On 19 April 2018, Melbourne-based SproutX ag-tech accelerator hub announced this year’s cohort of 19 start-ups – making it the world’s most active ag-tech investor.

Aussie start-up AgUnity, already boasting of a string of wins for its blockchain-based AgLedger app, which helps boost efficiency and income for some of the world’s poorest farmers, will go global in 2018, pitching to major investors at the World AgriTech Innovation Summit in San Fran and at the Global Future Agro Challenge in Turkey.

Melbourne-based ag-tech accelerator hub SproutX is seeking suitable start-ups for its 2018 Accelerator program, which offers successful applicants AU$40,000 each; high-level mentoring and networking opportunities; technical, business, investor and marketing support; and ongoing funding post-program.

Direct from vertical farm to city workers: this smart new Brooklyn-based startup co-founded by Elon’s bro Kimbal Musk cuts food miles by growing GMO-free greens right in New York City, delivering them to offices nearby.

Farming Together, a federally-funded pilot program in collaborative agriculture, helps primary producers across Australia form cooperative business structures, securing their farms’ futures by pooling capital and spreading risk.

IFPRI, the FAO and the OECD have teamed up on an ICT initiative that aims to sustain and build on the ag-performance gains shown to result from farmers’ use of mobile phones, with new programs targeting improved connectivity and content.