In a significant move to propel Canada’s agricultural sector into the future, Bayer’s Crop Science division, Zone Agtech, and Axceta have joined forces to establish an innovation consortium focused on AgriTech and greenhouse technology. The official signing of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) in L’Assomption, Quebec, marks the beginning of a strategic collaboration aimed at driving the development and adoption of digital and IoT-based technologies in the agricultural sector.
The consortium will be built around Bayer’s HortiView platform, a digital crop management solution designed to revolutionize horticultural production markets. In its beta version, HortiView offers a suite of management tools developed by third-party solution providers, including pre-harvest functionalities that help producers optimize seasonal planning, fertigation, irrigation, and disease control. The platform’s vision is to simplify primary data collection and provide growers with a curated marketplace of modular, connected agronomic services. These services support data-driven decisions, helping farmers maximize crop production and optimize resource use.
Marilou Cyr, general director of Zone Agtech, expressed pride in Quebec being chosen as the foundation for developing the Canadian market. She highlighted the strength of the network of partners within Zone Agtech, Axceta’s technological expertise, and the depth of Quebec’s AI ecosystem. Zone Agtech, an innovation ecosystem comprising 250 members and partners, will play a crucial role in assessing financial feasibility and mobilizing key co-investors and partners for the consortium. This initiative is set to solidify Quebec’s position as a hub for agricultural innovation, attracting top-tier investors, industry leaders, and cutting-edge startups.
Axceta, a leader in IoT and digital farming solutions, will contribute its expertise in embedded software, cloud infrastructure, and data-driven agricultural solutions. Sherif Zaroubi, CEO of Axceta, emphasized the partnership’s alignment with Axceta’s mission to provide tools for farmers to cope with labor shortages while stimulating the local innovation ecosystem. The collaboration aims to deliver impactful innovations that enhance operational efficiency and sustainability in the agricultural sector.
Chris Pienaar, Global Fruit & Vegetable Digital New Value Lead at Bayer, noted that the Canadian horticulture industry’s advanced, diverse, and innovation-oriented nature makes it an ideal environment for deploying novel digital solutions. The partnership with Zone Agtech and Axceta will further develop the HortiView platform and accelerate the agtech space in Canada, improving efficiency and productivity for growers.
The MOU outlines key objectives for the partnership, including supporting the adoption of digital and IoT-based agricultural technologies for optimized resource management, establishing a well-funded consortium that attracts investment and fosters collaboration, and enhancing environmental sustainability and economic resilience in horticultural production through data-driven decision-making. The consortium will bring together a diverse network of stakeholders, ensuring a robust foundation for innovation.
This collaboration represents a significant step forward in leveraging technology to address the challenges facing the agricultural sector. By combining the strengths of Bayer’s digital solutions, Zone Agtech’s innovation ecosystem, and Axceta’s technological expertise, the consortium aims to create a smarter, more sustainable future for agriculture in Quebec and across Canada.
