By Michelle Pelletier Marshall, Global AgInvesting Media  

It is now a well-told story that COVID-19 exposed the inefficiencies in the global food supply chain, but it is a fortuitous result that multiple businesses – agribusinesses, technology conglomerates, and entrepreneurs alike – are pushing the envelope on innovation to develop systems, products, and tools to recalibrate the supply chain into a seamless, streamlined process. At the forefront of this disruption is Vancouver-based AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd., which provides proprietary facility design and automated growing systems.

Under the direction of CEO Ingo Mueller, the company, which was founded in 2017, seeks to provide a new productivity/profitability model that redefines the gold standard for growing high-value agricultural, pharmaceutical, and nutraceutical products.

With experience as an entrepreneur and a finance/business strategist, as well as CEO of natural resource companies, Mueller said a key element in his career is that early on he recognized the need to bring together a complex range of requirements. They included a growing consumer and government regulatory demand for environmental and sustainability, as well as a growing expectation that allows a company and community to benefit financially while acting responsibly and respectfully towards the earth. No small feat.

He knew that achieving this requires the ability to understand issues, authentically engage with all stakeholders, and ultimately innovate beyond current expectations, boundaries, and even borders. Mueller is now focused on optimizing plant health and delivering a sustainable solution in a range of agricultural verticals including vegetables and fruits, nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals. This means going beyond the current tech solutions in agriculture by stepping outside of the business and examining the critical drivers.

“You change when an industry forces you to change, but ag hasn’t had to fully pivot yet. It hasn’t had to change the fundamental elements of the way it conducts business, but it’s coming,” said Mueller in one of his regular video chats. “Consumers are getting smarter, climate change and sustainability are now in the consciousness of society, and the reality of it is that there is not enough water or arable land, so change will be forced upon the industry… and we want to lead that change.”

While AgriFORCE is starting with hydroponics, they promise that is only the beginning in their journey to be a leader in a revolution in agriculture that will bring multiple verticals in the sector out of the industrial age and into the digital one. GAI News spoke with Mueller to find out how.

1). Please explain more about the AgriFORCE product and technology and how this will be the catalyst to move ag from the industrial age to the digital age.  

We have developed what we believe to be one of the world’s most technically advanced indoor agriculture facilities, systems, and standard operating procedures that are being modified to bring flavorful farm-fresh, pesticide-free, better tasting produce to consumers. It combines advanced architecture, micropropagation growing processes, and leading-edge technology – from AI to the Internet of things – in what we believe is a first-of-its-kind precision ecosystem model.

This new model of local agriculture is designed to be safer than factory farming, more nimble than outdoor farms, greener than greenhouses, and more efficient in terms of water consumption, power usage and CO₂ production.

We believe that the technology will help move the agriculture industry into the digital age by designing a facility that harnesses the natural power of the sun in a precisely controlled environment. One of the key features of the precision ecosystem model is the ability to deliver abundant natural sunlight shining through an advanced transparent building envelope. Unlike plastic or glass, our proprietary FORCEfilm substantially lets the full spectrum of the sun’s light to reach the plants, helping them to achieve their full genetic and flavor potential.

We also employ proprietary supplemental grow lighting that significantly enhances and extends the plants’ photoperiod beyond natural daylight hours. It was developed to maximize crop growth and quality and reduce the time to harvest by up to 50 percent.

The entire facility is contained in a sealed, cleanroom-like microclimate that keeps pests, pesticides, and pollutants out. A closed-loop, convective air circulation system maintains ideal climatic conditions. Natural temperature regulation using sunlight and organic foam-based clouds dramatically reduce air conditioning electricity requirements.

Highly automated hydroponic-aeroponic systems and nutrients are continuously optimized by Internet of Things and machine learning technology. This automation is designed to reduce handling and associated costs and to allow the highest yield and lowest environmental and financial costs.

2). You have said that AgriFORCE sees the AgTech opportunity in addressing legacy systems with respect to facility design. Can you tell GAI readers more about this objective, and how you see this area to be disruptive to the sector, and a point of interest for investors?

We’ve developed what we believe to be one of the world’s most technically advanced indoor agriculture systems, but in a much different way from legacy methods, including many modern indoor farming approaches. We often refer to our precision ecosystem model as the “fourth way” of agriculture – compared to legacy outdoor farms, greenhouses, and indoor farm models. What we have developed is set to provide an entirely new approach to crops, operations, facilities, systems, and the growing environment (COFSE).

Our growing system is being identified as “disruptive” to the industry because it combines a unique architectural design, intelligent automation and advanced growing processes to create precisely controlled growing environments optimized for each kind of crop. No one has done this before.

The precision ecosystem model is developed to produce fresher, more nutritious and more flavorful food closer to the table. It also provides the opportunity for cultivation focused on nutraceuticals and pharmaceuticals – including those used in plant-based vaccines.

3).  How has your previous role as an entrepreneur supported your mission at AgriFORCE?  

One of the key elements of success is in how a concept is taken from an idea to reality. I have had the opportunity with several other companies to do this and I think that experience has been key, as we not only went through R&D on our proprietary facility design and automated growing system, but as we built out a best-in-class team.

In my experience, the first thing you want to do is surround yourself with a team of people who share the same vision, commitment, belief systems, and who are experts in their specific disciplines. You then want those people teamed up with people who can provide you an objective view and knowledge base as experts in their particular area of expertise. And when you do that, you then look at the opportunity. You look at the gaps. You look at what’s driving consumer behaviors – what are consumers’ wants – and then work backwards to deliver that solution. It’s very much the same when you design any project – industrial or commercial. You really want to start at the end point and reverse engineer, allowing yourself the opportunity to get there. For us, it was: How do you build something that addresses, in our opinion, a significant market need?

This includes the ability to tackle certain cultivation short comings that are well recognized within the industry, but not necessarily known by consumers and or non-industry players. This is important because often in an industry, things are done the way they have ‘always been done’ – the processes and approaches aren’t questioned enough. No one outside the sector realizes this, but they are affected by it in a range of ways. It’s time to start asking how we can do better for each element and if it truly works, then use that approach and if it doesn’t, then we need to improve or completely change it.

The future of sustainability and environmental awareness and responsibility was really important, and we see that all around us. It was very obvious to us that traditional agtech is the opposite of that in many ways.

Over the course of the last three or so years, we’ve worked from the starting point of concept through to development, engineering and full construction readiness. We are currently at the stage where we plan to break ground in early 2021. That’s exciting, and we can see by responses to the work we have done to-date that the industry and consumers are ready for the kind of change we are intent on bringing to this important sector.  

4). By your own admission you are tasked with a paradigm shift in the ag sector. What are the top three initiatives to execute on that goal?

First, amid rising food insecurity and consumer quality standards, we believe that everyone in the world should have access to affordable, sustainable, good-tasting, nutrient-rich produce. We aim to move food production closer to the consumer to address the urgent challenges of today’s less-than-perfect food supply chain. We also intend to meet the growing need for clean, green, and consistent quality plant-based pharmaceuticals and nutraceuticals, including vaccines, that can help address serious health and wellness issues. I think that the current global pandemic has increased interest in this area, and it offers a real opportunity for companies like ours to meet what is expected to be a growing demand for these types of therapeutics.

Secondly, we plan to not only be a producer, but also a solutions provider to other growers, pharmaceutical companies, and nutraceutical organizations seeking a better way to cultivate their products. We envision our network of growing systems as platforms for others to leverage.

Our third initiative focuses on growth through mergers and acquisitions. The agtech sector is severely underserved by the capital markets, and we see an opportunity to acquire global companies who have provided solutions to the industry and are moving innovation forward. We have created a separate corporate office to aggressively pursue such acquisitions. The robust engagement with potential targets has clearly confirmed the belief and desire to be part of a larger integrated agtech solutions provider, where each separate element of the business has its existing legacy business and can leverage across areas of expertise to expand their business footprint. There is no one that we are aware of who is pursuing this model in the U.S. capital markets environment at this time.

5).  Current private placements of $14.3 million have aided AgriFORCE in its endeavors. What does the future hold for investing in AgriFORCE? Will there be any public offerings?

We are working with Kingswood Capital Markets to pursue financing and listing options.

By being part of the AgriFORCE story, investors have a unique opportunity to help address clearly required changes in the most fundamental of requirements of life: food and medicine – both massive, addressable markets. With no clear leaders, obvious market gaps, and opportunities, we have the ability step into the role as a global leader and are committed to driving innovation and rewarding investors with significant shareholder appreciation.

 ABOUT INGO MUELLER

Ingo Mueller, CEO for AgriFORCE Growing Systems Ltd., is currently working from his home office in North Vancouver, British Columbia. He continues to connect with the AgriFORCE team, strategic partners, and others around the world – whether that is in California, New York or several other states where AgriFORCE has business interests. He is also in constant contact with the company’s partners in Europe, as it raises the flag there for AgriFORCE and the company’s unique (and proprietary) facility design and automated growing system.  

 

~ Michelle Pelletier Marshall is managing editor for HighQuest Group’s Global AgInvesting’s GAI Gazette magazine and its WIA Today blog, as well as a contributor to GAI News and the Oilseed & Grain News. She can be reached at mmarshall@highquestgroup.com.