The agriculture industry is rapidly evolving to meet the needs of a changing planet. In this context, Next Big Thing invited SmartHectar CEO Matthias Schmidt-Rex to a meetup called ‘The World in 2030’. Along with other change-makers across the industry, Schmidt-Rex shared his knowledge, experience, and advice with nearly 100 guests. The audience was interested in what’s evolving in the AgTech industry. The goal of the talk was to provide practical advice to anyone interested in developing solutions in the industry and to inspire them to move their projects forward.
Nadim Choucair, as the moderator from 2030 Cabinet, framed the discussion through the lens of the UN’s Sustainability Development Goals (SDG). Despite a sobering reminder of how much more we need to do to work towards these sustainability goals, Choucair also sparked a discussion around current progress that reminded attendees of top priorities going forward.
Think Globally
Schmidt-Rex brought an international perspective from his experience in West Africa and Southeast Asia. He stressed that increasing food production self-sufficiency is critical for Africa which imports $40B annually. For example, food that otherwise would be considered waste due to EU regulations (although still fine to consume) gets exported to Senegal and other regions. There, it’s sold at prices that local farmers cannot compete with. These kinds of issues highlight the real need to help local startups to find the right partners in these emerging markets.
