Agricultural suppliers have invested heavily in agtech data and analytics platforms, but consolidation could erode customer trust and invite regulatory scrutiny.
The consolidation of the world’s biggest agribusiness companies into even bigger tie-ups raises the stakes for agtech.
Monsanto and other agricultural suppliers have heavily invested in platforms that aggregate and analyze farmer data, adding to concerns of over-concentration in the industry.
Over-concentration could hinder agribusiness companies’ ability to acquire new businesses, and even erode customers’ trust — which is crucial for acquiring farmer data.
large and small agribusiness companies are consolidating
When the European Commission approved Bayer’s $66B acquisition of Monsanto, it concluded that “effective competition and innovation in seeds, pesticides and digital agriculture” would not be hindered by the merger.
The Commission’s focus on innovation in digital agriculture, in addition to seeds and pesticides, indicates technology’s increasing importance in agriculture.
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