AgriFutures grow^AG., launched three years ago, is a global platform for agrifood tech innovation – that is, technology aiming to improve or disrupt the global food and agriculture industry. The platform connects the global agrifood network of researchers, investors, universities, government agencies, companies and corporates; facilitates fundraising; and helps make introductions for international cooperation and collaboration. 

General Manager, Global Innovation Networks Harriet Mellish said the milestone was well ahead of the plans originally proposed three years ago. 

“growag.com grew out of a proposal to create a platform that allowed investors, researchers and farmers from Australia and the rest of the world to easily locate information and commercial opportunities to further deliver innovation back to the farm and the food supply-chain” she said. “We quickly realised that this could be much more – there was no one entity that operates an unconflicted platform for anyone in the global ecosystem to connect, share information, find collaborators and attract funding."

AgriFutures grow^AG. has facilitated over AU$150 million in raises for startups, with AU$82 million closed to date. The platform continues to grow, with around AU$70 million startups currently seeking funding from the global investors active on the platform. Mellish said the tailwinds for the sector were driving very fast growth in both users and visitors.

“There’s no doubt that our sector is of enormous interest globally,” she said. “Not just from a food security perspective, but also from a climate perspective – agriculture contributes 18% of global emissions and while it’s imperative to get that number down, we also have to feed everyone, and technology is going to be the key that unlocks productivity to be able to do that.”

YackerApp is one such startup experiencing rapid growth. The app is designed to connect farmers, agronomists, and anyone with a footprint in the agricultural sector. It allows users to ask questions, brainstorm ideas, road test new ideas, and connect farming communities across the country. 

Agronomist and YackerApp Co-Founder Emma Ayliffe connected with grow^AG. in 2022, seeking further development and partners. 

“My business partner, Heath McWhirter, and I had got as far as we could with the skillset and networks that we had, but we were really looking to make that next move,” Emma said. 

“I bumped into a member of the grow^AG. concierge team at the Australian Cotton Conference at the Gold Coast and after having a look around the grow^AG. site we decided to post an opportunity to partner with us and we gained valuable connections with Dirt Labs, Venture Crowd and F2F. We now have great working relationships and we’re working through the process to continue strengthening those.”

YackerApp is continuing to seek investors interested in purchasing a portion of the app, and who have the skill set to help further drive its success. Emma said grow^AG. will play a key role in igniting and nurturing those connections. 

“grow^AG. has enabled to us to reach people from well outside our circle, and we often get comments from people in passing who’ve seen our opportunity on grow^AG.,” Emma said. 

“We’re really excited to keep working with grow^AG. to build positive connections and expand our networks and the projects we have in the pipeline.”

AgriFutures grow^AG. boasts more than 9,000 users per month from more than 190 countries including the largest agricultural research and development organisation in the world – Bayer – which announced a new partnership in March this year.

“It’s a privilege to represent some of the world’s leading innovators on our platform and be recognised as the way to connect and facilitate growth,” Mellish said. “Food security and supply chain resiliency is a global challenge and I’m very proud that we’re part of securing that future for everyone.”

AgriFutures grow^AG. is an initiative of the Australian Government through the AgriFutures Research and Development Corporation. The platform has listed over 3,000 projects and 350 funding opportunities to date, a number that is growing steadily.