The 2025 edition of Test Farms, a flagship agri-food innovation programme, has unveiled its top ten startup finalists, each poised to bring cutting-edge solutions to the European agricultural sector.
The selected startups will now begin testing their technologies in real-world conditions on partner farms throughout Europe, as part of an initiative that combines hands-on validation with business acceleration.
This year, Spain leads the cohort with three chosen startups, followed by Bulgaria with two, and Turkey, Portugal, Serbia, Italy, and Finland each represented by one company. All startups bring to the table a working prototype and a vision to revolutionize how food is grown, harvested, and managed.
Technologies Already in the Field
Two startups have already begun testing their products in Spain:
- Iotic Solutions (Murcia), founded by Amparo Roca and Antonio Vicente, is piloting its environmental impact monitoring platform at CEATEX, the Experimental Agrotechnological Centre in Cartagena. Using IoT sensors and AI-driven analysis, their solution delivers real-time environmental data and emissions reports to help agri-businesses adopt more sustainable practices.
- Atfield Technologies, a Serbian startup expanded through the EIT Food Bilbao Campus, is currently running trials in La Rioja. Its WineREG software, led by Srdjan Tadic, blends climate data with mathematical models to provide vineyard-specific insights. The goal is to move from traditional calendar-based management to precision viticulture.
The third Spanish startup, Enkitek, led by Victor Cantón and project manager Irina Craiciu, is testing a robotic multi-arm harvesting platform in a cucumber greenhouse in Almería. The system integrates AI, IoT, and robotics to enhance operational efficiency and reduce labor costs.
Another Spanish project, Agri Solutions, under the leadership of Julian Ćmikiewicz, is preparing trials in Italy for its digital traceability platform. This platform documents emissions, water usage, and regenerative practices, generating digital product passports for agri-food products—a key step in achieving supply chain transparency.
The Rest of the 2025 Cohort
The remaining innovative startups include:
- Microhobist (Turkey): Specializing in soil microbe solutions for regenerative agriculture.
- PreservaCoat (Portugal): Developing natural coatings to extend the shelf life of fresh produce.
- Symbiagro (Italy): Working on symbiotic soil treatments to improve plant resilience.
- Lensor (Finland): Creating optical sensors for real-time crop disease detection.
- Mealprot and Atlas Terra (Bulgaria): Respectively focused on AI-based farm nutrient management and satellite-enabled land monitoring.
Beyond Trials: Exposure and Investment
The Test Farms programme offers more than just field validation. Startups gain exposure to potential customers and investors, with the goal of accelerating market entry and adoption of sustainable agricultural technologies.
The programme culminates in Next Bite 2025, a key industry event set for 15–16 October in Brussels, where startups will pitch their solutions to an audience of sector leaders, investors, and innovation partners. Additional demonstrations and business matchmaking will occur between November and February.
In 2024, Test Farms helped launch 11 new agri-tech products into the market. Past alumni such as Sonicat Systems (now Microfy Systems) and Ficosterra have since gained international recognition, raised capital, and scaled operations.
Since its inception, Test Farms has supported 105 startups from 15 countries, with field trials spanning Poland, Spain, Romania, Bulgaria, Turkey, Portugal, and Italy. This year’s edition continues the tradition of pairing technological ingenuity with hands-on implementation, forging a greener and smarter future for European agriculture.
Source: EIT Food