b'ONLINE SEED SALESDigital Ecosystem Enables Online Buying of SeedAgro.Club is finding acceptance among seed sellers, but experts say its crucial to ensure the platform doesnt become a price comparison tool.WINNIPEG, MAN.-BASED Canterra Seeds is the first seed company to join whats being dubbed a digital ecosystem which promises to transform the way the Canadian agriculture industry buys, sells and earns.Agro.Club, a United States-based startup, has established a new Canadian companyAgro.Club Canada. Drawing on the companys origins in the Black Sea market with over 10,000 farmers using the platform, the Canadian company says its committed to creating efficient, inclusive technology solutions for the value chain.We want to give the whole industry a more efficient way of doing business digitally, says Neil Arbuckle, the managing director of Agro.Club Canada. Arbuckle has over 30 years of ag business leadership, working across the Canadian value chain. Prior to joining Agro.Club, he served as director of commercial operations for Bayers Crop Science division and was national sales lead for Monsanto before that. For Arbuckle, building an online ecosystem which includes all the existing partnerships and trusted relationships is key to helping the Canadian ag industry take a digital step forward.In June 2020, Agro.Club first announced plans to expand into Europe and launch operations in North America following the closure of a $1.5-million seed round led by Speedinvest, with participation from Elevator Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Raiffeisen Bank International. Previously, Agro.Club had a successful launch in Russia, a $20-billion market, where almost 20 per cent of farmers have signed up in the first 18 months and with millions of dollars in monthly business, according to the company.Via its free platform, which includes a website and telephone ordering service, Agro.Club bills itself as a single place to order inputs from a retailer of choice.Farmers have historically been the risk-takers working in a non-transparent market. The Agro.Club mobile app empowers farmers by giving them access to multinational giants, 42seed.ab.ca'