Using blockchain technology and smart contracts, Full Profile has developed a platform called AgriDigital that helps farmers get paid in real-time to solve the industry problem of counterparty risk for buyers and banks. They are launching a pilot for the 2016-17 Australian grains harvest. This will be the FIRST EVER global pilot application of blockchain in physical agri-commodities. www.fullprofile.com.au

ICICI Bank has launched a mobile banking app that allows users to access banking services as well as information on agricultural services. To further aid quick download of the app, the bank said it will introduce 'Wi-Fi enabled posters' in rural and semi-urban areas. Anyone including non-ICICI Bank customers can download and use the app which is available in eleven Indian languages. https://www.google.com.au/amp/m.timesofindia.com/business/india-business/icici-bank-launches-mera-imobile-banking-app-for-rural-customers/amp_articleshow/57737386.cms

In the largest agriculture-tech funding round in history, vertical farming startup "Plenty" attracted US$200 million. Some experts say the investment could make the indoor farming industry more viable as a whole. Instead of growing greens outdoors, the farm grows its food on glowing, LED-lit 20-foot-tall towers inside a former electronics distribution center in South San Francisco. The towers don't require pesticides or natural sunlight. The technique is called indoor vertical farming. Food grows on trays or hanging modules in a climate-controlled, indoor facility. The process is revolutionary. Certain types of food could be produced year-round, anywhere, in a small space. http://www.businessinsider.com/food-investment-vertical-farming-2017-8/

Smart Paddock offers a compact, inexpensive ear tag?for livestock, designed to remotely monitor animal health and location, and provide early detection of health-related issues. It's designed to last the lifetime of the animal. http://smartpaddock.com/