AgroValley aims to uncover agtechs in Brazil’s Central-West
Rafael Viana
Rogerio Vieira/Valor
Brazil’s Central-West dominates the country’s grain production, but its share of the agricultural innovation ecosystem remains small. Still, there are signs of change. The number of agtech startups in the region, for example, more than doubled between 2019 and 2025, rising from 70 to 147 companies, according to Embrapa’s 2025 Radar Agtech survey.
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The emergence of new companies has fueled the creation of innovation centers, which have tended to cluster near major producers and farming cooperatives. The latest is AgroValley, in Campo Grande. Despite having only recently begun operations—activities started in June—the hub plans to help channel R$150 million in investments into agtechs by the end of 2026.
AgroValley is an innovation hub that brings together startups, companies, universities, investors, and farmers. The project was launched by VivaTerra, an asset manager based in Campo Grande founded by entrepreneur Rafael Viana.
As part of a plan to invest R$150 million, using investor funds, in agricultural startups by year-end, VivaTerra will prioritize companies and initiatives focused on artificial intelligence, robotics, biotechnology, and carbon credits. “VivaTerra will be responsible for the investments, while AgroValley will incubate and accelerate the startups,” Viana said.
The hub is currently screening 20 startups against its initial requirements. Three others are at an advanced stage of evaluation. They include Kerow, which uses facial biometrics and image recognition to count cattle, and Carbon Vantage, a carbon-credit marketplace that connects producers with buyers.
Viana said Brazil is a leader in developing agricultural technologies but still faces challenges in financing and scaling the adoption of those solutions. “We are going through a cycle of high interest rates, high levels of debt in the sector, and court-supervised reorganization filings continue to rise,” he said.
He also cited successive crop failures, falling commodity prices, and rising production costs in recent years among the obstacles facing farmers. “The solution to reducing costs is to adopt technology,” Viana said. “Farmers depend on many factors for a successful crop, and technology can help predict these scenarios.”
According to the Radar Agtech, the Central-West has 37 agricultural innovation ecosystems, accounting for 9.49% of the national total. The South leads the ranking with 145 initiatives, or 37.18% of the total. Of Brazil’s five regions, only the North, with 18 ecosystems, or 4.62%, has fewer than the Central-West, where AgroValley operates.
But given its strong agricultural production, the Central-West is an emerging hub for agricultural innovation, according to Embrapa. The proximity between agtechs and major producers and cooperatives was precisely what prompted Viana to choose Mato Grosso do Sul as the base for VivaTerra and AgroValley.
Viana said his project is built on three pillars: proximity to farmers who will benefit from the technologies; research conducted by the State University of Mato Grosso do Sul (UEMS), whose researchers will assess the viability of the startups; and capital for investments.
“We will bring capital closer to farmers and the academic community by bringing investors into the ecosystem,” said Viana, who will participate in one of the panels at São Paulo Beyond Business (SP2B), an innovation and entrepreneurship festival to be held at Ibirapuera Park in São Paulo from August 9 to 16.
AgroValley’s mission will go beyond identifying agtechs for investment, Viana said. “Not every company will receive an investment from the fund, but they will be able to participate in this ecosystem,” he said.
