“Agriculture is a strategic sector of the Romanian economy, but it has not yet benefited much from the digitization. At Holde, we believe in practicing sustainable and productive farming and for that we need to rely on technology. When we established Holde, it was clear to us that farming would be just one of the axes of our activity, while the other would be to invest in companies and start-ups developing cutting edge agricultural technology,” said Iulian Circiumaru, Holde Agri’s board chairman.
AgroCity’s software solution digitizes all farm operations, including production, data prediction and analysis, as well as management of leased land. The software provides a detailed analysis of revenue and expense distribution on a farm and improves workflows.
“There is a great potential to increase the productivity of the Romanian agricultural sector by using data and technology more efficiently,” said Marius Pasca, CEO and co-founder of AgroCity.
AgroCity was established in 2019 by Pasca, SAP consultant with 13 years’ experience, and Antonio Primera, an entrepreneur and full-stack web developer.
AgroCity is based on the Software-as-a-Service model, which means that the customers pay a monthly subscription depending on the size of the farm and the services they use. AgroCity targets farmers who operate land of at least 500 hectares. The plan for 2020 is to reach 12,000 hectares of land managed with the help of the AgroCity solution and 30,000 hectares by 2021. The current focus is the Romanian market but the start-up will target international expansion in the future.
Following its investment in AgroCity, Holde has a minority stake in the start-up. The companies are currently finalizing the connection of Holde’s farms to the AgroCity solution and starting with the autumn campaign, all Holde’s farms will be fully managed digitally, thus contributing to the productivity and efficiency of the operated land.
Holde currently holds two farms, located in Rosiorii de Vede and Buciumeni, which boast together over 7,000 hectares. After successfully raising RON12 million from investors on the Bucharest Stock Exchange in June 2020, Holde is currently in the process of further expansion and expects it will close this year with 10,000 hectares of operated land.
Holde seeks to become one of the most prominent Romanian players on the local agricultural market, targeting a minimum of 20,000 hectares of cultivated land within the next seven years and plans to invest over EUR50 million in land acquisitions, new machinery, storage facilities, and modern irrigation.