Author: Hithaishi CB

Research center for key technologies, accelerating the application of scientific and technological achievements, and contributing to the high-quality development of the national regional economy Chinese company Nanjing Red Sun Co., Ltd. and Jiangnan University officially signed the Joint Innovation Research Center agreement on July 26 at Jiangnan University’s Lihu campus. A member of the Party Committee and Vice President of Jiangnan University, Gu Zhengbiao, attended the signing ceremony along with Yang Yi, Party Secretary and Chairman of Nanjing Red Sun Co., Ltd. The Red Sun Central Research Institute and Jiangnan University Institute of Science and Technology signed a cooperation agreement…

Raises $40 Million Series B to furthers positions 4AG to meet surging global demand for robotic harvesting platform which is already in use across Canada, Ireland, and Australia 4AG Robotics, a global leader in fully autonomous mushroom harvesting, has announced the successful closure of its $40M CAD Series B financing. The round was led by Astanor and Cibus Capital, with additional support from new investor Voyager Capital and existing backers, including InBC, Emmertech, BDC Industrial Innovation Fund, Jim Richardson Family Office, Stray Dog Capital, and Seraph Group.  With the newly raised capital, 4AG Robotics plans to expand its manufacturing operations in Salmon Arm, BC, strengthen its field service and customer success teams, and accelerate the development of advanced features. These include punnet packing, disease detection, and AI-driven yield optimization, further solidifying its position as a leader in autonomous mushroom harvesting. This latest funding brings the company’s total capital raised to $57.5 M over the past two years, following a $17.5M round in 2023. The funding positions 4AG to meet surging global demand for its robotic harvesting platform, already in use across Canada, Ireland, and Australia, with new deployments soon to be underway in the Netherlands and the United States. “As one of the first companies to fully automate the human hand in produce harvesting, we’re ushering in a new era for mushroom farming. This funding helps us leap from a start-up proving our product works to a scale-up…

Musim Mas, Nestlé and AAK renew their partnership to address environmental, social and economic concerns Musim Mas, Nestlé, and AAK have renewed their partnership for the fourth consecutive year to continue supporting independent smallholder oil palm farmers in Aceh Subulussalam, Indonesia. This partnership, originally launched in 2021, focuses on the risks associated with deforestation and the broader environmental, social, and economic challenges faced by smallholders. The Subulussalam Smallholders Hub is at the heart of this collaboration. This landscape-based initiative by Musim Mas trains smallholder farmers and village extension officers (VEOs) in Good Agricultural Practices (GAP) and NDPE (No Deforestation, No Peat, No…

A total investment of $3.5 billion is planned for the company’s integrated agri-industrial project for powdered milk production in Algeria. Baladna has announced the signing of initial contracts valued over $500mn between Baladna Algeria and a group of Algerian and international suppliers and consultants in the capital, Algiers. The agreements are part of the first phase of the company’s integrated agri-industrial project for powdered milk production in Algeria, which represents a total investment of $3.5B. The Baladna Algeria project is considered one of the largest agri-industrial ventures in the world and the first of its kind in Algeria. Spanning 117,000…

The collaboration aims to further strengthen Singapore’s capabilities in detecting emerging contaminants, such as microplastics, in the face of growing concerns Agilent Technologies Inc. has inked Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Nanyang Environment & Water Research Institute (NEWRI), outlining their collaboration in advancing environmental and water research over the next three years. NEWRI is a leading research institute at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), ranked 13th globally for Environmental Sciences by QS World University Ranking in 2025¹. The collaboration aims to further strengthen Singapore’s capabilities in detecting emerging contaminants, such as microplastics, in the face of growing concerns. This marks…

The forecast for next year has been lowered to 4.6% from 4.7%; Oil production is expected to increase by 0.1 % points this year and next, resulting in higher growth projections. The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has lowered its growth forecasts for economies in developing Asia and the Pacific this year and next year. The downgrades are driven by expectations of reduced exports amid higher United States (U.S.) tariffs and global trade uncertainty, as well as weaker domestic demand. ADB forecasts the region’s economies will grow by 4.7% this year, a 0.2 percentage point decline from the projection issued in…

Genetically modified soybean has been approved for food use in Australia and New Zealand, and for food, feed and planting in the United States and Canada. Korean Biosafety Information Exchange House announced the use of genetically modified soybeans DP-305423-1×DAS-44406-6 and genetically modified microorganisms DS003 for food, and genetically modified soybeans MON94313 for feed. The genetically modified soybean DP-305423-1×DAS-44406-6 was developed by Corteva. By introducing the fad2-1, 2mepsps, aad-12 genes and pat genes, it has the characteristics of tolerance to sulfonylurea herbicides, 2,4-D, glyphosate and glufosinate, and increased soybean oleic acid content. The genetically modified soybean has been approved for food…

The project, funded by the Government of Flanders, will train rice farmers on Sustainable Rice Platform (SRP) standards BENEO, a leading manufacturer of functional ingredients for food, feed and pharma is partnering with international non-governmental organisation, Rikolto, and climate technology company, CarbonFarm, to launch a three-year project, funded by the Government of Flanders, promoting sustainable rice production in Vietnam. As one of the world’s largest rice exporters, Vietnam relies heavily on this staple crop for both economic stability and food security. However, the industry faces significant challenges related to sustainability, climate and environmental impact. Globally, rice cultivation practices account for…

Prevention and Smart Agriculture Alliance, aiming to localize R&D, promote field demonstrations, and implement prevention agriculture practices across regions JH Biotech, Inc. (USA) announced its official alliance with two leading Taiwanese agricultural input companies—Agro Greening Modern Agricultural Technology Co., Ltd. and Group Gain Bio-Agri Co., Ltd.—to join the global initiative led by the International Prevention Agriculture Institute (IPAI). Together, the three parties have established a new nonprofit organization in Taiwan, the International Prevention and Smart Agriculture Alliance, aiming to localize R&D, promote field demonstrations, and implement prevention agriculture practices across regions. This marks a critical milestone in building a cross-national,…

Southeast Asia’s digital transformation with green infrastructure for hydrogen-based energy DayOne, a Singapore-headquartered global data center pioneer, broke ground on its first data center in Singapore. The 20-megawatt (MW) facility spans about 40,000 square meters of gross floor area, with Phase One scheduled to be ready-for-service (RFS) in 2026. The groundbreaking event also saw the signing of two key strategic partnerships for DayOne – a Power Purchase Agreement (PPA) with Sembcorp Power Pte Ltd, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sembcorp Industries (Sembcorp) to power its data center where all operations will be fully covered with renewable energy, and a research and…