Farmers for generations
The company was founded in 2016 in Estonia. Its founders were a father and son coming from a family with a multi-generational tradition in agriculture. Based on the knowledge of the industry and the problems that farmers have to deal with in farm management, eAgronom became a provider of modern software for agriculture. The company was backed by investors and began its market expansion. Already in 2018, eAgronom appeared in Poland, and Black Pearls VC joined the group of funds supporting the startup, which invested in the company in two consecutive funding rounds.
The company quickly acquired more customers. eAgronom already helps more than 1,500 farming companies covering more than one million hectares of arable land across Europe and helps provide food for more than three million consumers. In addition, the company supports its customers in achieving higher yields and revenues through technology and consulting services. Based on past experience and success, the team began to look for new opportunities to support farmers. EU climate policy and ambitious plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions became a natural direction.
How to change the industry that emits the most CO2?
While agriculture is currently one of the main sources of global carbon emissions, it also provides an opportunity to remove CO2 from the atmosphere. Outside of the oceans, soils are the largest carbon sink, and scientists estimate that they could absorb more than one billion additional tons of carbon per year. To achieve this, large-scale adoption of sustainable agricultural practices is required. But financial constraints and complex regulations remain key barriers for many farmers to take action. At the same time, carbon offsetting has come under increased scrutiny due to a lack of transparency and measurability.
As one of the largest farm management software providers in Europe, eAgronom has a real impact on making sustainable changes in agriculture that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions. With the funding round raised, the company will launch an agriculture-based carbon credit platform as it continues to expand into new markets (including outside the EU). For a long time, eAgronom has been working on improving its carbon tracking technology, thanks to blockchain technology and the involvement of the Web3 community organized under Solid World DAO, among others. As a result, the company’s solution will help farmers and other carbon projects fund CO2 sequestration.
Robin Saluoks, co-founder and CEO of eAgronom, said: “With our experience in helping farmers implement new technologies, we are uniquely positioned to capitalize on the global agri-carbon opportunity. We have leveraged our relationships with farmers managing farms of over 1 million hectares to start with, but we can’t stop there. To fight climate change, we must provide transparent monitoring and access to capital for all companies engaged in the fight for nature. We believe there is an outcome that can deliver a win-win for farmers, consumers, the environment, and companies that want to increase their green credentials with the most rigorous carbon sequestration measurement and certification standards. Our goal is to become the leading provider of high-quality carbon credits.”
In earlier investment rounds, eAgronom has raised a total of $12 million in support from investors. Over the next 12 months, eAgronom will focus on optimizing farmer deployment, creating global dealers and pre-financing the carbon transition. Poland is the largest of the company’s European markets. Farmers’ trust and high quality solutions have allowed the eAgronom team to win numerous awards including a Gold Medal at the MTP trade show.
Adam Mikołajczak, General Director of eAgronom Polska: “Polish farmers realise that the future lies in the digitalisation of agriculture and sustainable practices, which is why they trust eAgronom and cooperate with us on many levels. eAgronom is the first company in Poland with such an advanced carbon programme which we have developed with a focus on the planet and helping farmers to make environmentally friendly changes. We know that if it wasn’t for this trust on the part of farmers, based among other things on the fact that at eAgronom we listen to their needs, this success would not have been possible.”
Tim Heath, General Partner at Yolo Investments, states: “Many companies want to be on Web3, but eAgronom and Solid World DAO have real applications. Voluntary carbon markets lack transparency and liquidity, and blockchain is the best technology to provide both. We are excited to leverage our expertise in cryptocurrencies to support the company.”
Normunds Igolnieks, General Partner at ZGI Capital: “This is the kind of innovation the world needs to tackle climate change: one that combines financial success with helping the planet. Monitoring software and farmer networks give the company a head start. Combined with the global drive to achieve 0 net emissions, eAgronomist is an exciting business to be a part of.”
