AgTech 2.0: Four Keys for the Industry Going Forward
By Rodrigo Pereyra, AgTech industry expert and former VP of AgScience and R&D Operations at Bowery Farming
In 2020, I wrote a piece for UrbanAg News titled “Digital Farming’s ‘Up in the Air’ Moment,” arguing that AgTech companies needed a deep understanding of their farming customers’ operations to succeed. Five years later, after a surge of investment, a wave of industry exits, and monthly headlines of high-profile bankruptcies, it’s fair to ask: has AgTech taken three steps forward only to fall four steps back?
Despite these setbacks, I believe there is reason for optimism. The hard lessons of the past few years are pushing the industry toward a more pragmatic, grounded approach. Moving forward, four priorities will be critical to rebuilding momentum: focusing on real-world problems, backing up claims with credible science, demonstrating clear ROI, and leveraging the growing pool of experienced AgTech talent.
The future of AgTech looks green, but only if we stay grounded in the realities of farming, develop solutions that are validated by science, and demonstrate clear, lasting business impact.
1. Focus on Real Problems
Anyone who has spent time operating a farm, greenhouse, or indoor farm knows that agricultural problems are rarely simple. While AI and advanced technology offer incredible potential, not every problem requires a high-tech solution and sometimes, the most impactful solutions are the simplest.
Companies developing AgTech solutions must start by deeply understanding the problem before building technology. Better yet, bring agricultural scientists, agronomists, or growers onto your team to ground-truth assumptions and designs early. Find the nail first, then build the hammer.
2. Validate Claims with Science
During my time at Bowery Farming, I was approached by hundreds of companies seeking to test their technologies in our farms. A quick sniff test was whether they could back their claims with credible science. If not, it was an immediate no. If they had strong data and well-structured trials, we were willing to explore further.
Scientific validation isn’t just a nice-to-have it’s critical for credibility and adoption. AgTech products backed by robust trials and data will always have more pull with sophisticated customers.
3. Prove ROI Early
Agriculture is a low-margin, high-scrutiny business. Every dollar saved on COGS or gained through improved yield matters. An AgTech solution must clearly articulate, and ideally quantify, how it boosts revenue or cuts costs and risks.
Pilot studies, case studies, and real-world customer examples showing clear financial impact are powerful tools. No matter how innovative, a product without a clear business impact will struggle to find a home on the farm.
4. Leverage Experienced Talent
The past year has been tough for AgTech professionals, with significant job losses across the industry. Yet this also means there is now a deep talent pool of people with hands-on experience building or operating technology-enabled farms.
From agronomists to supply chain experts to software developers, these individuals are passionate, practical, and equipped to drive the next generation of AgTech solutions. Companies should actively seek out this expertise, not just for what they know today, but for what they can innovate tomorrow.
Looking further ahead, it’s encouraging to see strong interest from the next generation. Conversations with college students show that AgTech continues to inspire, and it’s crucial to build pathways and public-private partnerships to cultivate this future workforce.
I’ve seen firsthand how these four principles, solving the right problems, grounding innovation in science, demonstrating ROI, and relying on experienced teams, can lead to impactful solutions. At Bowery Farming, interdisciplinary collaboration among technologists, agronomists, and engineers enabled us to build systems that delivered real operational impact.
Our computer vision models, for example, captured crop growth trends at a scale imperceptible to the human eye, allowing us to make earlier, smarter decisions that materially improved farm performance. It was verified, focused, and directly linked to improved results; it wasn’t technology for the sake of technology.
When I first entered the AgTech world, my perspective was heavily technology-centered. Over time, my focus shifted toward agriculture. At its core, AgTech is about solving agricultural problems and technology is only valuable when it directly enables better solutions.
The future of AgTech looks green, but only if we stay grounded in the realities of farming, develop solutions that are validated by science, and demonstrate clear, lasting business impact.