Refarmo: Green and regenerative growth opportunities for agri-food and retail sectors

The Austrian company REFARMO GmbH is creating new opportunities for farmers, food companies and retailers that are adopting so-called ‘regenerative’ methods - application of improved land management practices on farmland to prevent erosion, improve biodiversity and increase the capacity of carbon sinks in the soil.

Farmers, food companies and retailers can participate in the platform to create food production plans and procurement/food sourcing strategies. The ones that stick to the ‘regenerative’ plans and disclose information e.g. by taking photos of crop growth which are verified by satellite images (farmers) and disclose food origin information (food companies and retailers) - reducing environmental impact of food production system – can earn so called “green points”. 

The company does not currently offer loans via its platform but is looking into it with the goal to develop new green/impact investments opportunities together with agriculture banks and insurances, where the interest rates and insurance costs could be linked to climate/environmental performance. 

REFARMO is on an environmental mission while operating as for-profit venture with the goal to monetize its services while supporting farmers, food companies, retailers, and investors with new costs savings and new business opportunities. Food companies and retailers can significantly shrink Scope3 CO2 emissions within their own supply chains and attract new consumers and comply with EU regulations, farmers provide nutritious and low-impact food together with full ecosystem services and investors fuel the transition to achieve EU Green Deal climate goals with promise of strong returns and low risks.

With the new regulations coming out from EU Green Deal and introduction of Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) the pressure to find green alternatives is growing among various EU industries including food, retail and agriculture. The Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive (CSRD) is an EU Directive that amends the scope and reporting requirements of the Non-Financial Reporting Directive (NFRD). While the NFRD only provided guidelines for ESG reporting, the CSRD will introduce mandatory reporting standards and will require 75% of the European Union economy to report on a yearly basis about their CO2 emissions and submit climate risk related disclosures.

The Austrian company REFARMO GmbH, which was incubated in ESA BIC Austria and recently received the ESA Spark Funding Austria, is now developing Regenerative Origin, a commercial digital platform that enables new revenue opportunities and environmental benefits across end-to-end food supply chain. Regenerative Origin is designed for farmers, food companies and retailers of all sizes and is now inviting all interested parties to join the platform and benefit from new green growth opportunities – https://www.refarmo.com/regenerative-origin

About ESA Spark Funding Austria

ESA Spark Funding Austria is a funding program implemented by Science Park Graz / ESA Space Solutions Austria in collaboration with ESA Space Solutions and the Austrian Aeronautics and Space Agency (FFG/ALR). In the program, Austrian companies can receive zero-equity funding of € 50,000.00 to integrate space technology or space assets/services into existing product lines or create entirely new products/services. The first call was implemented in 2021, and a new one will be launched in 2023.

A big thanks to the author of this article: Aigerim Rabl