Agricultural technology companies with innovative solutions and the aim of improving the integrity of the Asian agricultural supply chain can sign up.

On August 1, 2019, Rabobank, the global leader in agri-food banking, announced the official launch of the Sustainable Agriculture Asia Challenge. Agricultural technology companies with innovative solutions and the aim of improving the integrity of the Asian agricultural supply chain can sign up. The shortlisted companies will have the opportunity to exchange ideas with leading agribusiness and ecosystem partners to expand their business.

From agricultural investment companies to farmers, traders, food companies and retailers, the relevance of agricultural product supply chains is growing. And data and innovation are key to meeting growing food needs. Good data collection, analysis and sharing will improve the integrity of the agricultural supply chain. In addition, data-driven technologies will help farmers and food and agriculture companies make smarter decisions that will lead to new ways of intelligent agriculture, processing technology and food distribution. Since most small-scale farmers live in Asia, they can increase their income by adopting agricultural technology solutions to increase crop yields and increase access to markets.

In this context, the Dutch cooperative bank launched the “Sustainable Agriculture Asia Challenge”. If you are an agri-tech company with the ability to adapt to market-leading innovative solutions and improve the integrity of the Asian agricultural supply chain, please register by 23:59 on Sunday, September 1, 2019. . Solutions can be related to topics such as sustainable farming practices, smallholder participation, traceability, food safety, data integrity and sharing, and improved market access conditions.

The top 15 companies will be invited to participate in the road show day in Singapore on October 10, 2019, and will have the opportunity to receive cash prizes from the $20,000 prize pool and will be invited to participate exclusively in 2019. Food & Agribusiness Advisory Board Meeting, held on October 31st in Shanghai. We will also provide assistance to travel to Singapore and Shanghai for the top 15 companies and the top five companies. For successful companies, we will evaluate them based on their technological innovation, market readiness, scalability and improvements in the integrity of the Asian agri-food value chain.

Last year, the Dutch cooperative bank launched the first Asian Challenge, and the Indian company Ecozen Solutions won with a solar-powered refrigerator.

EcozePrateek Singhal, co-founder and COO of n, said: “After winning the Innovation Challenge held by the Dutch cooperative bank in 2018, our global visibility and recognition has been improved. Our business cooperation has even expanded to Kenya and Uganda. These partnership opportunities are being evaluated. We look forward to receiving support from the Dutch cooperative bank to collaborate with supply chain companies and potential business partners around the world.”

Diane Boogaard, CEO of Cooperative Bank Asia, said: “We are pleased to launch the second Innovation Challenge for Asian agricultural technology companies. The population of Asia is expected to increase from 4.6 billion to 5.3 billion by 2050. However, the available arable land and natural resources are very limited, so we must increase food production. Data and innovation are key factors in meeting the growing demand for food in a sustainable manner.” She continued: “Netherlands cooperation The bank is committed to finding innovative solutions for a more efficient agricultural supply chain. The Sustainable Agriculture Asia Challenge is a very good platform, bringing together a host of emerging technology solutions that are available to our large agribusiness customers. To promote cooperation and promote change.”

Albert Boogaard, Head of Innovation at Rabo Foundation, added: “We are very happy to be involved in the Challenge again. Since most of the farmers in Asia are small farmers, they basically have no financing and lack relevant knowledge. Now, small farmers can use data-driven technology to gain a deeper understanding of how to increase productivity and increase revenue.”

This Challenge was supported by the Rabo Foundation, which includes the Food and Agriculture Corporation ADM Company (Archer Daniels Midland Company), Bayer, COFCO International and Olam International, and ecosystem partners ADB Ventures, Bits x Bites, DSM Group (DSM) and Temasek Holdings (Temasek). The above partners will also serve as judges.

For more information on the Sustainable Agriculture Asia Challenge organized by Rabobank, please visit www.sustainableag.asia .

About Dutch Cooperative Bank

The Dutch Cooperative Bank, based in the Netherlands, is an international financial institution that provides financial services to the food, agriculture and other industries. It currently operates in 39 countries, including retail banking, wholesale banking, private banking, leasing and real estate. field. In terms of Tier 1 capital, Rabobank is one of the world’s largest financial institutions and has received a high credit rating among all rating agencies. In the area of ​​environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG), Rabobank was named ESG leader by research firm Sustainalytics, ranking in the top 5% of the industry.

The mission of the Dutch Cooperative Bank is “Growing a better world together”, which stems from our tradition of cooperation and the roots of agriculture. With our knowledge, network and financial capabilities, Rabobank aims to encourage and promote the adoption of more sustainable food production methods around the world. To this end, we work with customers, partners and colleagues around the world to focus on four of the most pressing food issues: increasing food supply, improving food supply channels, promoting nutritional balance, and improving the stability of the food supply chain. Last year, Rabobank launched the first Asian Challenge “Food Loss Challenge Asia”, an Indian company Ecozen Solutions has won with its solar cooler.

For more information about the Dutch Cooperative Bank, please visit www.rabobank.com.

About Rabo Foundation

Rabo Foundation is a social nature foundation founded by the Dutch Cooperative Bank. The Foundation provides funding for Africa, Asia and Latin America through funding and sharing of professional experience in cooperation, banking, and agriculture that the Dutch Cooperative Bank has accumulated over the years.Invest in self-sufficient farmers’ organizations. This helps organizations achieve the goal of providing financing, savings opportunities, knowledge and new markets to small-scale farmers.

In addition, effective use of new technology development can serve small farmers more efficiently. Therefore, for the Rabo Foundation, digitization is very important. It consists of four data streams: farmer’s field work information, supply chain information, geographic data, and information on the use of financial technology such as mobile savings accounts and credit scores. These are exactly the same as the mission of the Dutch cooperative bank to create a better world.

For more information about the Rabo Foundation, please visit www.rabobankfoundation.com.