AgTech Company Gets $1 Million from BC to Monitor Carbon Levels in Soil
Terramera, an AgTech company based in Vancouver, received CAD 1 million from British Columbia's Innovative Clean Energy Fund to measure carbon levels in the soil. The company looks forward to spreading regenerative farming techniques across BC.
Terramera is devising a low-cost quantification technology to monitor soil health. The technology uses proprietary sensors, data analytics, and imaging as part of a larger platform called the Terramera Intelligence Engine. The company got $7.9 million from Sustainable Development Technology Canada in May. This money will help the company improve its technology.
Karn Manhas founded the company in 2010, which, in the beginning, focused on developing biologically-based pest solutions to replace chemicals and pesticides. It recently started venturing into other areas, including AI-based technology, to deal with issues such as monitoring strains of COVID-19 and optimising crop yields.
The Innovative Clean Energy Fund that supports Terramera's project was introduced in 2007 to bolster BC's clean-energy sector and renewable energy technologies.
Bruce Ralston, minister of energy, mines and low carbon innovation, said: "BC is home to a growing clean-energy sector and accounts for nearly 35% of Canada’s world-leading clean-tech firms that are having positive impacts globally. Terramera demonstrates the kind of innovative thinking that sows the seeds for wide adoption of technologies critical to meeting the Province’s climate goals.”
Terramera's investment is part of British Columbia's "CleanBC Road to 2030" plan, which seeks to reduce carbon emissions to net zero by 2050. Encouraging farmers to use regenerative agricultural techniques is one of the points in the roadmap. Covering crops, avoiding synthetic fertilisers, and minimising the number of times soil is turned over are just a few of these methods. However, the continuous application of these strategies necessitates a thorough grasp of agricultural soil health.
Terramera's project aims to make it easier to use regenerative agricultural techniques across the province.
Regenerative farming tries to take carbon from the air and store it in the soil, which leads to stronger crops and cleaner air.
Terramera announced plans in 2020 to build a new $730 million world centre aimed at combating climate change and bolstering agriculture through technology.
Before that, the company had raised $64.1 million in Series B funding and was nominated for the Global Cleantech 100 list for 2019.
