The Untold Secrets of Investing in Agribusiness

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Agri-business is one of the most underestimated and neglected fields of investments. This is although it is long-lasting and affecting us all.

In this post, I present the field in agriculture where there is the highest potential for investors, and how you can take advantage of current unfolding opportunities, in the pursue of improving business and investments.

Part 1 – Locating business opportunities.

How do you locate – great business opportunities? Easy, just look for –

1.    Unmet-Demands

2.    Unsolved-Problems

3.    Long-Term Big-Markets

This technique works well for governments, companies, investors, and entrepreneurs that are looking for ‘big opportunities’. Often such opportunities will be at the level of a state, region and even global.

Today funds are abundant, but opportunities are scarce! In today world of information, the hunt after the big-opportunity is expensive and needs big money.

Investors are sitting on mountains of money, which they don’t know where to invest because big money is looking for big opportunities, and big opportunities do not come easy.

That above conclusion brings me to what I love most in my profession…

Part 2 – Agriculture

Why agriculture is the best opportunity (for most investors, regardless of where they are)?

Simply because agriculture is one of the very few opportunities that do have all of the above prerequisites: unmet-demands, unsolved-problems, and long-term big-market.

The world growing population will need more food (and at better quality), which means that the big-market will always be there.

But unlike other opportunities, with potential short-term Return of Investment (ROI) and many technology-savvy people, agriculture is disregarded and still unveiled, which makes it a less competitive market, and lower – long term – risk investment.

Still, agriculture is a long-lasting, big market where out of 7.5 billion of the world population, nearly 27% are engaged with agriculture (source: www.theglobaleconomy.com). That is about 2 billion people (today)!

However, in many countries in Africa and Asia, over 40% of the population is engaged in agriculture. The two continents are home to 95 percent of the global agricultural population!

Let’s agree that we can consider the agriculture sector as a – long-lasting big market, with special emphasize on Africa and Asia.

If ‘great unmet demands’ or ‘many unsolved problems’ equal to ‘great business opportunities’, then Agriculture is a perfect gold mine!

Just like any gold mine, to get the gold out of the ground you need;

(1) a leader to set the goal of digging out the gold in a harsh environment, and
(2) you need the right know-how and technology to execute the mission.

I believe that in today’s agriculture we often miss the ‘visionary-leaders’, and in some cases, we also miss the right know-how and technology.

Part 3 – Not all gold mines are the same.

For some gold deposits, you need to dig deep in the ground, while in other cases you can simply walk and collect the gold nuggets from the bottom of a spring or slightly underneath the ground.

The first type requires high investments and high risk, while the second is low-investment and low risk.

Just the same, there are two types of investments in agriculture:

One is to keep the yield or production that farmers already receive.

The second is to increase the yield or production.

Typically, activities that are targeting the increase of production or yield, such as irrigation, machinery, new crops or varieties, education, and new technology require higher investments and engagement.

Naturally, it is easier and requires less investment to keep what you already have.

Quite often farmers lose over 50 percent of their yield due to pests.

Hence, the decrease of the yield-lose holds the opportunity for farmers to immediate double and triple the marketable yield, and subsequently the income.

So the fastest and most cost-effective way in agriculture of Digging-Gold is by keeping safe, or not losing to pests, what we already grow.

Part 4 – The ‘low hanging fruits’

By focus on keeping the yield or production that farmers already receive, and save it from ruin we minimize investment, we take no risk and we don’t dedicate additional time or efforts to get the maximum-immediate results.

This is by far the most attractive business opportunity (in agriculture), and mainly for the common case of open field crops; Invest in cutting yield-losses and bring Gold.

Biofeed noticed that fact many years ago and hence focused on the development of the know-how and technological tools for effective pest management of the most destructive group of fruit pests – fruit flies.

Fruit flies are directly responsible for fruit loss (and many vegetables) in the range of 30 to 90 percent!

Furthermore, fruit flies are often the number one reason for blocking international fruit and vegetable trade. The inability to export directly affects the income of farmers and the state.

So fruit flies act as anti-gold mine!

By providing Biofeed effective tools and know-how for fruit fly management we enable farmers to increase their income by tens of percent within a few months, while their investment in water, land, and labor remains unchanged.

That is like getting the gold without any additional digging effort.

Part 5 – The fruit fly huge problem

Fruit flies are the #1 problem for most fruit (and some vegetable) growers.

Geography – fruit flies exist in most countries of the world. However, due to a combination of climate, crops and pest species, Africans and Asians countries suffer the highest damage.

Current status – For more than a century, thousands of researchers and endless companies have tried to find a solution to the problem of fruit flies.

However, despite the use of sprays and genetic modified (GM) insects, the problem of fruit flies remains not only unresolved but is growing, as farmers simply stop growing fruit trees.

An infestation of 30 to 90 percent is rather common today throughout the world and even more in Africa and Asia.

Part 6 – The breakthrough

After years of development and field work, two years ago Biofeed finally achieved a breakthrough and managed to bring an easy to use, environmentally friendly… but the most important, highly effective technological solution to the fruit fly problem.

Biofeed’s FreeDome solution is powered by a patented GCCR technology, which enables to decrease fruit fly infestation by over 90 percent without sprays, or any other special equipment.

This achievement was recognized and celebrated by the Israeli Innovation Authority by extending an invitation to meet the Prime Ministers of India and Israel, Mr. Modi and Mr. Netanyahu, during their first meeting in Israel, on July 2017 and once again 6 months later in India.

Part 7 – The window of opportunity

FreeDome is an enabling technology. It enables to dig GOLD by those who seize the moment.

Here is a short list of opportunities that FreeDome enables, once fruit flies are effectively managed:

  1. Develop a successful local fruit industry – larger areas, longer fruiting season and better quality (more Gold).
  2. Expanding plantation areas to other varieties and fruit species that are sensitive to fruit flies (more Gold mines).
  3. Safely export fruits and vegetables free of infestation and chemicals (more Gold mines).
  4. Developing fruit processing industry (more Gold mines).

This short list is an example of possible outcomes of applying FreeDome.

Countries, companies, and investors that are quick will benefit from the up-market, as expressed already in the first season of activity.

This can serve as a turning point for millions of farmers and nations, especially those based on agriculture.

Together let’s make fruit flies;

‘just another pest’!

Leave Your Worries Behind and ==> Make a Change!

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