#Sementis: all eyes on COP28 🌏👀

#9 - November in LATAM - Sementis

Holaaaa, Oláaaaa, Helloooo

December arrived! And even though it's the Friday of the year, there's still a lot going on.

November was another positive month for innovation in agriculture, food and climate tech, with emphasis on investments from John Deere, Solinftec, Taranis. And even Amazon investing in the Amazon!

And it was the start of COP 28, considered one of the most important climate conferences in recent years, especially for Latin America.

Therefore, in the Highlights section, I bring the latest news from the Conference, as well as a suggestion of podcasts for you to follow everything that happens there!

Without further ado, let's start, there's a LOT of news ahead to cover!

Buuut, before we start, I would like to ask you to sign up for the Newsletter for free, just to support my work.

Important: for some reason Substack isn't formatting the links with an underline text, so I colored it (blue) to remember that each bullet point has a link to the original article.

Let's go!

Topics we will cover:

• 🌱 Ag

•  🍇 Food

• 🌤️ Climate

• 💡 General News

• 👩🏻‍💻 Publications

• 🗓️ Events

• 💼 Job Openings

• 💬 Quote of the Month

• 👀 Before you go…

• A de Agro is close to a new investment and a partnership with another bank

• AGCO launches fund to invest in precision agriculture

• Agrofy projects growth of up to 30% in 2024

• ADM starts the Brazilian version of the regenerative agriculture plan

• Ambev: climate risk for agriculture became the board’s agenda

• Arezzo, Adidas, H&M and other brands join forces with livestock farmers and industry to rescue leather

• BB and BNDES will invest money in pasture recovery

• Beeotec bets on "Coca-Cola syrup" for agricultural inputs

• Belterra signs contract with Natura to plant agroforests and seeks R$800 million

• Bridge: A Fund by Founders for Founders Driving LatAm’s Technology Future

• ByMyCell wants to discover "hidden" bioinputs

• Cooxupé wants to "remove delays" and wants to build a technology hub for coffee

• Cowmed launches "Happy Cows" stamp

• Cromai wins startup competition

• Crucianelli: leader in the seed drill business that has a revenue of more than 150 million dollars and seeks to land in Brazil

• Danone wants to show that regenerative livestock farming makes a profit

• Embrapa studies opportunities and challenges in adopting drones in soybean cultivation

• Embratel signs partnership with Farmers Edge for connectivity services in the field

• GoSolos, focused on soils, is highlighted in agtech event

• Indigo prepares to enter the carbon credits market in Brazil

• InEdita Bio creates genome editing platform aimed at sustainable agriculture

• InPlant opens laboratory to produce high-value seedlings

• John Deere launches new season of a podcast series about the field on Spotify

• John Deere invests R$180 million in innovation center in Brazil

• Kamay Ventures announces *Grupo Bimbo* as investor to increase contributions in latin american startups

• Krilltech invests in nanotechnology for green fertilizers

• Laços do Agro app helps with agricultural production management

• Madero fills box with R$150 million in CRA to buy agricultural products

• Marfrig anticipates sustainability goals

• Nax Solutions expands its innovative agricultural technology to Mexico, Colombia, and Brazil

• OneSoil e IMBR Agro firmam parceria para oferecer solução que identifica áreas agrícolas e mensura o potencial de produção

• Re.green seeks to unlock resources for forest restoration

• Ribersolo and 3rlab merge operations - M&A

• Sol partners with Amazon to manage data in the field

• Solinftec raises R$150 million

• Taranis raises US$100 million and reinforces operations in Brazil

• The Yield Lab Latam announced an investment in the Mexican agtech Solena AG

• TMG advances in R$2 billion plan and receives passport for international expansion

• Traive Green issuance of US$47 million unites Traive, Opea, Santander and Rabobank with a focus on soy

• UniCartagena bets on technology in agricultural processes

• Velos Ag raises R$466,000 in agricultural crowdfunding and exceeds the target value of the round

• Verqor lands $7.5m from Yara, Accion and others to offer farmers ‘the fastest credit for agriculture in Mexico’

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• Agfood Technology companies help reduce poverty in Iberoamerica

• Cannabis: all the details of the 1st breeding bank in Latin America that will be in Brazil, with 5 thousand plants

• Farmers in Paraná (Brazil) with conservation areas can receive up to R$280 per hectare

• Precision agriculture: how it is becoming established in the fields of Paraguay

• Students from Harvard and MIT look for startups in Brazil to invest in; see how to sign up

• ADM serves bacon without pork and expects billions with innovation center

• Ajinomoto invests in Manioca, foodtech for seasonings and sauces from Pará

• Cellva is the first Brazilian biotech to participate in ProVeg, an incubator of food technologies

• EatCloud: The Colombian startup that helps with food rescue in Latin America

• European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT Food) partners with Foodtech HUB Latam

• Food To Save raises R$ 14 million for national expansion and consolidation of the food waste market

• JBS signs agreement with UFSC for studies at the research center on cultivated protein

• Mais Mu raises round with BAT and is valued at R$ 125 million

• NotCo launches exclusive club for baristas and introduces special plant-based milk for coffee drinks

• Olga Ri and Hi Pokee are now one

• Pröteio bets on healthy deep-frozen food

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• Brazilian unicorns: from Disk Cook call center to delivery giant, iFood's trajectory

• Lab-grown meat? Brazil's agenda to regulate 'Foodtech'

• Amazon invests R$90 million to generate carbon credits in the Amazon

• Astella, KPTL and GK receive support from BNDES for impact

• eB Capital and Pedro Parente should launch R$2 billion climate fund

• Petrobras allocates US$11.5 billion to low carbon in new plan

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• American fund bets millions against Vale in action for Mariana (Minas Gerais, Brazil)

• ‘BC of BCs’ raises alert for climate risk for insurance companies

• Brazilian high-tech startups join efforts for the energy transition; check out

• Climate crisis: Startups focused on extreme events are dry in investments

• Climate extremes wreak havoc on Brazilian agricultural production

• Emerging countries have raised just US$29 billion in climate funds since Paris

• ESG sets the tone in the final stage of the VC Challenge

• ESG sovereign bond will finance electric buses and reforestation

• Latin America can be a protagonist in the global energy transition

• Rio (almost) 40 degrees heats up debate on the impact of climate change at Innovation Week

• Why it is necessary to invest US$ 266 trillion to improve the global climate?

General:

• Perfect storm blows opportunity for Ag and Climate Tech in Latin America

• Latin America consolidates itself as a hotbed of agrifoodtech startups

• More than 2 thousand startups will need to look for money in Latin America, says study

• There are vacancies: agribusiness is looking for professionals

• The strength of agtechs: investments in agro startups skyrocket and reach the highest level in the decade

• The technological talent deficit is worrying in LatAm and means millions of positions

• Who are the talents that agfood techs are looking for

Highlights:

As I mentioned at the beginning of the Newsletter, COP28 has been considered one of the most important in recent years.

What’s COP 28?

COP28 is the 28th annual United Nations (UN) climate meeting where governments will discuss how to limit and prepare for future climate change.

The summit is being held in Dubai, in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), from 30 November until 12 December 2023.

COP stands for "Conference of the Parties", where the "parties" are the countries that signed up to the original UN climate agreement in 1992.

• COP28 Opens in Dubai with Calls for Accelerated Action, Higher Ambition Against the Escalating Climate Crisis

COP28 and controversies

The location of the conference was controversial due to it being a traditional exporter of fossil fuels. Some say it is a sign of openness to investments in renewable energy. But many climate experts were also opposed due to the fact that the president of COP28 is Sultan Al Jaber, who heads the UAE's state oil company.

• Sultan al-Jaber: A quick guide to the COP28 president

At Opening Plenary Speech, he said: “That means it is essential that no issue is left off the table. And yes, as I have been saying, that includes the role of fossil fuels. I know there are strong views about the idea of including language on fossil fuels and renewables in the negotiated text. We have the power to do something unprecedented. I ask you to work together. Be flexible, find common ground, come forward with solutions and achieve consensus. And never lose sight of our North Star of 1.5C, because that is what I am going to stay laser focused on”. 

• COP28 President Dr. Sultan Al Jaber’s Opening Plenary Speech

COP28 and Latin America

Although controversial and paradoxical, COP28 is highly relevant for Latin America for two main reasons:

1. The region, which is responsible for 14% of the world's food production and is described by the UN as "a pillar of world food security", is one of the regions most impacted by extreme weather events.

2. Most Latin American countries are committed to the energy transition, but they lack money.

Thus, one of the main objectives of representatives from the region at COP 28 is to present the countries' initiatives and raise investments mainly from rich countries.

If you want to better understand the whole context, I have separated some articles:

• What's at stake for Latin America and the Caribbean at COP28 in Dubai?

• What’s COP28 and what does it mean for Latin America?

• Will COP28 Jump-Start Latin America’s Green Energy Ambitions?

It is important to remember that COP28 takes place simultaneously with two wars and, while trillions of dollars are invested in weapons, it will be difficult to deny money to save the planet.

Pope Francis himself called for investment against hunger and the climate crisis in his (remote) speech at the event:

• COP-28: Pope calls for funding against hunger and climate crisis with money earmarked for weapons

The good news is that we are in the first days of the event and this is already happening:

• In historic decision, COP28 creates climate damage fund for poor countries

And, ahead of COP 28, more than a hundred CEOs and senior executives from the Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders, led by Vincent Clerc, Chief executive Officer of A.P. Moller Maersk, have shared an open letter to world leaders.

• Alliance of CEO Climate Leaders share open letter to world leaders for COP28

Also, breaking news: A pledge to triple the world's renewable energy capacity by 2030 is poised to win support from more than 110 countries s during the conference that is happening today (Dec, 2):

• Countries to promise clean energy boost at COP28 to push out fossil fuels

COP28 and Brazil

Brazil played an important role in this edition. The largest delegation (1,337 registered), also made up of President Lula, is presenting several projects:

• Brazil arrives at COP28 with an advantage against deforestation and 'skeletons' in the closet

• Brazil presents a proposal at COP 28 to keep tropical forests standing

• Brazil announces five calls for proposals worth almost R$21 billion at COP 28

• Brazil takes a project to recover 40 million hectares of pastures to the COP and wants to return with billions

• Pará (Brazil) launches system to track individual cattle with investment from the Bezos Earth Fund

However, while there are good announcements, Brazil received an invitation to join OPEC+, the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and Allies, causing more controversy:

• COP28: Brazil's possible entry into OPEC+ has a bad impact on the event

Well, it's just the beginning! Let's follow the scenes from the next chapters.

To keep up to date with the latest news from COP28, I have selected some podcasts:

• CBN at COP 28 (Portuguese)

• Reset - COP28: In the land of oil (Portuguese)

• edie COP 28 covered (English)

• Quite Please - COP 28 (English)

• Distrito IA Report: https://materiais.distrito.me/report/inteligencia-artificial 

• 🇧🇷  Dec, 4: 2023 Radar AgTech Launch

• 🇧🇷 Dec, 7: TechStart Agro Digital Demoday

• 🇧🇷 Dec, 7: Google AI Vertex Course

Open Call for Startups:

• Latin America: AgroStart - Greatest Challenges (BASF)

• 🇦🇷 BASF - Product Development Consultant

• 🇦🇷 TRIMBLE - Agricultural Representative - Argentina (BsAs)

• 🇧🇷 ADM - Sustainability Manager

• 🇧🇷 AGRIHUB - Innovation and New Business Manager

• 🇧🇷 Cargill - ANH Business Partnerships and Sustainability Value Lead

• 🇧🇷 COFCO Sustainability Coordinator

• 🇧🇷 Confidencial - Agri-Business Project Manager BR (Remote)

• 🇧🇷 TOTVS - Executive Manager of Business Solutions (Agribusiness)

• 🇨🇴 ALIANZA TEAM - Chain sustainability analyst

• 🇨🇴 The Nature Conservancy - Sustainable business models and private finance Specialist

• 🇲🇽 Heifer International - Coffee and Cocoa Market Systems Manager

• 🇲🇽 TRIMBLE - Software Engineering Manager

“Brother, didn't you realize that you are the only representative of your dream on the face of the earth?”
— EMICIDA

Meme of the Month

Tip of the month: do not perform a show with 60 thousand people during a heat wave in Rio de Janeiro

That's it, folks!

This is the last Newsletter of the year. On the first Saturday of the year, January 6th, I'll be back with the tenth edition! I'll bring lots of positive news (I hope!) from COP 28, perspectives for the year, events and much more!!

I wish you an excellent end to the year, a peaceful Christmas and an unforgettable New Year's Eve! Faith, wisdom, health and peace for 2024! We will be together in a new year.

And if you want to share some news from your company or project in this NewsLetter, you can send it to me. 🤗

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Saludos,

Juh Chini, a dreamer