A drop in global investments in agriculture startups

A decline: Agriculture technology startups saw lower investments last year amidst weak commodity prices and slow sales. - AFP

GLOBAL investments in agriculture technology startups fell 30% in 2016 as investor interest in companies offering drones and satellite-guided farm machines cooled following the biggest capital inflow ever a year earlier, according to a study released last week.

Still, the number of deals grew 10% from 2015 to a record 580, and the US$3.23bil invested by venture capitalists and others was the second highest annual total on record for the sector, according to the annual report from food and agriculture investment platform AgFunder.