Israeli-based agritech firm SupPlant has received $10 million (R137 million) funding and is looking to use some of the funds to expand into SA.
The round is co-led by Boresight Capital, Menomadin Foundation, Smart-Agro Fund and Mivtah Shamir, and brings SupPlant’s total funding to more than $19 million.
In a statement, SupPlant says the round comes as global warming impacts South African farmers, who are dealing daily with the climate that is changing rapidly, causing tropical storms, cold spells, heat waves and constant lack of irrigation water.
SupPlant notes it is helping farmers to cope with climate change by making its technology, which changes the basic concepts of irrigation, more available in the South African market.
According to the company, the technology saves water, reduces costs, improves productivity and yield. SupPlant uses agronomic algorithms, artificial intelligence and cloud-based technology to help farmers achieve these goals.
It measures the stress of the plant and monitors water content, alongside plant and fruit growth patterns, with sensors located on four parts of the plant.
This data is then combined with real-time and forecasted climatic data and creates a plant-based monitoring tool for farmers to follow their crops in real-time.
The company explains that this info is uploaded every 10 minutes to an algorithm in the cloud, which provides simple, precise irrigation recommendations to farmers based on the integration of all this data.
SupPlant’s database holds the combined expertise of 31 crops across 14 countries, covering growing conditions from dry arid regions of the Middle East, to tropical conditions in central America.
SupPlant’s vision is that its technology will be integrated into every irrigation command given on earth. The company experienced a growth of 1 200% in 2020, and its technology is widely used in Mexico, Australia and Argentina.
SupPlant is represented and distributed in SA by AECI Plant Health.
“The funds raised in this round will allow us to speed up implementation of our technology in South Africa with the support of our partners AECI Plant Health,” says Ori Ben Ner, CEO of SupPlant.
“We aim to reach as many South African farmers as possible and help them use less water and produce more and better fruit.”
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