A lot has happened since Smarterra (officially Smarterra powered by SMAFINE) was launched in February 2024 in Matera. This EU Horizon project is dedicated to fostering AgriFood innovation systems and entrepreneurial activity in Southern Italy.

Industrial hemp offers significant potential for the bioeconomy. To harness this potential, investments in innovation and in scaling up industrial hemp production and processing are necessary. This is the key finding of an analysis of the industrial hemp value chain conducted as part of the “Bioeconomy Deep Dives,” carried out by the innovation hub RootCamp on behalf of the Landwirtschaftliche Rentenbank and the Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL).

Water is essential to all life, and its efficient management has become a key challenge for sustainability in today's world. According to the United Nations (UN Water, 2021), by 2025, nearly two-thirds of the global population could face water shortages. Many industries, particularly in agriculture, energy, manufacturing, and food processing, are some of the largest consumers of freshwater. Inefficiencies in water management, such as outdated infrastructure and wasteful usage, exacerbate water scarcity, making it increasingly difficult to meet growing demand.

Last year, RootCamp, together with five other consortium members, kicked off the SMARTERRA powered by SMAFINE project in Matera, Southern Italy. The EU-Horizon funded initiative aims to support the entrepreneurial ecosystem in Southern Italy’s food and agriculture sector. Despite its economic importance, the AgriFood sector in Southern Italy encounters barriers to growth, particularly due to limited funding sources that hinder local startups and scale-ups. Seeking to bridge this funding gap, the project aims at attracting foreign investors and informing European capital providers about the promising opportunities within Southern Italy's AgriFood sector. 

Within SMARTERRA powered by SMAFINE, RootCamp’s activities focus on knowledge-sharing, ecosystem support, and capacity-building initiatives. One such measure is a delegation visit to Hannover, including consortium partners and SMARTERRA powered by SMAFINE ambassadors—four selected agritech startups from Southern Italy. The delegation visit, taking place from February 24th to 26th, will include visits to the Bayer Life Hub in Monheim, RootCamp’s Demo Day in Hannover, and the agrifood de:hub meetup in Osnabrück. Apart from the startups, Johan Jörgensen, project consortium member and Founder of Sweden Foodtech will join the delegation. 

Here are 4 AgriTech Startups Transforming Southern Italy’s Agriculture

Abit Agritech: AI-Powered Solutions for Healthier Soils

Using advanced soil analysis tools and AI-powered technology, Abit Agritech a startup from Milan around CEO Chiara Antonucci helps enhance soil biodiversity and health. Their innovative solutions optimize soil management practices, reduce dependency on chemical inputs, and promote environmental sustainability.

Anostra: Smarter, Safer Agricultural Machinery

Giuseppe Castellitto, along with his team from Anostra introduces Aisidoro, a plug-in module that transforms existing agricultural machinery into safer, semi-autonomous systems. Using AI, it adapts to terrain and driving styles, reducing false alarms and enabling timely emergency responses.

Terroir from Space: Detecting Unexploited Vineyard Planting Sites

By utilizing satellite data Alessandro Saetta and his co-founder from Terroir from Space  analyze key parameters associated with soil and climate for different locations. This information is fed into a trained AI algorithm to detect and classify new planting sites, with long-term resilience to climate change.

Symbiagro: Green Biotechnology for Enhanced Productivity

Symbiagro leverages microbial biocontrol agents, biostimulants, and biofertilizers to enhance crop resilience to biotic and abiotic stresses, while reducing chemical usage. The team around CMO Alessandro Pipolo patented their microbial production process which improves product affordability and shelf life.

SMARTERRA powered by SMAFINE’s mission is to connect the South Italian innovation ecosystem with other European investors, mentors and project partners. To learn more about our activities and upcoming events, check out our website and our social media. If you are interested in learning more about SMARTERRA powered by SMAFINE, one of the startups or if you even have a collaboration idea in mind, don’t hesitate to contact us.

What´s next?

Save the date! Don’t miss the chance to discover these innovative startups. Within the delegation visit, the founders will attend our Demo Day on February 25, 2025, at RootCamp headquarters. Mark your calendar and connect with Southern Italy! REGISTER HERE

The Smarterra activities are funded under the project SMart Agriculture & Food INnovation Ecosystem (SMAFINE) funded by the European Union’s HORIZON EUROPE research and innovation programme under grant agreement No 101114215. Views and opinions expressed are however those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the European Innovation Council and SMEs Executive Agency (EISMEA). Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

After an exciting three-month program and intensive preparation, the eagerly anticipated moment finally arrived. We welcomed attendees to the 5th Demo Day held at our headquarters in Hannover. This year's event for RootCamp Batch #5 brought together a multitude of stakeholders from our valued partnership network, uniting a diverse audience ranging from local startups and academic representatives to corporate collaborators. In the vibrant atmosphere of the event, the spotlight was focused on the values of innovation, collaboration, and the exciting potential for cross-industry synergy.

EuroTier/EnergyDecentral is the leading livestock and energy fair organized by DLG (German Agricultural Society/Deutsche Landwirtschafts-Gesellschaft) every two years in Hanover. Over 1,800 exhibitors from 57 countries were present and around 106,000 visitors from 141 countries come by. An impressive performance for the first EuroTier after 4 years break due to a COVID-19!

Get to know Caspar Olenhusen! He is one of RootCamp's startup coaches, with a passion for agriculture since his childhood. During his career in different countries like the USA and the UK, he collected a wide amount of knowledge and know-how to coach startups in the agribusiness and agtech scene.

For Batch#3 we got 250 applications from 58 countries worldwide! We are extremely grateful for your interest in our program and the choice was definitely not easy for us. Together with our partners, we have selected seven promising startups. The business ideas are driven by innovative technologies with a major impact on the agricultural industry. In the coming months our mentors, corporate partners and industry experts will work with the startups on many different topics as part of our acceleration program.

Young startups face many questions at the beginning of their journey in building a successful business. Uncertainties regarding their business idea, the company presentation to potential investors, product management and employee recruiting determine the everyday life of young founders. Therefore, it is highly recommended to seek the advice of external industry experts in the early stages.

RootCamp supports startups who want to accelerate their paths to market and have a positive impact in the Agritech sector with disruptive solutions. We provide an acceleration curriculum for early stage and fuel later stage startups. We connect you with great hands-on mentors with experience in your industry. Our mentors are well-known experts who support you strategically during the program and help you to solve concrete technical or managerial problems.

Today we want to introduce you to RootCamp mentor Alexandra Vázquez Bea from our network.

Please introduce yourself.

My name is Alexandra Vázquez Bea. I hold the position of COO / CFO at Oetker Digital and previous Executive Board member for Finance, Investor Relations, Human Resources and IT at Veganz Group AG. I have over 15 years of professional and leadership experience in the finance and startup fields. Not only that, but I worked in Corporate Finance at NORD/LB for almost seven years before becoming a restructuring consultant at FTI Andersch AG. In this role, I advised on complex restructuring and refinancing projects across Europe. In 2016, I started my own company, LENCHEN – Der Lebkuchen, and led the startup to become a well-established name in the delicatessen pastry sector. Since July 2021, I have been working for Veganz Group AG as the Executive Board member responsible for Finance, IR, Human Resources and IT. Along with my entry came the official kick-off of the company's IPO, which was successfully closed in just under 4.5 months in November 2021. I am an active mentor in the startup scene.

How did you get into the AgriFood Tech industry?

My first contact with the AgriFood Tech industry was through my own startup in the delicacies business. Here I learned a lot about this industry. From the right use of raw materials over product development to the distribution and proper marketing of food products. During this time I was able to build up a good network in the food/agritech startup industry. This ultimately led to my contact with my current employer, Veganz Group AG, and I have remained loyal to the industry within my current position.

What does mentoring mean to you personally?

I have experienced the ups and downs, the ambition, but also the challenges that one is confronted with during the early startup phase myself and have learned lots of lessons during this process. I often recognize my own experiences in the situations of the startups. Furthermore, I am glad to be able to pass on my experience and knowledge to young founders. And I also do learn a lot within a mentoring process. This is a two-way street, and I appreciate the ambition and dedication of the founders to a great extent.

Why did you decide to support RootCamp startups as a mentor?

I think it's great to be able to actively support startups in developing and establishing a working business model. Through my professional experience, I know the food and AgriFood tech industry well. Therefore, RootCamp is a perfect match. Furthermore, RootCamps approach differs a lot from other accelerator programs and with its focus on mentoring gives the right impulses to the startups.

Alexandra has provided great support for our startups, especially in the area of financing.

What requirements do startups need for a successful mentoring relationship?

For a successful mentoring relationship, it is important that the people behind have confidence in their business, in themselves and in the mentoring. They have to be open-minded and willing to closely work together to identify challenges and find solutions. To get it going, of course, a certain enthusiasm and commitment must be present.

➡️ We are constantly looking for individuals willing to support founders that bring a range of skill sets to the table. If you’re interested in being a RootCamp mentor, just shoot a message to Gaia Amatteis.

Regularly, we want to present you the startups that are part of the RootCamp program. In the interview series we introduce you to the founders, their innovative technology and how RootCamp has taken the startup to the next level. This time we want to introduce you FibriTech who are part of RootCamp batch #2.