RealCoverage is the cutting-edge technology developed by experts at MIT and their Cambridge-based spinoff company. It revolutionizes the agricultural industry by increasing the efficiency of chemical inputs in agriculture. The team responsible for this innovative technology is hoping to not only allay public fear about chemical runoff, but create more control over the use of pesticides. RealCoverage has already been successfully deployed across farms of varying sizes, from a few dozen acres to extensive fields spanning hundreds of thousands of acres. This unique system has proven its effectiveness on countless crops with impressive results, including kale to soybeans. In return, farmers have more than halved their pesticide costs by 30 to 50 percent.
Specifically engineered to enhance penetration and coverage of existing ag sprays, RealCoverage slips easily into today’s state-of-the-art agricultural spray application equipment. The system employs a special coating method that captures droplets on the foliage of plants. This breakthrough technology increases retention of products on crops by two-fold. Based on a recent study, this improved coverage reduces the total volume of agricultural sprays applied. It assists the sprays stick better to the leaf surface. The flexibilities the system provides affect rural, urban, town, village, and suburban spaces. In fact, it reaches as far as California, Texas, the Midwest, and even across the ocean to France and Italy.
AgZen has raised $10 million in venture financing. They have set a goal to deploy RealCoverage on 920,000 acres of commercial crops by 2025. This funding will allow us to rapidly commercialize and deploy RealCoverage, and give us the resources to expand into new markets. AgZen has come a long way from Kripa Varanasi’s lab at MIT. More than 10 years of hard-practice research and development have led to this watering breakthrough for agriculture.
RealCoverage’s new model not only creates real monetary savings to farmers, but saves time and resources while providing access to both social and environmental benefit. The system leads to less reliance on harmful chemical overuse. It further reduces runoff and is key to accelerating environmental stewardship in agriculture. As the scale increases, RealCoverage continues to prove its potential. It is increasingly becoming a characteristic driving standard practice in the agriculture of the future.