​Ripple Hosts

​Katherine Mellis

​Sandwater

​Simon Evill

​PelicanAg

​TL;DR

​This Ripple dives into the convergence of regenerative agriculture, food systems, and nature tech—exploring how to fund the transition, support farmer adoption, and align stakeholders across food security, climate, and soil health. We'll unpack barriers, business models, and where VC fits in.

​Topic overview

​Why is the topic relevant?

​Regenerative agriculture practices have proven to have long-lasting effects on improving soil health & diversity; boosting yields, water retention and CO2 sequestration; and more. Yet this shift faces a mountain of inertia - not helped by generally thin margins for farmers, CapEx investments, and slow payback cycles.

​Financially speaking, the RegenAg market is expected to grow by $20bn+ in the next 10 years. Yet AgTech seems to fall in and out of focus for some VCs, with many questioning whether VC investors truly understand farmers. As companies mature to later-stage rounds, the landscape of specialist funds thins, leaving the challenge of relating to more generalist investors.

​Simultaneously, we see a confluence of RegenAg and natural capital, with new business models allowing farmers to be paid for delivering ecosystem services. As opposed to a conflict between nature regeneration and farming, one can argue ‘nature tech’ will converge with food systems out of necessity.

​Geopolitical tensions have now put the topic of national food security high on the agenda and have highlighted the importance of building more resilient food systems. How can we marry up these trends and bring stakeholders together in order to hit yield targets, support soil health & farmer prosperity, and improve nutrient quality for human health?

​What’s up for discussion?

• ​How to address the education gap around current agricultural practices to create more consumer pull toward sustainable and regenerative foods?

• ​What are the core barriers holding farmers back from transitioning to RegenAg today?

• ​What business models are exemplified today to support the convergence of ‘naturetech’ and food systems?

• ​Can nature regeneration work in tandem with farming? Or are they inherently opposed?

• ​Where is there VC-investable opportunities within Ag and RegenAg?

• ​What roles do governments / public sector play, if any, in supporting the shift with grants/subsidies, regulations, etc.?

• ​How to broaden the conversation and movement beyond small family farms & co-ops to mega-farms and food corporations?

​Dream outcome

​Spur more discussion within the climate-focused VC community about RegenAg as a tool to create more climate resilient and sustainable food systems. Explore the relationship between RegenAg and natural capital, to ensure VC capital is supporting the right technologies to achieve our goals, as opposed to perpetuating systemic deficits. And for any AgTech founders, provide tangible recommendations on navigating the funding portion of their growth journey.

​Who should attend?

• ​Founders within AgTech and RegenAg

• ​Investors who are currently invested or are interested in increasing their exposure to AgTech/RegenAg.

• ​And especially any farmers present!