Trends We are Watching in AgriFood Industry in 2023 and Beyond

By Dave Summa, PhD

Venture Partner, Genoa Ventures

March was an active month in the AgriFood sector with three major conferences bringing together the leading players and emerging companies across animal health, agriculture, and food tech. Genoa Ventures participated in all three with an eye to understanding where the industry is heading, what new advancements are creating the most interest, and where opportunities may exist for future innovations to harness market potential in the space.

Key trends we will be watching closely during the year ahead:

Sustainable Animal Protein Production

The industry is aware and accepts the challenge to produce animal protein much more sustainably. One approach for sustainability efforts includes reducing methane emissions using a variety of tools such as small molecule and protein feed additives that influence animals’ gut microbiomes. DSM, ProAgne, Red Algae and others are looking to make a 40+ percent reduction in methane emissions in the near term and 90+ percent in just the next few years a reality. There are next-level innovators who are harnessing AI to design persistent microbial consortia that go even further to reduce methane emissions as well as the need for antibiotics-as-growth promoters. The net-positive benefits from methane reduction and improved feed conversion may appeal to ranchers, feedlots, and dairies.

Animal Disease Prevention

The trend to improve animal health continues with even greater awareness that animal diseases impact humans. Whether it is price increases and supply shortages when avian influenza hits a flock, or food security issues when ASF and PSSRV surface, or through zoonotic diseases that change the planet such as COVID 19, Zika, Ebola, and MERS, there is greater acceptance of the need for technology innovation in conjunction with public-private partnerships to detect-and-protect animal health. Biosecurity is becoming a core part of animal protein production.

Alternative Proteins and Plant Alternatives

Although alt-protein is in a significant correction right now, the long-term vision remains unchanged. Regulatory successes have de-risked innovation and created tail winds. Processing technologies and clever media improvements are reducing processing costs, but there is still a long way to go to expand beyond a small beachhead in the market.

There is emerging clarity that the roadmap to alt-meat and alt-seafood includes much nearer-term plant-based and hybrid products. Blending lower cost plant protein with more-expensive-than-animal-meat ingredients to functionalize plant proteins is winning converts in taste, texture, and mouthfeel. These products can include precision-fermented animal fats (intramuscular and subcutaneous) that create very satisfying and competitive meat and seafood alternatives.

A few companies are making a progression from food-is-nutrition to food-is-wellness by identifying and validating new plant-based functional ingredients. If they succeed, there may be a whole new class of food ingredients that come with medical food-like claims and benefits. Though the barriers remain high, companies cannot deny the market potential of product concepts that promote wellness, reduce risk of disease, and reduce the morbidity and mortality associated with the Western diet. We look forward to seeing health claims supported by scientific and clinical data in the coming years.

Crop Input Reductions

Finally, the grand challenge of reducing fertilizer use is now exploring consortia of microbes that work in soil and as endophytes to directly fix nitrogen or improve phosphorus utilization. Application of metabolomics and AI tools developed for human therapeutic drug development are being re-applied to Ag and to microbial consortia. We look forward to seeing how these technologies work and who will be in the vanguard in developing and adopting them.

These trends, building on the last decade of exciting innovation and investment in the sector, demonstrate the enormous opportunity within the AgriFood industry. The future of the industry lies where traditional agricultural approaches converge with new technologies and advancements with the biotech sector. Within Genoa’s own portfolio these trends are at play: molecular crop breeding technologies are harnessing the natural genetic diversity of crops to create varieties that can withstand climate changes, human health advances are being leveraged for preventative medicine in animal health, and gene editing is speeding up the process of evolution for crops to become more disease resistant and improve quality.

At Genoa we anticipate many new ventures will grow out of the evolution of the AgriFood industry in the coming years with opportunities to invest in companies that will meet the challenges of a changing climate and growing pressure on resources. What we observed at these conferences demonstrates the willingness of the industry to meet these challenges with innovation, collaboration, and conviction.