Figures released on Monday morning show that 2022 had the lowest number of new company start-ups in Ireland since 2016, with the overall number down 16% from a year earlier.

However, agriculture stands out in 2022 as being one of only five sectors which showed growth. Last year, there was a 14% increase in start-ups in the sector.

This may be a reflection of the strong cashflow in the sector last year, but there is also increasing investor interest in start-ups in the agriculture sector.

Enterprise Ireland CEO Leo Clancy singled out ag tech as a key growth area at the launch of the organisation's 2022 report.

Vibrancy

The vibrancy of the sector was also illustrated with the announcement of the winners of AgTechUCD's second Agccelerator programme. MyGug has developed a micro-scale anaerobic digester for domestic use, while Optahaul has developed route optimisation software for dairy milk collection.

Both of those winners have strong environmental credentials. This combination of ag tech and environment seems to be exactly what investors want to back right now.