Of the €40m, half is being used to set up the Ireland AgTech fund, a new fund that will be managed directly by Finistere Ventures, a Californian-based venture capital firm.

The second €20m is being invested by ISIF in the global ag-tech Finistere Ventures II fund that has over €100m under management.

Speaking with the Irish Farmers Journal before the launch, Cathal Fitzgerald, head of food and agriculture investments, ISIF, and Kieran Furlong, Finistere, said the aim is to invest in start-ups and early stage companies that have game-changing technologies for farmers and the industry.

“This is the launch of a strategy that we first started working on in 2014,” Fitzgerald said.

“We were approached to invest in the ag-tech sector and identified the potential and the need. The ISIF remit is to invest on a commercial basis to support economic activity and employment in Ireland. Agriculture and now ag-tech has been identified as an engine of growth,” he added.

Listen to "€40 million investment in Ag-Tech" on Spreaker.

Ministers response

Launching the ag-tech initiative to industry stakeholders, Minister for Agriculture, Food and the Marine Michael Creed said the investment by ISIF complements Government strategy set out in Foodwise 2025 and many years of investment by the Government in agricultural research and innovation in Ireland.”

The ISIF has invested €140m into the agriculture sector to date.

Read More

New Zealand set for new water taxes

LacPatrick chair retires after 22 years