Umitron claims its technology will reduce the need for farmers to visit each individual cage every day for feeding and observation

UmiGarden

Singapore- and Japan-based remote fish feeding technology startup Umitron has received US$2 million in project funding from US-headquartered Inter-American Development Bank (IDB).

Umitron and its project partner Piscis (a leading trout producer in Peru) will use the money to test and calibrate its IoT and AI fish feedin technology. Additionally, the companies will train local producers to increase their familiarity with Umitron’s products and drive growth of sustainable aquaculture in Lake Titicaca in Peru. The end goal is to implement real-time data-driven aquaculture feeding technology for farmers in both Peru and eventually all of Latin America.

This project is the first step in Umitron’s long-term plans to support and develop technology for Latin American aquaculture producers. IDB Lab, the innovation laboratory of IDB, is funding the project with hopes of improving the local trout farming industry’s economic and environmental sustainability.

Lake Titicaca farmers raise rainbow trout (Oncorhynchus mykiss) for sales to both a robust domestic market and to developing international markets. Salmonids are currently one of the most valuable and popular aquaculture species with worldwide production increasing ten-fold over the past thirty years.

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The local Peruvian industry is growing, with 100,000 tons of production in 2016 projected to grow to 221,000 tons of production by 2030. This follows the trend of a growing aquaculture industry in Latin America and the Caribbean, where The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) estimates that fish production through aquaculture will grow from 2.7 million tons in 2016 to 4.0 million tons in 2030.

Piscis is one of the largest trout farmers in Peru; it is also vertically integrated, operating two trout processing facilities that create high-value products for export to Asian, North American and European markets.

Umitron claims its technology will reduce the need for farmers to visit each individual cage every day for feeding and observation. Instead, fish can be remotely monitored and fed, reducing the need to be in the boat on dangerous, windy days. The automated feeder also has the capability to reduce overfeeding and improve overall feed use efficiency. This also reduces the chances of conditions that lead to harmful algae blooms.

“Through our daily operation, we see challenges in aquaculture from various perspectives such as the level of technology, the stability and safety of the food supply, and the long term economic and environmental sustainability of farms,” said Masahiko Yamada, Managing Director of Umitron. “Finding solutions requires borderless collaboration between the public and private sector. We’re delighted to start this project with IDB Lab and Abaco/Piscis to create a successful model for future growth. We hope this technology driven collaboration encourages sustainable aquaculture and contributes to both the local economy and global issues.”

Founded in 2016, Umitron’s mission is to “install sustainable aquaculture on earth”, by realising stable and efficient production of fish using technology. Its patent-pending technology enables fish farmers to quantify the asset value of their produce and provides environmental data for risk assessment.

In June this year, the company released its first product, called UmiGarden. A remote feeding management system, it utilises IoT technology to provide fish feeding and monitoring via internet. At the same time, by analysing the data acquired by UmiGarden, Umitron optimises the amount and timing of feeding, thereby contributing to reducing food consumption and improving working environment.

In September, Umitron secured US$2.7 million in equity investment from Mirai Creation Fund operated by SPARX Group. Previously, it has raised US$8.2 million in an equity financing round from Innovation Network Corporation of Japan.

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