UK Tech Firm Targets £320bn Global Insect Pest Challenge

CAMBRIDGE, U.K. - Nov. 12, 2021 - PRLog -- Spotta Smart Pest Systems (http://www.spotta.co/) is helping the global agricultural sector improve productivity and profitability through remote monitoring technology reducing insect crop damage costs to farmers by 50%.

Globally, insect pests cause £320 billion damage each year, despite over 4 million tonnes of pesticide being used. Spotta has developed an insect pest monitoring system for the agricultural industry to detect and act early in the battle against pests to increase yields while reducing chemical/ insecticide use by 70%.

For farmers, insecticides costs as much as £735 per hectare because chemical treatments are applied reactively, after the yield has been impacted and when insect populations are large and exponentially reproducing.

Compared to manual pest inspections, Spotta's smart remote monitoring systems allow prompt, precise and pre-emptive action, made at the optimum time for disrupting population growth. As well as reducing crop damages by half, remote insect monitoring can achieve up to 70% savings on chemical treatments and fewer on-site visits needed from agronomists.

Robert Fryers, CEO of Spotta, says: "We understand the damage insect pests can do to the agricultural sector. Existing monitoring methods require regular manual inspection and replacement of consumables, which is prohibitively expensive for many farmers. Our technology allows 'fit and forget' monitoring, providing real-time data on insect populations. This enables farmers to make the right intervention at the right time, leading to around three times return-on-investment."

Spotta's approach to insect pest monitoring is supported by some of the world's leading agricultural advisors and investors. Following the development of its agricultural products, Spotta welcomed David Bowles, General Partner of The Yield Lab, an international agrifoods VC firm specialising in agriculture and forestry, to the board, where he joins investors from the UK and USA. The company is further supported by global entomology expert and former Director of the US National Institute of Food and Agriculture, Sonny Ramaswamy, in his role as a Special Advisor.

David Bowles, Managing Partner of The Yield Lab, adds: "We are delighted to have invested in Spotta. Their portfolio shows how technology can be applied in a smart way to help tackle insect pests and increase the sustainability of the industry. Spotta's ability to rapidly deploy their technology to almost any insect will have a huge impact on how the world manages insect pests."

For more information on Spotta Smart Pest Systems, visit spotta.co (http://www.spotta.co/)