MagGrow Wins 2016 Thrive Accelerator Sustainability Award in California
MagGrow, has been named winner of the 2016 Thrive Accelerator Sustainability Award, at the 2nd annual Forbes AgTech Summit held in Salinas, California.
The Forbes AgTech Summit brings together over 500 of the smartest and most entrepreneurial minds in Silicon Valley and global agriculture to tackle some of the world’s most critical challenges.
MagGrow is a pioneering magnetic spraying technology which reduces drift by up to 80% while at the same time delivering superior coverage, a key challenge of existing drift reduction technologies.
Headquartered at NovaUCD, the Centre for New Ventures and Entrepreneurs at University College Dublin (UCD), MagGrow was one of just 12 companies from around the world, and the only company from Ireland, selected to participate on the 2016 Thrive Accelerator Programme for promising Food and AgTech start-‐ups.
Through the 8-‐week Thrive Accelerator Programme, an initiative of SVG Partners, companies benefited from high-‐level mentorship, collaboration and direct access to the world’s top fresh agriculture companies in and around Salinas and the central California growing region.
It is estimated by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations that 20 to 40 percent of global crop output is lost due to plant pests and diseases. Growers combat pests and diseases by spraying herbicide, fungicides and insecticide to improve crop quality and yield.
An unintended consequence of spraying is spray drift, which occurs when application dust or droplets move through the air or soil to an unintended site. Nearby communities, adjacent to crop fields, plants, water supply or other bodies of water, are all impacted by spray applications.
To solve this problem MagGrow has developed a pioneering magnetic spraying technology system which utilises the fact that all living plants and soil have a magnetic field.
Through MagGrow’s technology, which involves the attachment of a series of magnetic inserts onto a sprayer , an electromagnetic charge is infused into the liquid spray, resulting in targeted attraction and superior coverage of the plant or soil resulting in a reduction of spray drift by over 80%.
The superior drift control and coverage provided by MagGrow’stechnology means that profitability is increased through reduced pesticide wastage, productivity is improved through increased spray windows while supporting environmental regulations and a better environment.
In addition field studies of MagGrow’s technology on commercial farms in The Netherlands, Kenya and Ethiopia have demonstrated reduction in water usage, improved disease control , increased spray capacity and reduced labour input due to fewer changeovers of the sprayer, and less waste and environmental contamination.
Gary Wickham, CEO, MagGrow said, “We are truly delighted to have won the 2016 Thrive Accelerator Sustainability Award. It is a great testimony to the dedication of the MagGrow team in the development of our unique technology that has significant transformational benefits for the arable and horticulture sectors.” He added, “The world’s population is estimated to grow to 9 billion by 2050 so the demand for food and water will increase dramatically but by using current farming methods we simply will not be able to meet this demand. But we truly believe that every generation has the right to a sustainable supply of food and water and so we must find better ways to grow and that is why we developed MagGrow.”
ENDS14 July 2016
For further information contact Alison Healy, Chief Commercial Officer, MagGrow, t: + 353 1 716 3695, e: [email protected]. Twitter: @MagGrowglobal. LinkedIn:MagGrow
Editor’s NotesMagGrow, founded in 2013 by Gary Wickham, Derek Wickham and David Moore, now employs a staff of 12 people. MagGrow is currently trading in East Africa and is launching in Europe in 2016. MagGrow operates in two distinct markets, tailoring its product lines to distinct growing practices of developing and developed markets. In developing countries, where the average farm size is only 1 ha, and spraying is mostly conducted using simple knapsack sprayers, MagGrow offers a turnkey range of backpack sprayers. For developed markets, where growers use specialised spraying equipment such as field boom sprayers and air blast sprayers, MagGrow’s product is sold in the form of a retrofit kit that can be easily installed onto all manufacturer sprayer types. www.maggrow.globalTHRIVE Accelerator is a unique international business program for promising start-‐ups in the areas of Food and AgTech. www.thriveaccelerator.comSVG Partners, based in Silicon Valley, CA, is an investment, technology and advisory firm that partners with organizations on strategy, innovation and global expansion. www.svgpartners.com