Farmdroid pauses its US expansion and focuses on Europe

With support from Denmark's Export and Investment Fund, EIFO, Farmdroid attempted to establish itself in the American market. The initiative is now on hold.

"We have parked it, because it didn't make sense with the product we have," says co-owner and CEO Kristian Warming to AgriWatch.

More pesticides in the USA

According to Warming, a significant reason is that American agriculture has a smaller organic sector, while conventional farmers have access to a broader range of pesticides than in Europe.

"They have to use much more chemicals than in Europe. The business case for mechanical weed control is therefore markedly different from Europe right now," says Kristian Warming.

FarmDroid develops solar-powered field robots for, among other things, sowing and mechanical weed control. The company's primary customers are organic farmers, but the robots are also used in conventional agriculture, where the selection of approved pesticides is becoming smaller and smaller.

The company has also developed a version with spot spraying, where the robot can target the pesticide at individual weeds. According to FarmDroid, the technology can reduce pesticide use by up to 94 percent.

Thus, the technology builds on the robots' original function in organic farming: to combat weeds mechanically.

In conventional farming, the same precision can instead be used to limit the amount of pesticide applied.

FarmDroid has sold just over 550 robots in Europe. About 50 are operating in Denmark, while around 200 are in operation in Germany.

After the American initiative has been put on hold, the company, according to Kristian Warming, will instead invest in its key European markets.