IAK Agrar Consulting

What IAK Agrar Consulting does

IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH is an independent German agricultural consulting firm founded in 1981 in Leipzig, operating across four core service lines: domestic farm advisory for German agricultural enterprises, international agribusiness consulting, international development project implementation on behalf of public donors, and personnel placement for the agricultural sector. The company serves a dual market comprising German farms (often subsidized through EU ELER rural development programs in Brandenburg, Thuringia, and other states) and international public-sector clients led by the German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture (BMEL), GIZ, and the European Commission, alongside government counterparties in over 18 countries spanning Europe, Africa, Asia, and South America. Its product portfolio centers on FarmAxis, a proprietary SaaS dairy farm management platform (FarmAxis Milch) with an independent login portal at farmaxis.com, complemented by the DINAK sustainability assessment system for farms and recent initiatives including the PROVIDER project using self-learning LLM agents for supply-chain simulation and the AgriFoodLoop digital circular-economy platform.

The firm generates revenue through professional services fees for advisory engagements, multi-year contract-based managed services for international development projects, placement fees from its recruitment division (Personalvermittlung), and recurring (often EU-subsidized) advisory subscriptions for German farms. Distribution is primarily direct via consulting engagements and competitive tendering for publicly funded programs, supplemented by consortium partnerships (notably with AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants GmbH and Health Focus GmbH) for larger international bids, event-driven marketing through trade fair participation (Agritechnica, International Green Week Berlin) and the company's own annual Unternehmertage conference, and a self-serve SaaS layer for the FarmAxis platform. With 11-50 employees and no parent company, IAK combines four decades of specialist domain expertise in dairy, arable farming, coffee, bioenergy, and agricultural policy with an institutional network of bilateral Agricultural Policy Dialogues and a flagship implementing role for the German-Chinese Agricultural Centre (DCZ) in Beijing.

Name

IAK Agrar Consulting

Legal name

IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH

Website

https://iakleipzig.de

Company type

Private

Founded year

1981

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH is a Leipzig-based agricultural consulting firm, founded in 1981, serving German farms through EU-subsidized advisory services and international public-sector clients (BMEL, GIZ, EU) via multi-year development project implementation across 18+ countries, with a proprietary FarmAxis dairy SaaS platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Consulting Services

NAICS

Farm Management Services (115116), Management Consulting Services (54161), Support Activities for Crop Production (11511), Support Activities for Animal Production (115210)

SIC

Agricultural Services (700), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro primary industry

Whole-Farm Business Management & Budgeting Advisory (AFACAJAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

Farm Technology Enablement & Data Integration Advisory (FMIS/ERP, IoT, Decision Support) (AFACAJAG), Supply Chain, Marketing & Contracting Advisory (Grain/Livestock Marketing) (AFACAJAH), Capital Projects & Farm Expansion Advisory (Feasibility, Site Planning, ROI) (AFACAJAN)

Keywords

• Agricultural consulting
• Farm advisory services
• International development cooperation
• Dairy farm management software
• Agribusiness consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Leipzig

HQ country

Germany

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Others

Revenue model

1. Agricultural Consulting Services: IAK provides advisory services to farms and agribusinesses in Germany and internationally, including corporate consulting for agriculture domestically and specialized consulting for international agribusiness clients. Services are fee-based, project- or retainer-structured.
2. International Development Project Implementation: IAK implements publicly funded development projects on behalf of clients such as BMEL (German Federal Ministry of Food and Agriculture), GIZ (German development agency), the EU, and other international donors. Revenue is contract-based, typically multi-year project agreements.
3. Personnel Recruitment / Staffing Services: IAK operates a recruitment division that matches agricultural professionals with client farms and companies ('Personalvermittlung'). This generates placement fees from client employers seeking agricultural staff.
4. EU-Funded Advisory Services: IAK offers subsidized consulting services for farms in German states (e.g., Brandenburg, Thuringia) funded through EU rural development programs (ELER), with consulting subsidized up to 2,000 EUR per advisory engagement.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH is an agricultural consulting firm that delivers advisory services to German farms and agribusinesses, implements international development cooperation projects (commissioned by BMEL, GIZ, and the EU), and operates personnel placement services for the agricultural sector. The firm also offers FarmAxis, a proprietary SaaS dairy farm management platform with its own login portal. Revenue is generated primarily through fee-based consulting engagements, multi-year publicly funded development project contracts, and FarmAxis subscriptions.

Product overview

IAK Agrar Consulting GmbH is an independent agricultural consulting company founded in 1981, offering a portfolio of consulting services and software products. The core software product is FarmAxis (with FarmAxis Milch/FarmAxis Dairy as the dairy-specific module), complemented by a broad range of consulting services including domestic agricultural consulting (Unternehmensberatung Landwirtschaft Deutschland), international agribusiness consulting (Beratung Agribusiness International), and international cooperation projects (Internationale Zusammenarbeit). The company also provides personnel placement services (Personalvermittlung) for the agricultural sector. The offering is organized as a platform-plus-services model, combining proprietary software tools with expert consulting across agricultural policy, farm management, and international development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FarmAxis: Software platform for dairy farm management and agricultural data analysis
• DINAK

Products and services

• Unternehmensberatung Landwirtschaft Deutschland (Domestic Agricultural Consulting)

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 110 international projects completed across 5 continents since 1981
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers8 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and minor.

• BAFA (German Federal Office for Economic Affairs and Export Control)majorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 May 2026IAK has been officially listed as a consulting company under the BAFA 'Beratungsgutscheine Afrika' programme, enabling German SMEs and skilled trades businesses to access subsidized consulting services for economic projects in all African countries through IAK.
• Provincial Government of Córdoba (Argentina)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Within the German-Argentine Dialogue on Sustainable Agricultural Innovations, IAK signed a memorandum of understanding with the provincial government of Córdoba, laying the foundation for intensive cooperation in agricultural innovation and policy exchange.
• Provincial Government of Santa Fe (Argentina)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2022Within the German-Argentine Dialogue on Sustainable Agricultural Innovations, IAK signed a memorandum of understanding with the provincial government of Santa Fe, laying the foundation for intensive cooperation in agricultural innovation and policy exchange.
• Sino-German Agricultural Week (DCAW)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2022DCAW is organized and conducted by the Sino-German Agricultural Centre (DCZ), implemented by IAK, as part of bilateral cooperation between BMEL and China's MARA. The annual event convenes German and Chinese agricultural stakeholders for exchange.
• AgiL – Saxon Agency for Regional FoodminorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2021IAK collaborates with AgiL (Saxon Agency for Regional Food), which advises farmers, processors, and retailers on marketing regional food products. IAK co-hosted a workshop and press conference at its Leipzig premises to explore climate-neutral, sustainable, and regional food marketing.
• Health Focus GmbH (Potsdam)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2018IAK has partnered with Health Focus GmbH since 2018 in a consortium to implement GIZ's food security and resilience strengthening project in Burkina Faso. The consortium combines IAK's agricultural expertise with Health Focus's nutrition and health focus for multi-sectoral food security interventions.
• INCA (Instituto Nacional do Café de Angola)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2014IAK signed a memorandum of cooperation with Angola's National Coffee Institute (INCA) for scientific and technical exchange to develop coffee cultivation in Angola. This partnership forms the foundation for ongoing coffee sector rehabilitation projects.
• AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants GmbHcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIAK operates in consortium with AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants GmbH on BMEL-funded international projects, including the German-Argentine Dialogue on Sustainable Agricultural Innovations. The consortium combines IAK's agricultural expertise with AFC's finance and agriculture consulting capabilities.
• German-Chinese Agricultural Centre (DCZ)coreImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerIAK implements the German-Chinese Agricultural Centre (DCZ) on behalf of BMEL. DCZ facilitates bilateral cooperation in agriculture between Germany and China, including policy dialogue, technical exchange, and the annual German-Chinese Agriculture Week (DCAW). The DCZ project office is located in Beijing.
• ELER / EU (European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development)majorGTM or Marketing PartnerIAK is registered as an approved consulting provider under the Brandenburg and Thuringia rural development programs co-financed by the EU's European Agricultural Fund for Rural Development (ELER). This enables IAK to offer subsidized advisory services to farms in these German states.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights7 records

Direct peers

• dsp-Agrosoft GmbH: German provider of herd management and farm accounting software widely adopted by German dairy farms. Competes head-on with FarmAxis Milch in dairy record-keeping, milk yield analysis and operational analytics.
• GFA Consulting Group GmbH: Hamburg-headquartered German development consulting group implementing GIZ, EU and KfW projects across agriculture, rural development and public sector reform. GFA is the prototypical competitor IAK faces on multi-country BMEL/GIZ tenders.
• 365FarmNet GmbH: Berlin-based multi-vendor farm management software platform used widely by German and European farmers. It is a direct competitor to IAK's FarmAxis dairy management platform in the on-farm digitization category.
• AFC Agriculture and Finance Consultants GmbH: Bonn-based German consulting firm specializing in agriculture and finance for international development projects. AFC and IAK regularly bid in consortium on BMEL and GIZ tenders (e.g., German-Argentine Dialogue), making AFC IAK's closest comparable in scale, geography and donor mix.
• DEULA-Bundesverband e.V. German network of agricultural training and education centers offering practical training, consulting and workforce development for the agricultural sector. Overlaps with IAK's domestic advisory and Personnelvermittlung (staffing) activities.

Broad incumbents

• BayWa AG: Munich-based global agribusiness, building materials and energy group with an agricultural advisory and digital farming offering. A broad incumbent that competes with IAK in German farm advisory, sustainability services and agri-input distribution.
• Royal Agrifirm Group: Dutch agricultural cooperative offering farm advisory, feed, crop solutions and digital tools across Europe. Overlaps with IAK in farm advisory and digital farm management, but operates at significantly larger scale and across multiple product categories.
• PwC Strategy& / Agriculture Practice: Global professional services firm with a dedicated agribusiness consulting practice serving food, agri and rural development clients. Competes with IAK on larger-scale agricultural strategy and management consulting mandates, particularly for multinational agribusinesses and government donors.
• KPMG Agribusiness: Global advisory firm with an established agribusiness sector team covering strategy, sustainability and supply chain consulting for agricultural producers and processors. A broader incumbent that competes for higher-end agribusiness consulting work that IAK also targets internationally.

Emerging players

• CABI (Centre for Agriculture and Biosciences International): UK-headquartered not-for-profit intergovernmental organization providing agricultural advisory, plant health and knowledge management services to developing countries. Comparable to IAK's international development cooperation and value chain development work, particularly across Africa and Asia.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/IAK-Agrar-Consulting-GmbH/61565469433904
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/iak-agrar-consulting-gmbh
• Instagraminstagram.com/iak.agrar.consulting

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about IAK Agrar Consulting