- Making sustainable rice farming viable is essential for reducing greenhouse gas emissions, which account for more than 10% of global methane output.
SINGAPORE – 9 May, 2024 – Rize, a pioneering agritech platform dedicated to making sustainable rice cultivation viable through innovative and data-driven practices, today announces the closing of its USD$14 million Series A funding round. This investment will enhance Rize’s technology stack including its Measuring, Reporting, and Verification (MRV) technology and support further expansion into Indonesia, Vietnam, and across South and Southeast Asia. The funding round is co-led by Breakthrough Energy Ventures, GenZero, Temasek and Wavemaker Impact. Rize’s technology stack captures vital agricultural data essential for implementing sustainable farming practices, making rice farmers more climate resilient, increasing their crop yields, lowering costs, and facilitating efficient access to finance. This step advances Rize’s goal to eliminate 100 metric tonnes of carbon emissions whilst significantly improving farmer livelihoods.
“We are confronted with the challenges of addressing the high levels of methane emissions and the water-intensive practices prevalent in rice farming, which accounts for 10% of global methane emissions, a figure that is set to rise if unchecked,” said Dhruv Sawhney, CEO of Rize. He adds, “another hurdle is the lack of precise data, particularly among the numerous smallholder farms across South and Southeast Asia, as well as the increasngly high cost of farming due to increased input prices and a changing climate. Our technology stack seeks to tackle these challenges. By doing so, we are not just aiming to cut down 100 million tonnes of carbon emissions, we are also enhancing the economic stability of farmers, ensuring that improved farmer livelihoods and reduced emissions go hand-in-hand.”
Scaling data for climate resilience and enhanced farmer finances
Traditional rice cultivation methods, often involving water-saturated paddies, are a significant source of methane emissions. This age-old practice of flooding the fields restricts oxygen flow, creating an ideal environment for methane-producing bacteria. To address this, Rize has assembled an expert team of agronomists who collaborate directly with farmers to implement more sustainable farming practices, such as Alternate Wetting and Drying (AWD) and Direct Seeding Rice (DSR). These techniques not only require less water but also significantly reduce methane emissions while maintaining crop yields. Leveraging a robust technology stack, Rize enhances the capabilities of its agronomists, enabling them to reach more farmers and collect precise data on farm performance and crop yields. Additionally, Rize is at the forefront of testing and scaling innovative technologies in areas like biological farming inputs, seed treatments, and climate-resilient rice varieties, driving the evolution of sustainable rice farming.
Furthermore, the technology stack will also improve farmer finances. The economic and operational hurdles at the start of the rice growing season often leave smallholder farmers vulnerable, incurring high borrowing costs for necessary inputs (seeds, fertiliser etc). The increasing costs of these inputs, coupled with the frequency of crop failures due to climate change, further exacerbate their struggles. The comprehensive data collection is ultimately designed to significantly improve the financial access of small farmers and reduce the risk for financial institutions. Lenders gain confidence as they understand that the farmers have improved their economic stability and are more fortified against climate variability, enabling them to offer loans at lower costs. As a result, this enhances their productivity ensuring they are better equipped to thrive in a changing climate.
Expanding market reach and empowering farmers for sustainable growth
In addition to technology stack development, the funds will enable Rize to expand its operations deeper into Indonesia and Vietnam and help strengthen its team of agronomists to over 100 by the end of 2024, potentially reaching over 20,000 farmers. Rize also has plans to expand into other rice producing South and Southeast Asian countries in 2025.
This coming season, Rize aims to improve over 7,000 hectares of rice farming, demonstrating a practical path to environmental sustainability and economic improvement. These initiatives are projected to not only lower emissions by 50% and reduce water usage by 20% but also increase farmer incomes by up to 30%, making sustainable rice farming a viable and attractive option.
“Our platform, and the data it captures, is pivotal in modernising rice farming, leveraging technology to sustainably enhance yield and efficiency,” adds Sawhney. “Given that producing a single bowl of rice requires over 200 litres of fresh water, and considering that the entire rice industry accounts for more than a third of the world’s irrigation water, the urgency to adopt sustainable methods is clear.”
“As global rice demand is projected to double by 2050, mitigating the environmental impact of rice cultivation is essential in the fight against Climate Change,” said Carmichael Roberts, Breakthrough Energy Ventures. “Rize’s data-driven technology and expert team of agronomists are a powerful combination for tackling this challenge and scaling viable sustainable rice farming across Asia and globally.”
“We are proud to continue our investment in Rize. The outcomes that Rize achieved in the last 18 months is testament to the robustness of its collective value proposition and business model,” said Marie Cheong, Founding Partner, Wavemaker Impact. “With this round of capital injection, we have every confidence in Dhruv and team to scale the adoption of sustainable farming techniques across the region, scaling the impact of decarbonisation and livelihood improvement of smallholder farms.”
About GenZero
GenZero is an investment platform company focused on accelerating decarbonisation globally. Founded by Temasek, it seeks to deliver positive climate impact alongside long-term sustainable financial returns by investing in opportunities with the potential to be nurtured into impactful and scalable solutions.
Driven by a common purpose to decarbonise for future generations, GenZero recognises the need for a holistic and integrated approach to achieve a net zero world. It adopts a flexible investment approach across three focus areas to drive climate impact: (i) nature-based solutions that help protect and restore our natural ecosystems while benefiting local communities and biodiversity; (ii) technology-based solutions that deliver deep decarbonisation impact; and (iii) carbon ecosystem enablers which refer to companies and solutions that support the development of an effective, efficient, and credible carbon ecosystem.
For more information on GenZero, visit https://www.genzero.co.
About Rize
Rize is an Agri-Tech startup formed through a joint venture between Temasek, Wavemaker Impact, Breakthrough Energy Ventures, GenZero to decarbonize rice cultivation in Asia. It is building a platform to identify and implement the most effective strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in rice cultivation, and the right economic incentives across the value chain to drive the adoption of sustainable cultivation techniques. Rize’s initial target markets are Indonesia and Vietnam, to be followed by a third country early next year with plans to expand more broadly within the region. For more information, visit: www.rize.farm.
About Breakthrough Energy Ventures
Backed by many of the world’s top business leaders, BEV has raised more than $2 billion in committed capital to support cutting-edge companies that are leading the world to net-zero emissions. BEV is a purpose-built investment firm that is seeking to invest, launch and scale global companies that will eliminate GHG emissions throughout the economy as soon as possible. BEV seeks true breakthroughs and is committed to supporting these entrepreneurs and companies by bringing to bear a unique combination of technical, operational, market and policy expertise.
BEV is a part of Breakthrough Energy, a network of investment vehicles, philanthropic programs, policy advocacy and other activities committed to scaling the technologies we need to reach net-zero emissions by 2050. Visit www.breakthroughenergy.org to learn more.
About Temasek
Temasek is a global investment company with a net portfolio value of S$382 billion (US$287b, €264b, £232b, RMB1.98t) as at 31 March 2023. Its Purpose “So Every Generation Prospers” guides it to make a difference for today’s and future generations. As an active investor, forward looking institution and trusted steward, it is committed to deliver sustainable value over the long term.
Temasek has overall corporate credit ratings of Aaa/AAA by rating agencies Moody’s Investors Service and S&P Global Ratings respectively.
Headquartered in Singapore, it has 13 offices in 9 countries around the world: Beijing, Hanoi, Mumbai, Shanghai, Shenzhen, and Singapore in Asia; and London, Brussels, Paris, New York, San Francisco, Washington DC, and Mexico City outside Asia.
For more information on Temasek, please visit www.temasek.com.sg
About Wavemaker Impact
Wavemaker Impact is the first VC-backed climate tech venture builder in Southeast Asia. The Wavemaker Impact team co-founds sustainability startups with proven entrepreneurs, with the goal of reducing 10% of the global carbon budget by 2035. Every company that Wavemaker Impact builds is a ‘100×100’ company – a startup with the potential to abate 100 million metric tons of carbon and be a US$100-million revenue business. The founding team has previously built over 15 companies (including unicorns and an IPO) from scratch and invested over US$300 million in Asian tech companies, including 35 greentech startups. For more information, visit https://wavemakerimpact.com/.
