When discussing ways to make our world more ecofriendly and sustainable, “weeding solutions” never really make the headlines.
Maybe they should.
The truth is that most agricultural weeding solutions today rely heavily on methods that negatively impact not only the crops, but most importantly the soil, without which we can’t grow food.
While low-impact weeding solutions are desperately needed, the development of such technology is complicated, and not very lucrative for tech entrepreneurs.
Managing unwanted weeds
Guy Raz, the founder and CEO of AgriPass. Photo courtesy of AgriPass
“Ever since agriculture was invented, it has been dealing with the problem of managing unwanted weeds, which is as important as managing wanted weeds,” Guy Raz, the founder and CEO of AgriPass, tells ISRAEL21c.
Israel-based AgriPass has developed the first-of-its-kind robotic, AI-enhanced weeding solution for vegetable and row crops.
“Weeds are aggressive and compete with the crop for nutrients, water and sunlight; in severe cases, weeds may prevent fields from producing the crop yield at all,” Raz adds.
The AgriPass weeding machine. Photo courtesy of AgriPass
AgriPass’s technology executes rapid, highly localized weeding with no chemicals and minimal soil disruption.
It also reduces environmental impact and organic matter loss, while promoting soil health and fertility.
Weed control in agriculture
Raz, who has a PhD in physics from the Weizmann Institute of Science, explains that agriculture is currently in a transitional period.
“A few short decades of modern, intensive agriculture practices have led to accumulated impact on the soil,” he says.
The AgriPass technology being applied to the soil. Photo courtesy of AgriPass
Raz says that one of the most popular weed-control solutions is synthetic herbicide, a market with an estimated annual value of $70 billion.
“Obviously, herbicide has associated environmental risks. But the main issue is that weeds are developing resistance to herbicide, similar to bacteria developing resistance to antibiotics,” he notes.
Over 500 types of weeds have already become resistant to herbicide, according to Raz.
Another popular weed-control solution, and most widely used in organic farming operations, is cultivation. This method kills weeds by uprooting them, burying germinated weeds, breaking them apart, or drying them out.
“[Cultivation] has a very big impact on the quality of the soil and its ability to grow food; it affects the physical, chemical and biological properties of the soil and may lead to desertification,” explains Raz.
Cultivation also triggers the release of organic soil matter into the atmosphere, contributing to greenhouse gas buildup.
Mimicking human labor
The most sustainable weeding solution is human labor, but this method isn’t cost-effective.
“Human labor is extremely slow, and there is also a worldwide [labor] shortage because nobody wants to work in agriculture,” Raz explains.
AgriPass’ technology mimics the action of human labor, “but at the rate of hundreds of weeds per second.”
“It’s like having hundreds of human laborers working at once,” Raz notes.
A professional inspecting the AgriPass weeding machine. Photo courtesy of AgriPass
The AgriPass technology, essentially a farm machine towed by a tractor, has sensors and cameras scanning the field in real time, distinguishing weed from crop and configuring the optimal weeding strategy, Raz explains.
The technology also has the ability to characterize each weed, including “its stage, size, location and type,” because different weed requires different actions.
The machines come in a range of sizes to fit different field sizes and to allow for different price points, Raz adds.
Weeding the way
Raz, who previously founded a successful digital construction solutions company, says AgriPass is his passion project.
Liron Cohen Yanay, chief business officer at AgriPass, also spent years in a competitive high-tech industry before deciding to look for a job “with an impact.”
AgriPass CBO Liron Cohen Yanay. Photo courtesy of AgriPass
Since its establishment in March 2023, the company has completed one pre-seed funding round and recently opened its seed funding round.
Besides Raz and Yanay, the startup employs four workers in research and development. The prototype stage is expected by the end of 2025, followed by production ramp-up in 2027.
Yanay says the company is working closely with agriculture professionals in Israel and abroad “to make sure we’re developing the right demo unit.”
She adds that with countries imposing environmental regulations on the agriculture industry and subsidizing sustainable solutions, the AgriPass technology will be one of the most cost-competitive in the long run.
“We’re gonna be big!” Yanay predicts with a laugh.
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