AUSTRALIAN biotech start-up ProAgni has been shortlisted for the 2020 Future Food Asia Award, beating out dozens of international agtech start-ups vying for the USD100,000 prize.
ProAgni was recognised for its ProTect range of cattle and sheep feed supplements that not only maintain animal health but show that significant improvements in daily gain and feed conversion are achievable without the use of antibiotics to promote growth.
Future Food Asia Award is a Singapore-based platform founded by ID Capital Pte Ltd for agtech and foodtech innovations in Asia Pacific which assists start-ups innovating and disrupting the food value-chain connect with corporations, investors, media, advisors and government agencies across the region.
Announcing the award shortlist, FFA CEO Isabelle Decitre said the current state of our world had cast light on the prominent role of agriculture and food innovation, and stakes in the Asia-Pacific were higher than ever.
"We are glad to broaden the reach of regional agripreuners and influence an even wider community of stakeholders," Ms Decitre said.
Proagni won gold for agricultural innovation at the 2020 Edison Awards, won the 2018 Beef Australia "Pitch in the Paddock" and was a finalist in Meat and Livestock Australia's 2018 Producer Innovation Awards.
Co-founder and Wellington sheep farmer and rural entrepreneur Lachlan Campbell, said issues like managing the drought needed better solutions from science.
"So, building on the work of scientists who have devoted their lives to the question 'how do
kangaroos survive on little more than fresh air and sunshine', ProAgni has not only identified the beneficial bacteria that make this possible, but developed the technical ability to culture, shelf-stabilise and deliver those bacteria, as well as similar ones natural occurring in livestock," he said.
"These bacteria in effect turn waste products such as methane or harmful ones such as lactic acid into energy, meaning healthier animals, more efficient food production and a smaller environmental footprint.
"ProAgni's probiotics will significantly improve the efficiency of meat production (using less water and feed), reduce transition times of grass to grain from weeks to days."