US-based farmland manager Optimum Agriculture has reportedly made a commitment of undisclosed size to Yield Lab LatAm (YLL), an agriculture-focused venture capital firm.
By investing in YLL, Optimum will work with the VC firm to raise Yield LatAm Opportunity Fund, which has a $50m target, according to news provider AgFunder News (AFN).
The partnership combines Optimum Agriculture’s expertise in the operational side of farming with YLL’s access to startups and technologies, AFN said.
Launched in 2017, YLL is part of Yield Lab’s larger global network of VC funds that invest in agrifoodtech startups, such as agriculture risk management platform TerraMagna, biotechnology company Botanical Solutions, and shelf life-extension platform Polynatural, AFN said.
Backing YLL itself, rather than simply investing into its new fund, will give Optimum Agriculture more direct access to the above companies and those joining the portfolio down the road, according to YLL managing director Tomás Peña in an interview with AFN.
Optimum Agriculture’s decision to invest in Latin America instead of Europe or North America underscores the region’s importance and potential as an agrifood superpower, Gaston Marquevich, CEO of Optimum, said.
He added to AFN: “The YLL team is uniquely positioned across the different local agrifoodtech ecosystems in the region to invest in the most impactful solutions and we wish to become an active partner for these entrepreneurs.”
