Agtools Keeps Farmers Fed with Data

Few people know the intricacies of the international agricultural industry as well as Martha Montoya.

The chief executive of Agtools Inc., a data analytics platform for farmers and buyers, has been involved in the industry for more than 25 years, and done business in much of the world. 

Montoya has overseen produce shipments from South Africa, worked with buyers in Europe and Russia, and managed to reroute trucks that would have passed through a hurricane-torn Florida to get to the coast of California.

Now she aims to modernize the agricultural industry, and give farmers the tools and technologies needed to make the right decisions to earn a profit in an increasingly fast-paced global marketplace using Agtools’ platform.

At the end of the day, it’s all about “empowering farmers to know how to plant and manage their crops and when to harvest [them] to increase profits and sustain their business for 30 years and on,” said Montoya, who on Sept. 24 was named one of five Business Journal Innovator of the Year award winners (see stories, pages 1, 4, 6 and 8).

Colombia to OC 

Montoya immigrated to Los Angeles from Colombia in her mid-20s, and shortly after her arrival, received an entry-level position at a Newport Beach buyer’s office.

There, Montoya began sourcing and buying ingredients from around the world. At that time, she also started noticing the kinks in the supply chain—such as the unpredictable weather and volatile pricing that impacted nearly all facets of the industry.

Since then, she’s worked with buyers in all reaches of the world, and established production lines in Arizona and Mexico as well as the Netherlands. She ran another company she started, Los Kitos Produce, from 2009 to 2017.

In 2010, she was hired as a supplier at Walmart and went on to serve on the company’s Walmart Global Women Advisory Board.

She also serves on the California Department of Food and Agriculture board, where she has advocated for farmers in underserved areas on issues ranging from water usage to labor availability.

Family Aid

In 2017, Montoya launched Agtools with her two younger brothers, both engineers, Gustavo and Oscar.

Agtools’ platform provides real-time data to help farmers increase profits and reduce waste. At the same time, it assists buyers and shippers with data on product availability, shifts in pricing and routing options.

Gustavo, who serves as chief technology officer, leads software development and hardware needs of the business.

He built several servers for the company in order to help store the millions of data points gathered from the multitude of transactions that are accounted for on the platform everyday, Montoya said.

Meanwhile, Oscar, who received his bachelor’s degree in aerospace engineering, builds predictive algorithms for the platform that are “outside of this world” and provide about 96% accuracy, she said.

Momentum Builds 

Agtools didn’t skip a beat when the pandemic hit.

“When COVID-19 hit, much of the world was in disbelief,” Montoya said. “For me, it was one more challenge to overcome.”

The Agtools platform started gaining traction in the industry, as farmers and buyers realized the importance of understanding factors that impact the supply chain, she said.

Farmers are coming online to the platform nearly everyday, and farmers can see an increase in profits of 200% to 300%, she said.

Agtools recently closed a $1.4 million seed round of financing, with participation from the Tech Coast Angels.

“I always tell investors that this is a product that will help save our farmers,” Montoya added.

“The pandemic brought an awareness to social responsibility—how to sustain businesses but also how to be good to the earth and humankind.”

Bright Future

Agtools platform, which accounts for more than 500 commodities in the produce space, continues to grow with channel partners that include Aliso Viejo-based UST Global and, as of last month, Microsoft via placement on its Supply Chain Intelligent Solution.

The company will continue to enlist partners to expand its retail channels, while maintaining its focus on providing informational tools to farmers, Montoya said.

Agtools, a member of the UCI Beall Applied Innovation Wayfinder incubator, plans a Series A round next year.