Danish ag tech company Agreena raises $50 mln in funding

 With agriculture accounting for nearly one third of global CO2 emissions, the industry has become a focal point for decarbonisation efforts.

Agreena provides incentives for farmers to make the transition to sustainable farming, including carbon removal and reduction practices, by monetising what can be a risky venture, Chief Executive of Agreena, Simon Haldrup, says.

"If you do this wrong, you risk losing part of your yield for the first few years," he says.

"You cannot say to a farmer 'now you are not allowed to plough anymore', so turning this into a business opportunity for the farmer helps untie that knot," he explains.

Agreena provides farmers with the opportunity to turn their reduced emissions into carbon certificates, which other companies can buy to offset their own emissions. This helps to provide farmers with additional revenue.

The extra income stream can offset a potential yield loss for farmers while their soil adapts to new agricultural practices, such as cover crops and crop rotations, Haldrup said.

Agreena's fundraising, led by German venture capitalist HV Capital, will also be used to improve financial services for farmers, such as helping them access green loans, which can alleviate the cost of new machinery and the transition to regenerative agriculture.

"Carbon credits is where we have started, but ultimately we are building a stack of different services to add multiple layers of value tofarmers when they're transitioning," Haldrup said.

($1 = 0.9234 euros)