New article out, relevant to this conversation, here's the intro and the section on Roto-Gro .....

It's National Ag Day: here are 4 ASX ag-tech stocks climbing the beanstalk

By Zoe Gross. Published at Nov 21, 2018

With the world’s population projected to reach 9.7 billion by 2050, food demand is expected to surge dramatically.

A new generation of middle-class consumers are in the throes of upgrading their diets, including increased consumption of meat (which is grain-intensive).

On top of that, declining arable land and salinity issues, alongside problems with water access and pest and disease problems, present considerable challenges to the modern agricultural community.

Working to solve these kinds of challenges through finely honed tech is the crop of innovators operating in the ag-tech space — one that's seen increased attention over the past year.

Ag-tech essentially refers to digital technologies made specifically for the agricultural industry that look to provide farmers with the tools, data and knowledge to make better informed and timely decisions to improve productivity, sustainability and profitability.

Through the disruptive forces of ag-tech, it is predicted that agriculture will turn into a $100 billion industry in Australia specifically by 2030, according to research commissioned last year by tech accelerator StartupAUS.

This is also a fertile space for forward-focused investors. The global ag-tech opportunity could reach US$189 in the next five years, fuelled by US$1.5 billion in venture capital investment, according to StartupAUS.

More than US$700 million was invested in ag-tech companies in 2017, on track to beat the previous two years combined according to research firm CB Insights.

With this kind of growth in mind, a cluster of ag-tech companies have emerged over the last year or so, providing solutions for many of the challenges faced by the agricultural community, including food demand, declining arable land and salinity, access to water, and pest and disease issues.

November 21 is National Agriculture Day — a good occasion as any to both celebrate both the farming community itself (one which has been facing particularly pressing challenges in Australia specifically, given the ongoing drought crisis) and to delve deeper into the thriving ag-tech space.

Here are four ASX-listed companies that are planting seeds for ag-tech growth.

2 - RotoGro (ASX:RGI)

Dual-listed on both the ASX and the Frankfurt stock exchange, RotoGro is looking to redefine the future of agriculture through cannabis tech innovation. Its mission is to generate socially responsible, sustainable and profitable revenue by growing cannabis and perishable foods using cutting-edge technology solutions, while lessening the environmental impact of traditional farming.

It’s focused on equity and licence ownership in the legalised cannabis space, and is carving out a leading role for itself in urban farming of perishable foods with its patented and patents-pending technologies and proprietary growing management software.

RotoGro has created an automated rotary hydroponic vertical farming system for producing consistent quality plants indoors, replete with its own proprietary software, iGrow.

Its fittingly named Model 420 System reduces the costs associated with conventional hydroponics including facility construction and maintenance costs; utility costs; atmospheric, water and nutrient costs; and pest/disease control costs.

Recent tests revealed the RotoGro Hydroponic Garden System is capable of producing at least 60-80% more yield in the same amount of space as that of traditional flat deck style systems

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RGI is specifically focusing on both the buzzing Canadian and US legalised pot markets — two major chunks of the global cannabis prize, which is expected to exceed US$60 billion by 2024.

On this note, it recently took a major step forward, sealing a pivotal deal to buy a licensed Canadian cannabis processor.

This gives RGI the legal ability to produce its own cannabis products in Canada’s newly legalised recreational cannabis market — especially intriguing given that key analysts are already flagging the potential for a huge supply gap now that weed is fully legal in Canada.

Link to full article:

https://finfeed.com/features/its-national-ag-day-here-are-4-asx-ag-tech-stocks-climbing-beanstalk