When Technology Plants the Seeds of Sustainable Agriculture: Neofarm
What if technological innovation became the engine of the agroecological transition? With a model based on automation, local production, and soil health, NeoFarm offers a hybrid approach to farming, blending robotics with organic agriculture. Backed by Technofounders, the startup promotes a vision where profitability, sustainability, and job creation go hand in hand.
Rethinking Market Gardening, Without Turning Its Back on the Land
Founded in 2018, NeoFarm tackles a twofold challenge: producing high-quality vegetables close to consumption hubs, while restoring the appeal of the farming profession. Inspired by biointensive agriculture — a centuries-old method rooted in soil fertility and high yields without chemical inputs — NeoFarm brings a modern twist.
This is where technology becomes a game changer. By automating part of the workload — soil preparation, seeding, weeding — using a rail-mounted robotic gantry inside production greenhouses, NeoFarm simplifies daily operations without compromising the principles of living systems.
The choice of a controlled environment is key: it allows for regulated growing conditions, more reliable harvests, and up to eight crop cycles per year, compared to two or three in conventional agriculture.
Optimize Without Distorting
At NeoFarm, robots don’t roam open fields. The innovation is intentionally deployed within defined boundaries — greenhouse production units where automation can thrive without facing outdoor uncertainties.
A key tool: a rail-mounted gantry that spans over a hundred meters and can carry different modules — seeding, soil prep, weeding — depending on the need.
Installing such a system outdoors would be unrealistic. Inside a greenhouse, we can maximize efficiency while ensuring consistent harvests
This consistency is also what allows the team to push for higher crop rotations: a single plot can support up to eight harvests per year — a level difficult to reach without tech support.
A Scalable and Resilient System
NeoFarm aims to build a model that is viable amid growing uncertainty. In a world where agriculture faces inflation, climate shocks, and rising energy costs, securing production becomes a strategic priority. The startup’s production units are designed to limit those structural dependencies.
By controlling the environment, yields are stabilized. By automating certain tasks, labor shortages are mitigated. By rationalizing energy use, the system can better absorb external shocks.
This stability impacts not just production costs, but also the final price of vegetables, making local, sustainable, and affordable food more accessible.
“One of the key challenges is to decouple agricultural prices from energy price hikes,” explains NeoFarm — a way to restore meaning to the value chain.
Millet is clear, however: “This model can’t be replicated everywhere. There needs to be strong local demand — especially from public institutions and school cafeterias, which are essential partners at our scale.”
It’s also important to note: automation at NeoFarm doesn’t destroy jobs — it creates them. Each 20-hectare farm operated by the startup generates about 40 permanent jobs, with a clear ambition to offer attractive and long-lasting agricultural careers.
“We want to create stable, fairly paid jobs so that young people can consider a career in agriculture without sacrificing their quality of life,” says Millet.
Reconcile Tradition and Innovation
But how do you introduce such innovation into a sector deeply attached to tradition and craftsmanship? Thibault Millet acknowledges some initial skepticism, particularly from local authorities, quickly erased as soon as the project is presented in all its dimensions.
As NeoFarm prepares to scale up, its roadmap is clear: build a local, resilient, and profitable farming model.
“In ten years, I’d like to see NeoFarm deployed at scale, with turnkey farms meeting local food needs,” concludes Millet.
“But first, what matters most is proving that our model works — not just on paper.”
The idea of introducing technology into agriculture can raise concerns. But our tech isn’t here to replace — it’s here to serve a clear purpose: to produce better, more locally, and more sustainably
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