“One of the very exciting things is that … we are very close in proximity to our stakeholders along the food value chain,” said Milena Bogdanova Bursztyn, a Venice-based investor at Germin8 Ventures, a venture capital firm that specializes in foodtech and agtech investment.”

Los Angeles-based ProducePay has inked a $190 million debt facility from CoVenture and TCM Capital to expand its purchasing model and marketplace for farmers.

ProducePay offers farmers cash advances throughout the growing season to smooth the sometimes lumpy revenues and give farmers a bit more predictability, the company said. It buys produce ahead of delivery and sets itself up as a middle-man between distributors, growers and grocers.