Agtech seedlings: Fresh Del Monte to manufacture biofertilizer from pineapple waste
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Produce giant Fresh Del Monte announced a new initiative exploring whether food waste from its pineapple farms could be used in the production of more sustainable fertilizers.
The company will team up with Spain-based Vellsam Materias Bioactivas on a biofertilizer plant in Kenya near a Fresh Del Monte pineapple cannery. Residues from the cannery will be used to create biofertilizers for use and eventual sale in Kenya and East African countries.
“Fresh Del Monte is committed to creating a circular economy and is taking active measures to repurpose and reuse its residues,” said Mohammad Abu-Ghazaleh, Fresh Del Monte’s chairman and chief executive officer. “We see this collaboration as a transformative turning point that has the potential to revolutionize how the agricultural industry farms.”
The plant is currently running tests and is set to be fully operational in June. The partnership creates a newly formed biofertilizer company called De l’Ora Bio, and the Kenya initiative represents the first step in the collaboration’s goal to expand production.
FarmRaise adds tech platform for companies to manage farm sustainability programs
Agtech startup FarmRaise, which automates the process of matching farmers to sustainability incentives, introduced a product for companies and institutions to better manage their agriculture climate programs.
The tech helps manage farmer enrollment in sustainability programs through a streamlined administrative dashboard, according to the announcement. The software is currently in use by Blue Diamond Growers and the University of Missouri, both recipients of climate-smart agriculture grants.
“FarmRaise developed a custom enrollment app that has allowed farmers to easily sign up for our $25 million climate-smart project through a phone, tablet, or computer,” Dr. Rob Myers, director of the University of Missouri’s Center for Regenerative Agriculture, said in a statement.
FarmRaise modernizes the application process for farmers to access loans and grants that support the transition to more sustainable production practices. The platform shows farmers programs they’re eligible for and streamlines the federal and state paperwork into a single application.
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