| | October - 20186EDITOR'S DESKImagine the return on investment (ROI) if farmers and ranchers start using advanced technologies to grow their crops and produce food more sustainably. This will benefit not only the end consumers but also the food producers. Slowly and steadily, the agriculture industry is embracing the digital transformation trends empowering farmers and food producers to use technology from farm to fork. In other words, agriculture technology (AgTech) companies are leveraging technology as a sustainable and scalable resource in transforming agricultural operations from production to consumption.According to The Economist, farms are being `teched up' for growing food. It seems significant because the world population is expected to grow to 9.7 billion. Considering those figures, AgTech companies are heavily investing in the latest technologies taking agriculture to newer heights. The AgTech companies are combining data, mathematics, software, hardware, sensors, and analytics to go beyond what the human eye can see. Technologies such as internet of things (IoT) are disrupting the agriculture industry. According to a Cisco study, IoT alone contributes about $14.4 trillion to the agriculture industry. The use of IoT is streamlining and simplifying the collection, inspection, and overall distribution of agricultural resources utilizing sensors on equipment. Aerial technologies such as drones are widely used in the U.S. for crop monitoring as a means to tackle drought and other natural conditions. Drones are also helpful in predicting soil quality for analyzing seed planting patterns. Similarly, robots and artificial intelligence (AI) are also capable of playing a significant role in the agriculture industry. Few companies have started developing spraying and weeding robots which can reduce the use of agrochemicals by 90 percent and improve the crop yields. Machine learning (ML) algorithms can be utilized for analyzing the agricultural products being purchased the most and the least in the market. Such studies help the farmers in realizing the high demands of the consumers. This edition of Startup City lists the budding startups that are making a mark in the agriculture industry by introducing innovative technologies that can make a difference. Do let us know your thoughts.The Role of Technology from Farm to ForkKenneth Thomas Managing Editoreditor@startupcity.comCopyright © 2018 SiliconMedia, Inc. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or part of any text, photography or illustrations without written permission from the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for unsolicited manuscripts, photographs or illustrations. Views and opinions expressed in this publication are not necessarily those of the magazine and accordingly, no liability is assumed by the publisher thereof.Phone:510.972.5010, Fax:510-894-8405 Published by SiliconMedia, Inc. To subscribe to Startup CityVisit www.startupcity.com Editorial StaffAaron Pierce Joshua ParkerSarah Fernandes Ava GarciaPooja RayVian IsaacManaging EditorKenneth Thomas*Some of the Insights are based on the interviews with respective CIOs and CXOs to our editorial staffOCTOBER - 01 - 2018SalesRich Gonsalvessales@startupcity.comVOL - 01 SE - 09VisualizersAnil KumarAGTECH STARTUPS SPECIAL
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