By Lynda Kiernan
Syngenta has concluded a deal for the acquisition of all relevant assets of The Cropio Group, a global digital farm management platform with a presence in more than 50 countries. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
With a primary focus in Eastern Europe, Cropio is an equipment-integrated, end-to-end software solution platform providing imaging, recordkeeping, and equipment tracking for farmers currently managing 10 million hectares of crops.
“Cropio has done a really impressive job of building a product portfolio which brings tremendous value to growers,” said Dan Burdett, head of Global Digital Agriculture for Syngenta. “They have focused on the breadth of grower processes, while enabling data flow across field equipment and multiple digital tools. Cropio’s platform allows the farmer to monitor all their crops and field operations in order to maximise decision-making.”
This deal launches Syngenta into the leading position for global digital farm management, making it the only agricultural company in the world with access to top farm management platforms in the world’s top four agricultural markets. Now that Syngenta owns Cropio, the company will have Land.db in the U.S.; Strider in Brazil; Modern Agricultural Platform in China, and Cropio in Eastern Europe. Combined, these platforms represent more than 40 million hectares around the world being managed with Syngenta-owned digital tools – a fact that Syngenta plans to see doubled by the end of next year.
“This acquisition marks a turning point in Syngenta’s digital strategy for agriculture,” said Greg Meyers, chief information officer, Syngenta. “Cropio is a leading player in the Eastern European digital agriculture market, and Syngenta is gaining a hub for Ag Tech innovation in Europe that will help increase farmer sustainability, productivity, efficiency and profitability. We anticipate significant opportunities for collaboration across the other Syngenta digital assets.”
Behind the scenes of high profile digital ag deals such as this, Syngenta has been at work snapping up and making investments in smaller-scaled platforms as well.
In July 2016 Syngenta Ventures, the venture capital arm of Syngenta AG, and Cultivation Capital led a $1.2 million round of funding for S4, an agtech startup that provides agricultural risk management solutions by leveraging advanced data analytics and aggregating data from both public and proprietary sources. The data is used to deliver actionable information that is highly correlated to crop yields to financial, agribusiness, and farming clients.
One year later, Syngenta Ventures made a minority investment in Iowa-based Premier Crop Systems (PCS) – a producer of digital tools including “Enhanced Learning Blocks” that help better inform agronomists and farmers to utilize their data to its highest potential.
Then, in February 2018, Syngenta added to its toolbox of farm management solutions with the acquisition of FarmShots, Inc., a North Carolina-based innovator of high-resolution satellite imagery that detects plant health by analyzing absorbed light from field images. At the time, the company announced it planned to fully integrate FarmShots’ technology into its AgriEdge Excelsior whole-farm management system in the U.S., followed by a global rollout.
This proven track record of successful partnerships in the digital ag space was a definite draw for Cropio, who was seeking out a partner with strong agri-science expertise that could enhance their tech platform, and provide additional value to its growing customer base.
– Lynda Kiernan is Editor with GAI Media and daily contributor to GAI News. If you would like to submit a contribution for consideration, please contact Ms. Kiernan at lkiernan@globalaginvesting.com
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