Wert and Dry Extremes
April 16, 2025

Irrigation: Addressing Water Stress in Agriculture

Wait, hasn’t irrigation already been solved? After all, it was invented by Sumerians of ancient Mesopotamia, modern-day Iraq, around 6000 BCE. They developed one of the earliest known irrigation systems using canals, dikes, and reservoirs to manage water from the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers, enabling large-scale agriculture in an otherwise arid region. This innovation played a crucial role in the growth of early civilizations. Still, there are massive investments in irrigation ahead of us, providing opportunities especially for private equity and infrastructure funds.

It might come as a surprise, but despite the Sumerian contribution, water scarcity remains one of modern agriculture's biggest challenges. Water is essential for plant growth, facilitating photosynthesis, nutrient absorption, and overall plant health. Increasing climate variability has led to frequent droughts and extreme weather events, threatening crop yields worldwide.

Current irrigation solutions have several shortcomings, such as water inefficiency due to evaporation and runoff, high energy consumption for pumping and distribution, salinity and soil degradation from overuse, unequal access for small-scale farmers, infrastructure limitations in many regions, and negative environmental impact from groundwater depletion. Addressing these issues requires technological advancements, investment, and policy support for sustainable irrigation practices.

Numerous options are available to address this challenge, broadly categorized into two groups. The first group focuses on enhancing plants’ own water efficiency and drought resistance. This includes developing drought-resistant genetics, using biostimulants (like microbials and seaweed), and employing soil conditioners. The second group addresses the challenge by improving plant water availability, utilizing technologies like modern micro-irrigation systems and digital irrigation monitoring and control applications. 

We do not anticipate a one-size-fits-all solution, such as relying solely on irrigation systems to address this challenge. Instead, a diverse portfolio of solutions will be necessary to accommodate the varying conditions of individual farms. Factors such as crop types (e.g., perennials versus annual crops), agronomic conditions (soil quality, water availability, etc.), and a farm’s capabilities and financial resources will all play a significant role in determining the most effective strategies.

Given this broad range of opportunities in the mechanized irrigation space, and numerous large-scale government and World Bank-backed irrigation initiatives, we have seen a strong investor momentum across different asset classes. VC investments have increasingly targeted technology-enabled solutions in agriculture, for example solutions for real-time monitoring and automation of irrigation, nutrition, and pest control. Private equity investments have a longer history in the agricultural irrigation space. For example, the largest two players in the drip irrigation space Netafim and Rivulis were acquired by private equity players in 2011 and 2014, respectively.

Curious to learn more? Download our report Precision Agriculture Tools with a deep dive into Irrigation. Apart from Mechanized Irrigation Systems, the report also touches on Biological Crop Protection, Resilient Seed Genetics, Specialty Crop Nutrition, Sustainably Produced Fertilizers, and Farm Robotics and Automation.

Precision Agriculture Tools is one of the nine categories in the Food is Investable Treasure Map, highlighting twenty-seven relevant investment segments for venture capital, private equity, and infrastructure funds. Download it at refood.co/investable.

Are you interested in learning more about our work? Do you agree with our conclusion or think we’re missing something crucial? No matter what, we want to hear from you! Reach out to us at solvable@refood.co.

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February 3, 2025

AgreenaCarbon Project registered on Verra: A Landmark Achievement in Regenerative Agriculture

In January 2025, the AgreenaCarbon Project reached a significant milestone by becoming the first large-scale agricultural cropland project registered under Verra's Verified Carbon Standard (VCS) VM0042 methodology for Improved Agricultural Land Management. This achievement marks a pivotal moment for the regenerative agriculture movement and the soil carbon sector, steering much-needed carbon finance to European farmers.

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November 13, 2024

Upcycled Food: Making the most of what we already have

In recent years, upcycling has emerged as a promising avenue to combat food waste, offering innovative ways to turn discarded food into new products. As the global population grows and resources become scarcer, finding solutions to food waste is essential. Upcycling addresses the problem by repurposing food that would otherwise be wasted, creating triple benefits of reducing environmental impacts, improving food security, and creating value from waste. However, while the potential benefit is vast, the journey toward widespread production and adoption of upcycled food faces significant practical challenges. During 2024 Gullspång Re:food, Novax, and PolarVentures collaborated on project Stardust to map global technologies for upcycling with Nordic side streams.

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November 7, 2024

Food is Investable: Here's how

Read our report, Food is Investable, on why venture capital, private equity, and infrastructure funds should consider agrifood in their investment strategies. Despite the agrifood sector’s critical role in sustaining life and driving 12% of global GDP, it punches below its weight in capital allocation. In 2023, agrifood was only 2% of private equity’s total assets under management and received only 5.5% of global venture capital. From a climate perspective, it’s even more underinvested. Agrifood emits 26% of GHG emissions but attracts just 1.3% of climate-focused private capital. This is concerning, given the sector’s potential for massive impact and financial returns. Food Is Investable, developed with ADAM Partners, gives you a Treasure Map as an overview of relevant investment segments in agrifood across different asset classes.

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August 30, 2024

Controlled Environment Agriculture: Opportunities and Challenges for Investors

Controlled Environment Agriculture (CEA): a few years ago, Vertical Farms was one of the hottest segments for food & ag venture investors. Companies like Bowery Farms and AeroFarms closed late-stage growth rounds with hundreds of millions of dollars of VC funding, AppHarvest went public at $1bn+ valuation via a SPAC merger, and global scale seemed all but inevitable for the segments’ leaders. However, as inflation and interest rates rose in 2022 and 2023, investors turned away from the sector, and companies began to struggle and even go bankrupt. The narrative shifted. Now, profitability is at the top of investors’ minds, not growth, and questions remain about the fundamental viability of the space. We dug into the segment to understand where value might lie today.

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June 7, 2024

The Sweet Revolution: Exploring Sugar Replacements for a Healthier Future

In a world where sweet treats are almost impossible to resist, the overconsumption of sugar has become a significant public health issue. Linked to numerous health problems that impact a quarter of the global adult population, sugar is more than just an indulgence—it's a health hazard. We don’t need to go completely sugar-free – limiting sugar intake to the World Health Organization's recommendation of less than 10% of total energy intake, with further benefits from reducing below 5%, would significantly reduce the negative impacts of sugar-induced health and dental diseases. However, average sugar consumption is about 22kg per year, which is twelve times higher than the 5% recommendation – and it is rising. Breaking the sugar habit is easier said than done, but don’t despair just yet. With sugar replacements, it is possible to create indulgences to die for that don’t kill us.

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April 26, 2024

Greening Ammonia Production: There are No Silver Bullets in Systems Transformation

The production of synthetic ammonia, a precursor to nitrogen fertilizer, generates two tons of carbon dioxide equivalent per ton of usable ammonia and is responsible for 1-2% of global greenhouse gas emissions. At the same time, greening this production process could benefit industries beyond agriculture. However, there are negative impacts associated with nitrogen fertilizers that green ammonia does not address, and we must be cautious that ammonia production doesn’t become a red herring in the sustainable fertilizer transition. We dug into the green ammonia space and summarized our key findings and takeaways.

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March 6, 2024

Save the Bees: Harvesting Insights from our Deep Dive into Pollination Tech 

Pollinators are essential to the food system, but modern agricultural practices threaten wild pollinators and domesticated honeybees alike. Innovative startups are addressing this with smart technologies in an attempt to guarantee our future food supply. But do any of these innovations hold promise? We did a deep dive to find out. Read on for some more background information, three insights from our research, and our thoughts on the future of pollination. 

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September 7, 2023

Karl-Henrik Robèrt on the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development

The Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development (FSSD) underpins Re:food’s approach to investing. It is the structure we used to plan out where to focus our sourcing and investing efforts. We caught up with Karl-Henrik Robèrt, a world-renowned sustainability pioneer, the founder of The Natural Step, and one of the creators of the FSSD. He gave us his thoughts on the framework (which he describes as the Operating System for sustainable development) and his guidance for organizations applying it to develop or improve their sustainable development programs.

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September 7, 2023

Our Theory of Transformation

When pioneering startups secure backing from seasoned, long-term investors with experience in crafting robust businesses, they have the potential to reshape entire value chains radically and become category leaders in a more sustainable industry. When those same investors build an investment approach that incorporates deep research and systems thinking, and invest in companies at multiple systemic leverage points, they have the potential to transform entire industries and even the global economy.

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September 4, 2023

Balancing impact and sustainability to transform food systems

Impact and sustainability are frequently used interchangeably. In theory these concepts jointly create the foundation for a responsible business. In practice they are implemented through policies and procedures often managed by the same people and communicated via the same documents. Re:food invests in companies with high impact potential. As we refreshed our sustainability framework, we realized how important it is to distinguish between sustainability and impact and to act with intention where they overlap (and where they don’t), especially when supporting, partnering, and investing in companies with impact at their core.

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September 4, 2023

Segment Scoring Methodology

We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about innovations in the food system and their potential to both drive transformative shifts within our four investment themes and generate returns. Following the guidelines laid out in the Framework for Strategic Sustainable Development, we developed a methodology to rank these innovations, which we call segments, so we can focus on those with the greatest potential.

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August 28, 2023

Healthy Soils

At the root of the food system is soil health, but modern agricultural practices are disrupting the soil food web and destroying precious topsoil. We believe that the Fourth Agricultural Revolution is happening now — a revolution that prioritizes soil health, that relies on biological processes, and that celebrates biodiversity above and below ground. We are investing in innovations that will help us preserve and build topsoil, the cornerstone of our food system, and will ensure that we can produce food in the future without sacrificing yields today.

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August 28, 2023

Sustainable Proteins & Fats

Animal-based protein consumption has risen drastically in the modern era, enabled by new industrialized farming practices. In addition to creating serious animal welfare violations, these practices have contributed to systemic challenges like antibiotic resistance and deforestation. The fact is, we need to invest in and scale more resource-efficient, animal-free production methods that can meet the growing demand for protein while reducing pressure on our planetary boundaries.

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August 28, 2023

Healthy Diets

The world currently produces enough food for everyone to consume more than enough daily calories, yet one in three people lack regular access to adequate food. We believe that addressing rising malnutrition is both an ethical imperative and a tool to address the negative environmental impacts of our food system. Because of the many complex forces affecting our diets, a systems-based approach is the only way to really achieve a transformative shift from empty calories to nutrient-dense foods for all. 

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August 28, 2023

Sustainable Supply Chains

Modern food supply chains are long, linear, and wasteful. They depend on numerous stakeholders and middlemen, with little transparency or ability to track the flow of goods, emissions, and financial returns through the system. These supply chains have enabled urbanization and introduced new foods and flavors to our palates. But they have also decreased visibility into where our food comes from, increased food, nutrient, and plastic waste, and yet fail to ensure that nutritious foods are available to all people around the world. And the growth of these depletive supply chains is unsustainable. The alternative is short, circular supply chains that help us stay within our planetary boundaries while still moving food and resources to where they need to be, even as our population and economy continue to grow. Investing in this alternative is a key focus for us. 

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June 22, 2022

Gustaf Brandberg discussing patient capital

Building a sustainable food company takes time and requires patient capital. That's why we've structured Re:food to operate with an evergreen structure, allowing us to invest for the long term without posing time constraints

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June 10, 2021

The science behind our guiding principle

Over the next decade, Re:food will help fund a professorship in sustainable science at the Stockholm Resilience Centre. Why?

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April 24, 2021

The Re:food circle

We developed The Re:food circle as a framework defining the boundaries and ethical foundations of a sustainable food system to help guide transformative investments.

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