Instituto AgroGalaxy announces winners of its 1st Challenge

The AgroGalaxy Institute announced last Wednesday, the 15th, the three winning startups of its 1st Challenge, whose objective was to identify sustainable solutions to be applied in the field, with the main focus on the “Transition to Regenerative Agriculture”. The three selected were Tarvos, Dana Agro and Solusolo, who will receive prizes totaling R＄300 thousand. The announcement was broadcast live on the institution's official YouTube channel.

“It was a pleasure and a huge amount of work to select the solutions presented, all of them of high quality, with the engagement and dedication of all the entrepreneurs”, commented Mônica Alcântara, head of ESG at AgroGalaxy and vice-president of the AgroGalaxy Institute. “Today, we begin to reap the first fruits of this long-awaited initiative. We are very happy to be part of the story of each startup and, regardless of those selected, we have already established a connection with all 10 finalists, to be able to take these solutions to the field.

With the proposal to develop solutions for monitoring agricultural pests, Tarvos was chosen as the grand champion of the challenge. The startup, which is based in Campinas/SP, will receive a prize of R＄ 150 thousand, plus technical support and access to the network of producers and the executive and technical staff of AgroGalaxy. “We are very happy with this experience”, commented Andrei Grespan, CEO of Tarvos.

The runner-up of the challenge was Dana Agrícola, a research and development startup based in Tarumã/SP, which developed a solution capable of minimizing one of the rural producers' main pain points, which is weed resistance, with operations at a of RNA. In addition to technical support and access to AgroGalaxy's network of producers and executive and technical staff, the company will receive a cost allowance of R＄ 100 thousand. “I'm very happy and excited, because I imagine how difficult it was for the panel to choose startups and their innovations”, said agronomist and CEO of Dana Agrícola, Dana Maschede. “It's really cool to be part of all this, to see AgroGalaxy committed to bringing all this innovative technology to the field. We need this: a large company that is determined to do the best for the producer. I am immensely proud to be part of this journey”, she concluded.

Third place was the fertilizer company Solusolo, with an office in Varginha/MG. The startup presented an organic agricultural input using Japanese technology to restore the health of soils degraded by intensive cultivation and agrochemicals. Just like the first and second placed, Solusolo will receive technical support, access to the network of producers and AgroGalaxy technical and executive staff and R＄50 thousand. “It was a solution that was born out of the need for a large property. And, today, being able to take this to producers at all levels is a dream come true”, said the CEO of Solusolo, Diro Hokari, excited.

Success in the 1st Challenge

In total, the first Challenge had 95 participants, a number that exceeded expectations. In addition to the winners Tarvos, Dana Agro and Solusolo, seven other startups reached the final stretch of the competition: Agriconnect, CertifiCafé, Fertien Fertilizandos, Green Biotech Brasil, Life Biological Control, Performance Vegetal and Revella.

The evaluation panel was made up of nine renowned market experts, such as Luiz Carlos Dematte Filho, CEO of the Korin Group, Felipe Vilella, founder of reNature, Silvia Massruha, Researcher at Embrapa Digital Agriculture, and Erich dos Reis Duarte, Chief Researcher at Tech AgroGalaxy. "The first step was taken. From now on, we will monitor all projects, to apply the solutions in the field and reap good results”, says Erich Duarte.

Created in February this year by AgroGalaxy, the AgroGalaxy Institute aims to promote knowledge, education and innovation to boost sustainable development in the countryside. Less than 4 months old, the institute mobilized startups from all over Brazil to encourage the application of solutions that meet the main needs of rural producers, with a positive socio-environmental impact. The second challenge is expected to be announced in the second half of 2022.