck speed, with major contractors and innovative start-ups rekindling their interest in this honourable plant. That’s the case with Heco Innovation, a company dedicated to turning hemp into biomaterials to replace gypsum in the prefabrication of buildings.
As well as being produced from one of the cleanest biobased materials, the hemp panels offered by Heco Innovation feature technical specifications that are highly distinctive for companies operating in the prefabrication sector: they are fire-resistant, waterproof, acoustic, twice as light as conventional materials and fully recyclable. Now that large-scale marketing has begun, Heco Innovation plans to open a factory to increase its production capacity to 250 panels a day in the coming months. The solution is available here: www.heco-innovation.com
SMALL-SCALE PERMACULTURE AND BIOINTENSIVE FARMERS WILL FINALLY HAVE ACCESS TO MANAGEMENT SOFTWARE
Software currently available on the market is not very applicable to small intensive organic and permaculture farms. It was this observation that led Gabrielle Bastien, founder of Regénération Canada, and Jean-Martin Fortier, Quebec’s well-known urban farmer, to set up Heirloom, which now offers one of the only management platforms suitable for small-scale mixed farming. Its mission? To support small-scale organic growers by creating a disruptive technology that enables them to increase their profits and impact without investing more land, time or money. Designed by growers for growers, Heirloom’s platform already offers several modules, including crop planning, automated seed ordering, workload forecasting, harvest and revenue tracking and yield recommendations. The platform will soon be available on a monthly subscription basis here: https://heirloom.ag.
MORE ON ZONE AGTECH
The first of its kind in Canada, Zone Agtech is an innovation district located within the towns of Repentigny and L’Assomption, Quebec, dedicated to fostering innovation and companies developing innovative technologies and solutions that will form the basis of tomorrow’s agriculture: an agriculture that will produce more nutritious food while using less land, water, chemicals and energy, and that will use agri-food residues as inputs for the production of value-added bioproducts.
A veritable incubator for agricultural innovation, a number of innovation and demonstration projects are being developed on themes associated with the development of cultivation in controlled environments, precision farming technologies, robotization and automation, circular farming, food diversification and the conversion of agriculture to technologies and practices with a low environmental footprint.
In pursuit of this vision, it has assembled and implemented a number of strategic levers to propel businesses that want to take part in the development of a resilient, innovative, sustainable and low-carbon food chain, including access to finance, the value chain, markets, knowledge and talent, cutting-edge infrastructure and some of the most specialized innovation and acceleration programs in Canada.
MORE ON THE CYCLE MOMENTUM ACCELERATOR: AGTECH PROGRAM, POWERED BY ZONE AGTECH
As part of the Agtech Acceleration Program, five companies in their seed phase and offering innovative agricultural technologies, will benefit from various forms of support and proximity to the farming community in which they will market their technology. The four-month program has been designed to accelerate the development of companies at Technology Readiness Level 6 and above, by offering tools and support in the following areas: business model optimization, financing, knowledge of Quebec’s agriculture and agtech industries, contacts with key players and personalized support from a dedicated coach or mentor. The call for applications is renewed every year around November. Register your interest in taking part in the next cohort here: info@zoneagtech.ca.
MORE ABOUT THE INNOV’AGTECH PROGRAM
This 16-week program, offered in collaboration with the Université du Québec à Trois-Rivières, is designed to train management teams and people with innovation projects in the various stages and thinking required to ensure the success – from ideation to transfer to the market – of an innovation in the innovative agricultural technologies and plant bioproducts sector.
During the course, participating companies benefit from 75 hours of training, workshops and practical tools to understand and master the industry in which they wish to develop, as well as the potential markets, needs and behaviours of the customers who will use them. They will identify their strengths and areas for improvement that will influence the success of their project, and identify and clarify the opportunities, constraints and threats in their industry that could accelerate or compromise their project.
Finally, they will define their strategic vision and the short- and medium-term objectives they wish to achieve, identify the issues that could compromise their achievement and the strategies to be used to overcome them, determine and prioritize the strategic areas to be pursued over the next one, three and five years, as well as design and implement an action plan that will also profit from practical and concrete tips and ways of doing things. The call for applications is renewed every year around October. Register your interest in taking part in the next cohort here: info@zoneagtech.ca.