How to increase adoption of aquaculture 4.0 technologies?
APAC accounts for 92% of the global aquaculture production, led by China, Indonesia, India, and Vietnam5. The escalating expansion of aquaculture in Asia has raised up growing concerns over the negative impacts on the environment, including displacement of native species, algae blooms and environmental degradation. Thanks to Industry 4.0 technologies, aquaculture practices could become more efficient and sustainable boosted by the digitalization and automation of manufacturing process. This is well aligned with UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) 2 that ensures sustainable food production system. Examples of aquaculture 4.0 include intelligent auto-feeders for minimizing feed wastage, smart aerators for optimized oxygen supply and saving electricity, and connected sensors for water conditions and weather events to avoid unnecessary loss. With such beneficial innovations available, the focus now should be to increase the adoption and scale of these technologies. Here, we discuss opportunities and strategies to increase aquaculture 4.0 adoption in the Asia-Pacific region.
Offer leasing business model for aquaculture 4.0 solutions
To improve farmer’s accessibility to digital technologies for their fish farms, new business models have been developed such as leasing systems. Indeed, most farms in Asia are small-scale family farms that may have limited financial resources. To address this challenge, eFishery, an Indonesia-based startup is offering farmers the choice of either buying or leasing their smart feeding devices for a monthly fee. Going further, these connected smart farms would have an unprecedented level of accountability, transparency and traceability. These data could allay concerns about creditworthiness, opening up new funding opportunities from more risk adverse investors. In January 2022, eFishery has managed to raise $90 million in Series C funding, remarking a promising milestone of leasing business model.
Beyond affordability, a leasing model also reduces obsolescence risk for farmers, as the aquaculture 4.0 industry is still rapidly evolving. More important than providing a regular stream of revenue, the leasing model would also give tech players better access to real-world data on how their systems perform. Real-world data is absolutely crucial for machine learning and iterative improvement of their systems, making the leasing model valuable for both parties.
