After announcing three strategic partnerships within a week’s time, Monsanto has now announced that it is partnering with Microsoft with the goal of investing in Brazilian agtech startups, reports Fortune.

Monsanto will commit up to 300 million reais (US$92 million) to an investment fund that will be managed by Microsoft, and which will consider and evaluate newly developed digital tools that could have beneficial application within agriculture in the country.

“There is a vast area for research and development,” Rodrigo Santos, head of Monsanto in Latin America noted.

Selected startups will be granted initial funding of up to 1.5 million reais, or US$459,000 to support early stage development. After three years, each startup will have the option to re-pay the investment or convert the investment into an equity share in the operation.

“We want to foster new startups in the agricultural sector. There is a vast area for research and development,” Rodrigo Santos, head of Monsanto in Latin America told reporters according to Reuters.

—

Lynda Kiernan