2nd April 2021
Agritech Startup Polybee CEO Siddarth Jadhav was concerned about the growing problem of food security and mouths to feed. The other, where were all the bees?
The rising urban population is expected to be 66% by 2040 raising demand for fresh nutritious produce putting pressure on fruit and vegetable production. Further added to by climate change and depleting resources. The solution lies in controlled environmental agriculture which has seen a rise in urban farming of green houses and vertical farms.
Bees are natural pollinators but loss of natural habitats in cities and uncertain climatic conditions have led to decline in numbers. This is impacting major agricultural regions.
Facing these challenges Polybee directed their attention to some key areas of focus. Hybrid seeds is a $50Bn industry totally dependent on hand pollination for production. This can be hampered by variable measurements leading to longer product development cycles. Indoor vertical farms in urban areas are a solution but pollination is a major drawback. Farmers growing in greenhouses are not always able to access bees.
The solution is to grow more from less. Polybee have developed precision horticulture palm-sized micro drones. They create a “signature controlled air flow” pattern to vibrate flowers at the right frequency so they release their pollen. These micro-drones have a high throughput capacity and are able to precisely operate in small spaces. They are deployed for autonomous pollination and monitoring of the plants in controlled environment agriculture settings. The method of self pollination maximizes the fertilization of every flower since the drone is set to pollinate at just the right time.
In 2020 the market value for pollination dependent fruit and vegetables was $USD 343 billion. The market potential if everyone had sufficient access to such crops is estimated at $USD 2 trillion. This could be attainable through pollination assisted technology. Siddarth Jadhav’s vision is to provide solutions agricultural productivity wherever it is needed to enhance food security.
Polybee recently won the Tech for Impact prize awarded by Singapore bank DBS Foundation at the 10th Lee Kuan Yew Global Business Plan Competition.
