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Building stronger trans-Tasman ties in the area of innovation and agri-technology provide a unique opportunity for some really big thinking. Connecting our respective research and entrepreneurial communities has the potential to address key major global issues. Few are bigger than the scarcity and management of water.

Australia is currently grappling with one of its worst droughts on record. Water is its most precious natural resource. The agrisystem, which includes the entire agri food supply chain, needs to become more efficient with its use of water and build its long term resilience and preparedness for drought.

Australia is not alone in facing water issues. New Zealand understands this. Water scarcity is a universal problem being exacerbated by changes in our climate. Together, we need to urgently find solutions to address the immediate and longer term challenges posed to our region’s entire agricultural ecosystem.

Introducing the Bridge Hub 2020 Water Challenge. Bridge Hub, based in New South Wales, launched its 2020 Water Challenge at the evokeAG conference, in Melbourne, in February. The Challenge’s current supporters in Australia include CSIRO, Commonwealth Bank, AgriFutures Australia, the University of Canberra, the Government of South Australia and a number of regional development agencies across multiple Australian States.

Following discussions at the most recent Australia New Zealand Agritech Council, it was agreed that New Zealand’s Council members would invite New Zealand’s research and entrepreneurial community to join the Challenge. It was also agreed that in order to identify significant solutions to the Water Challenge, we would pose 4 questions to our research and entrepreneur community;

1. How can the agrisystem use less water and increase productivity and profitability?

2. How can we turn arid agricultural areas into vibrant, sustainable and productive regions?

3. How can we ensure the quality of water optimises the outcomes for farmers, growers and the environment?

4. How can different sectors outside the agrisystem align to optimise water usage?

Four major questions that are looking for innovative answers.

The New Zealand input is being supported by the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum, New Zealand’s Agritech ITP, New Zealand Trade & Enterprise & Callaghan Innovation. A number of additional New Zealand research and commercial organisations are signing up in support.

So what are we looking for?

Under research, we want to identify cutting edge New Zealand research that can help solve the water related problems we have identified in the agrisystem. The research solutions must have high commercialisation potential that can scale globally to have maximum impact.

Under entrepreneurship, we want to unlock and demonstrate the next generation of leading New Zealand water technology solutions for the agrisystem. The Challenge is looking to provide a testbed for the research and business entrants, in both New Zealand and Australia.

Finally, to encourage trans-Tasman research collaboration on the Water Challenge, we are looking to welcome submissions with at least one Australian and one New Zealand researcher on the team. Expect further announcements on what this might look like as the Council engages with different agencies on both sides of the Tasman.

To register your interest in the Trans-Tasman Water Challenge, please visit https://www.waterchallenge.co/ 

I hope this newsletter finds you safe and well. Last month, we held our annual meeting and I would like to congratulate the newly elected members of our Executive Council. The platform that has been developed over the past two years provides a very significant opportunity for our members going forward.

In particular, I would like to thank the departing members of our Establishment Council for their immense contribution. They have provided me with invaluable support and advice during the past two years as we have grown into a significant industry sector organisation. Their contribution has been immense and the platform that has been established provides a very significant opportunity going forward.

My immediate focus is on the plans for the delivery and implementation of the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP). To further emphasise the Agritech ITP’s importance, Agritech New Zealand is publishing Aotearoa Agritech Unleashed. This research report provides a detailed analysis of agritech on New Zealand’s economy and the opportunity for increased productivity and export growth.

One key element of the Agritech ITP is the ongoing development of the New Zealand Agritech Story. Closed borders now present a particular challenge when addressing offshore opportunities.

To help gain a better understanding of how the sector will manage in the current environment, we are hosting New Zealand Agritech Story workshops next month. The workshops will be held on 15 July in Auckland, 16 July in Hamilton and 21 July in Lincoln. It’s critical that the sector is provided with the collateral and assets it needs to be able to navigate the emerging ‘new normal’. Please reserve your free seat at these workshops because your input is highly valued. 

In 2019, Agritech New Zealand hosted a major one day conference at National Fieldays called Agritech Unleashed. I’m delighted to announce that Agritech New Zealand and National Fieldays are once again partnering to provide exciting online content for Fieldays Online between 13-26 July. Agritech Unleashed 2020 will include five daily sessions on Fieldays TV, focusing on key themes including; building New Zealand agritech sector’s global footprint, attracting skills and talent, the rise of robotics and automation, creating new ag data standards and regulation, and how New Zealand researchers and startups can engage with the trans-Tasman Water Challenge.

Later next month, during Techweek 2020, we are hosting Elizabeth Fastiggi, global head of agritech at Amazon Web Services. We are also hosting a major New Zealand – Singapore online food safety workshop; a key element of the Enhanced Partnership agreement signed by both Governments in 2019. If you are involved in any aspect of food safety, research or commercialisation, this is one event you will not want to miss. More details coming soon.

Whilst some sectors of our economy face significant pressures, I believe that the future of agritech in New Zealand is bright. We have developed a focused strategy to improve productivity and grow long term exports by bringing together our major stakeholder groups; industry, research and Government. 

Last month’s Budget announcement of $11.4m funding to support the delivery of the Agritech ITP was a massive vote of confidence in the sector. Next month’s New Zealand Agritech Story workshops are the key first milestone in its implementation.

I hope to see as many of you as possible in Auckland, Hamilton & Lincoln.

Until then.

Ngā mihi

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
AgriTech New Zealand

PS: Have your say on drone adoption within New Zealand agriculture. Please complete our member Aeronavics’ quick survey to help formulate the best strategy for drone use on farms. There is also an opportunity to be considered for a trial site installation.

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Kia ora,

As New Zealand’s agritech sector settles into life in Alert Level 2, I wanted to share news of our substantial progress. The contribution so many of you made during the Government’s Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) consultancy process was rewarded last week. The 2020 Budget announced $11.4M funding support for the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan. This is a fantastic achievement and will cover implementing large parts of the Plan over the next two years.

Looking ahead, the delivery of the Agritech ITP is even more strategically important than ever before. Some of its mission may have to be re-prioritised as we accelerate its purpose, but the collaborative framework it created between industry and Government is enduring. In my view, the Agritech ITP offers the best hope we have for a reinvigorated and stronger New Zealand agritech sector.

What are the next steps? The Agritech ITP taskforce is developing a robust project management process for the Plan’s delivery. Industry will play a central role and its input is critical for the Plan’s long term success. Agritech New Zealand is establishing working groups to map the Plan’s work streams and I am currently drafting Terms of Reference for these groups to ensure maximum industry input.

However, for many of our agritech businesses, I am very aware of just how challenging the current COVID-19 climate is. From the outset of Alert Level 4, we knew it was important to gain a better understanding of our sector’s business continuity planning. We conducted a major survey and three immediate challenges were identified: access to funding, markets and customers. While New Zealand’s borders remain closed, the opportunity for new early stage company funding is grim. I’m not sugar coating this. Anecdotal feedback supports early assessment by Callaghan Innovation that up to 50 percent of pre-revenue agritech companies are likely to fail. It is imperative that every opportunity is taken to increase your visibility. For example, if you haven’t already, please create a free profile on Scale-Up New Zealand.

As we progress through COVID-19 alert levels, our agritech sector needs to embrace a new way of thinking and test new opportunities. For example, increased collaboration with Australia’s agritech ecosystem. Given the impact on global supply chains, the importance of developing regional supply chain platforms is likely to increase. For Agritech New Zealand, it also means changing the way we work. Traditional events have been replaced by digital events. During Alert Level 4, we established a webinar series that hosted over 2000 attendees plus local and international thought leaders. In case you missed it, the AgriTechNZ Insights webinar series is now available on demand.

During the past seven weeks, I have also been speaking to our global network to help ensure the world knows that New Zealand agritech is still open for business. Even though individual travel is not possible, it further underscores one of the immediate priorities of the Agritech ITP schedule; to further promote New Zealand’s Agritech Story offshore.

There is one specific offshore opportunity that is occupying my focus; the potential creation of a Trans-Tasman agritech bubble. As co-founder of the Australia New Zealand Agritech Council we work with the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) who are currently advising on the practicalities of opening our mutual borders without the need to quarantine. We have identified a major opportunity for both country’s ecosystems to collaborate at an entrepreneurial and research level. Our hope is this may form the basis of a longer term collaboration model across our region as we navigate our new normal.

Introducing the 2020 Bridge Hub Water Challenge

Water is our most precious natural resource and the entire agri food supply chain needs to increase its efficiency and resilience. Bridge Hub, an Australian partner of the ANZ Agritech Council, launched its 2020 Water Challenge to address the issue. Now, New Zealand experts, innovators and researchers have been invited to participate. Please email me to learn more.

Finally, our Annual Meeting is next week. Special thanks to the Establishment Council for their on-going support, input and energy since the organisation was formed two years ago. I look forward to working with the newly elected Executive Council who will be announced at our Annual Meeting.

Ngā mihi,

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
AgriTech New Zealand

PS: Fieldays Online Innovation Awards applications close on 15 June.

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Today is a major milestone in Agritech New Zealand’s intense 12 month engagement with the NZ Government’s Agritech ITP taskforce. This afternoon’s announcement by Minister Twyford that $11.4M had been committed in Budget 2020 to support the Agritech ITP is massive.

You can review the final draft Agritech ITP documentation here: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/10750-growing-innovative-industries-in-new-zealand-agritech-in-new-zealand-industry-transformation-plan-

You can view yesterday’s Budget statement here (It appears on page 4). https://budget.govt.nz/budget/pdfs/releases/r1-focus-jobs-kiwi-businesses-supported-respond-recover-rebuild.pdf

Whilst this post is an immediate reaction (literally) to the Budget announcement, I would like to take this opportunity to thank all those who have made this possible.

• To the Agritech New Zealand Executive Council who have supported the Agritech ITP initiative from Day 1
• To Agritech New Zealand members who have not only contributed to the consultation process, but who have gone the extra mile
• To the 500+ industry representatives who attended the regional ITP workshops across the country that we organised through 2019 and early 2020. Your contribution was awesome. Without significant industry input, we frankly would not have got to where we are today.

I would like to finally thank my colleagues and friends on the government’s Agritech ITP taskforce.

• In particular, David Downs, the government’s Agritech ITP taskforce lead and Arek Wojasz, our MBIE policy team go-to.
  
  It’s impossible to underestimate the impact that both David & Arek have had on the success on the Agritech ITP submission. Jacqui and I have had weekly calls with David & Arek for months and many discussions in between. Not only did we organise the regional consultative workshops together, we have discussed all the opportunities that an effective Agritech ITP can offer New Zealand’s agritech sector. David & Arek totally got it. Thanks guys!
  
  
• Finally, the rest of the government’s Agritech ITP taskforce. For the record that’s MBIE, MFAT, MPI, NZTE, Callaghan Innovation & NZVIF. On a more personal note, that’s Arek, Gavin, Lucie, Brendan, Simon & Richard. Behind every government agency name, there is an amazing individual making this happen.
  
  

Over the coming days and weeks, I’ll be working with the wider government Agritech ITP taskforce to ensure that industry’s input into the ITP delivery and execution remains absolute.

That works starts now.

This series of four webinars was designed to enable people across the spectrum* to acquire factual insights on which to make informed management, technology and interoperability decisions, with an emphasis on real-world application.

Data is at the heart of business decision-making in any industry, especially so in the ag sector.

For NZ agriculture-related companies to remain competitive in an increasingly globally-connected world, their data must be more complete, timely, accurate, and comprehensible. Standards help make this possible.

A challenge for implementers is knowing what standards are available and the purpose of each. How and if standards relates to other standards, and how various technologies and tools inter-relate.

This four-part webinar series addressed these points, prioritising breadth over depth, and with references to resource libraries to enable participants to dig deeper.

Guest presenters during the series included:

• Andrew Cooke, MD, Rezare Ltd, Head of DataLinke
• Sir Bill English, 38th Prime Minister of New Zealand
• Alexey Rostapshov, Head of John Deere Labs, San Francisco
• David Downs, MBIE

*for example agtech businesses, agribusinesses, research organisations, primary producer co-ops, regional and central government regulators

The agenda covered, in four sessions

The webinar series is built on the work undertaken by the Precision Ag Association of NZ (“PAANZ”) over the last two years, the investment in Datalinker and NZ Farm Data Standards, the NZ Government’s Industry Transformation Plan, as well as emerging dialogue within and between New Zealand and Australia to facilitate greater collaboration between ag sector organisations.

These webinars were convened by:

• Kenneth Irons, on the boards of PAANZ and AgriTechNZ, and CEO of Precision Farming Ltd, and were lead by
• Jim Wilson, Global CEO and President of OAGi and CTO of AgGateway.

AgriTechNZ members are also welcome to access the substantial library of resources made available free of charge with the complements of AgGateway, to attendees at the webinar series. If you can not access this page please contact Tim Cutfield on tim@cutfield.com

We are delighted to publish the eight Agritech New Zealand Insights webinar sessions which were recorded over the past three weeks. 2,200+ registered attendees signed up to view the series and the feedback we have received since has been hugely positive.

As with any first time Hollywood blockbuster, I’m pleased therefore to announce that we will be launching the Insights webinar series Season 2 during Techweek 2020. This takes place during the last week of July. We plan to host major global thought leaders who will once again provide valuable insights for New Zealand’s agritech sector.

To view any or all of our ‘Season 1’ recordings, please click on the links below and enter the relevant password. I hope you enjoy.

Dr. Adrian Percy: Former global Head of R&D at Bayer Crop Science: CTO of UPL

The role of major agribusiness corporates, early stage collaboration and the impact on innovation

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/osBcHpLT-X9Ieo3QzwbwfLAhRd_ueaa82yEfrPAFxGTtNgiYpzg5HHLuAyrEylw Password: 4j!*@J#e

Arama Kukutai: Co-founder and Managing director of Finistere Ventures

Understanding the Global Agritech Investment Landscape

https://zoom.us/rec/share/5OE2dZfA-UNJUs-XsUzDYZMsJN_UT6a803Uc86FbnUrQxGIUNGMLoIjTgg7EidOf Password: m1$Y0!5D

Claudia Roessler: World wide director of Agriculture, Microsoft

Microsoft’s investment in agriculture, the role of agritech and how local companies can partner.

https://zoom.us/rec/share/2Zx0D7Hi_2hObqvCxkzye5xmAYa5T6a8hycc86BYxBpcY-otViJLInxIa4SI1GNJ Password: 8n+2ygwu

David Downs: The government’s Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) Lead

Supporting the growth and scaling New Zealand’s agritech sector – an update on the planned delivery of the government’s Agritech Industry Transformation Plan.

https://us02web.zoom.us/rec/share/_Ot_C67M6FFJbrP9xVvddbR7QqnsX6a8gyIZrqUKn0oRgAwXCK6wYgeXfA1V0QqB Password: 9y+$4F00

Dennis Donohue: Director of the Western Growers Technology & Innovation Center

Stateside challenges and how New Zealand agritech businesses can help solve them

https://zoom.us/rec/share/v-1rKfbUx21OQ7OW7kveRPUzBIbYeaa8hnUf-qUKxRoBRfZFktvJFKrd7v-n6aeq Password: 1U&EL4Kq

Ian Proudfoot: Global Head of Agribusiness, KPMG

AgriFood’s ‘Now Normal’ post COVID-19

https://zoom.us/rec/share/uM0sALDQ93NOQ6_WtF3hB6A4GLndT6a81yAe_fsNnUxZDpk_Gn-kkdr07HD2kW1a Password: l7+++4=4

Richard Dellabarca: CEO, New Zealand Capital Growth Partners (formerly NZVIF)

Navigating the NZ Investment Landscape post COVID-19

https://zoom.us/rec/share/45Q2P5_u3SBLZaPRt2HtVoMCFIrIeaa80CMe86IKyhwuMuXlbUT1lelYYHSZWvVX Password: 8Z&lCF9w

Vic Crone: CEO, Callaghan Innovation

New initiatives to support early stage businesses in the current environment

https://zoom.us/rec/share/_8hsLIGt_zpJUK_n6GHSRqs-WanXeaa8gHAb8vQJzU64uhf7AFwyXWzWOhY3GDLV  Password: o7+kvP7R

I would like to personally thank all our presenters for their time and contribution to the Insights Series. During our COVID-19 Level 4 & 3 lockdown, it was great to be able share their knowledge and vision with New Zealand’s agritech community.

I will post details of our Season 2 line-up closer to the Techweek 2020 programme.

UPDATED: 11 May 2020: On Thursday this week, the Hon. Grant Robertson will announce the government’s 2020 Budget. It will be against the almost surreal economic background created by the COVID-19 pandemic. Last month, Agritech New Zealand released the results of its Insights Sector survey. It reflected several areas of major concern for New Zealand agritech businesses.

Over the past few weeks, Agritech New Zealand has been working closely with the government’s Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) taskforce to promote the ITP’s inclusion in Thursday’s announcement. We believe it can create significant opportunity for New Zealand’s agritech businesses, both short-term and long-term. We now await the outcome of that work.

The Agritech New Zealand Insights Sector Survey results are out. You can view the detailed Survey results here.

The purpose of the Agritech New Zealand Insights Survey was to get a better understanding of the New Zealand agritech sector’s resilience and business continuity planning, both during the COVID-19 lockdown and beyond. The Survey took place between Tuesday 31 March and Thursday 9 April 2020.

The respondents’ answers to the open and closed questions highlighted several major areas of concern. These included:

• Access to funding
• Access to customers
• Access to markets

In this post, I am going to provide some detailed commentary on each area of concern. In later posts, I will talk about some of the actions that government and industry can take to address them.

Access to Funding

One surprising feature of the survey was the relatively small number of startup businesses taking part in the survey (26). This might be because their focus is on survival. Anecdotally, a significant number of pre-revenue startup businesses across New Zealand’s tech landscape are in survival mode. On Friday 17 April, Callaghan Innovation released figures based on research conducted during the current COVID-19 Level 4 lockdown, which suggested that perhaps 50-60% of New Zealand’s pre-revenue tech businesses might fail.

More established agritech companies are also under funding pressure. This was confirmed by Arama Kukutai, co-founder and managing director of Finistere Ventures and Richard Dellabarca, CEO of New Zealand Capital Growth Partners (formerly known as NZVIF) during two Insights webinar sessions hosted by Agritech New Zealand during the weeks of 13 & 20 April. Portfolio companies are being asked to re-set their business plans and financial models to extend cash runways to the end of 2021. In many cases, this will result in a reduction of R&D spend and a reduction in headcount.

When asked about the most significant need post COVID-19 lockdown, the survey respondents pointed to financial support as the most relevant support mechanism required for economic recovery. This was cited by 50% of all respondents. Anecdotally, Callaghan Innovation is accelerating its Project Grant application process to support ongoing R&D activity by some customers. The survey also indicated however that a number of companies, particularly in the start-up / SME phase were either reducing investment into R&D or going into full R&D hibernation.

It is clear that novel solutions need to be considered to address the funding issue. During any severe economic downturn, poorly performing businesses are likely to fail. The unprecedented nature of the current COVID-19 pandemic however means that many potentially high growth New Zealand agritech businesses have been exposed at the most important part of their funding cycle.

Access to Customers

At the time of the survey, the biggest risk to ‘current business activity’ was access to customers. This was cited by 50% of all respondents. This was particularly apparent for the SME sector.

It is likely that for domestic customers, access will become less of a problem as New Zealand reduces its COVID-19 alert level. At the time of the survey, a large number of agritech businesses, corporate as well as SME, were not classified as ‘essential’ businesses. This meant that they were not able to support or service customers in the primary sector. A number of respondents were critical of the government’s process for determining an ‘essential service’ at a time when the primary sector was the main driver of the country’s economy during lockdown.

Access to offshore customers however remains a significant challenge. Just over 50% of respondents cited that the restriction on international travel had impacted their business. With no end-date in sight for the relaxation of New Zealand’s closed borders, this is a challenge whose impact is likely to grow. Responses to the open question, enabling respondents to comment further on the impact of travel restrictions, indicated that a number of agritech businesses had already lost overseas sales and others were putting their offshore market development plans into hibernation.

Access to Markets

New Zealand’s closed borders threaten a number of agritech businesses medium to long-term offshore market development plans. This is significant.

Over the past 5 years, New Zealand’s exports of agritech products and services have flatlined at approximately NZ$ 1.5 billion per year. Compared with international peers such as Israel & the Netherlands, this figure suggests under-performance given the size of New Zealand’s agricultural sector.

One of the key drivers behind the government’s Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) initiative was to identify actions that could accelerate the growth of New Zealand agritech export sales. This activity would not only generate more export dollars, it was designed to create more highly paid jobs, particularly in the regions where much of the sector is based.

Based on the results of the survey, Agritech New Zealand believes that the closed borders will significantly impact the ability of agritech businesses to grow their offshore sales in the short to medium term. To compensate for the inability of entrepreneurs to travel overseas, a novel set of support mechanisms need to be put in place to ensure that international markets remain open to New Zealand’s agritech sector post the relaxation of border controls.

Access to offshore markets, includes one additional key metric; access to global capital to support potentially high growth agritech businesses invest and scale. Based on conversations that have taken place over the past 3 – 4 weeks with a number of global offshore funds – particularly those associated with Farm2050 (www.farm2050.com), new investment into New Zealand agritech companies at a Series A scale is unlikely to materialise until 2021. For a number of New Zealand agritech companies looking to start a Series A or B funding round, this is likely to impact significantly on cash runway and operations unless other finance options can be found.

Addressing these Challenges

In my next post, I will provide some insight into the potential mechanisms that government and industry can use to begin to address these real challenges that a number of businesses in our sector face.

Over the past 4 weeks, Agritech New Zealand has been in constant contact with government officials to promote ongoing support for the sector as we enter the economic recovery phase. Working collaboratively together, I express the hope and the belief that New Zealand’s agritech sector will emerge stronger as we go forward.

Kia ora,

We are on the home straight! That was the opening sentence in last month’s newsletter. Little did I know that we would soon be embarking on several weeks of COVID-19 lockdown. I hope your family, friends and neighbours are safe, and remain well.

Over the past two weeks, the team has focused on rebuilding our programme in the age of coronavirus. It is made up of three parts;

• Part One: Connecting and supporting a strong national agritech ecosystem
• Part Two: AgriTech New Zealand Insights webinars
• Part Three: Insights and Applications Data Standards webinars

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Part One: Connecting and supporting a strong national agritech ecosystem

As we begin to experience a rapidly evolving business landscape, it’s crucial we understand the short, medium and long term impacts on our wider agritech ecosystem. As a result, in association with the Government’s Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) taskforce, Agritech New Zealand is conducting a major online survey of the sector. 

The purpose of the survey is to gain a better understanding of the sector’s resilience and business continuity planning during the current lockdown and beyond. The results of this survey will help both ourselves and the Government’s ITP taskforce identify new measures that might assist businesses navigate this challenging period. To guarantee confidentiality, the survey results will be anonymised. 

Please complete the survey here. Your input is vital and urgent with survey responses required by Monday 6 April. The first analysis will be ready by Easter, so the taskforce can review and determine the next steps. 

Of course, COVID-19 knows no national borders and during the last fortnight, we have seen significant engagement with our offshore partners and friends. This is an important component of the second part of our programme. 

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Part Two: AgriTech New Zealand Insights

I’m excited today to announce the formal launch of AgriTech New Zealand Insights, a webinar series providing new ideas and developing new market opportunities for New Zealand’s agritech sector. It’s purpose is to create global agritech connections and promote New Zealand agritech to the world. Please register today to join our inaugural presenters on this inspiring new platform. It’s free and is an excellent opportunity to connect with world leading agritech thought leaders:

Arama Kukutai, Founder and Managing Director, Finistere Ventures Arama.
Topic: Current global agritech investment landscape and its impact on local agritech companies.
Wednesday 15 April 11.00am – 12.00pm.
Register here.

Vic Crone, CEO, Callaghan Innovation and Simon Yarrow, GM Agritech.
Topic: New initiatives to support early stage businesses in the current environment.
Friday 17 April 11.00am – 12.00pm.
Register here.

Dennis Donohue, Director, Western Growers Technology & Innovation Center.
Topic: Stateside challenges and how New Zealand agritech businesses can help solve them.
Tuesday 21 April 11.00am – 12.00pm.
Register here.

Claudia Roessler, World Wide Director, Agriculture, Microsoft.
Topic: Microsoft’s investment in agriculture, the role of agritech and how local companies can partner.
Thursday 23 April 11.00am – 12.00pm.
Register here.

David Downs, New Zealand Government Agritech Industry Transformation Plan Taskforce.
Topic: Supporting the growth and scaling New Zealand’s agritech sector – an update on the planned delivery of the agritech ITP.
Wednesday 29 April 11.00am – 12.00pm.
Register here.

Adrian Percy, former Global Head of R&D at Bayer CropScience.
Topic: The role of major agri corporates, early stage collaboration and the impact on innovation.
Thursday 30 April 9.00am – 10.00am.
Register here.

Confirmed speakers with dates to be advised include;

Alexey Rostapshov, Head of John Deere Labs.
Topic: Discover John Deere’s vision for the digital farm of the future.

Michael Robertson, Deputy Director, Agriculture & Food Division, CSIRO.
Topic: Collaborating with the New Zealand research community.

Richard O’Gorman, Director, Rabobank Food & Agriculture Fund.
Topic: The evolving global landscape for agritech venture investment. 

Agritech New Zealand Insights is a major initiative designed to provide New Zealand agritech companies with an opportunity to learn and develop. I am deeply grateful to all the presenters who have agreed to share their knowledge, expertise and time with us. You are awesome!

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Part Three: Insights and Applications Data Standards webinars

With the recent integration of the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ) with Agritech New Zealand, we are transitioning the planned “Insights and Applications” workshop at MobileTECH online. This workshop follows February’s workshop on Ag Data Standards and Interoperability. During the recent ITP workshop roadshow, data interoperability created perhaps more interest than any other.

The good news is we have now confirmed four webinars. The series will be led by international ag data standards expert, Jim Wilson, CEO of Open Applications Group and CTO of AgGateway, USA. The webinars will be moderated by Kenneth Irons, AgriTechNZ and PAANZ board member and CEO of Precision Farming, and other key players in the PAANZ team.

The Ag Data Standards “Insight and Applications” webinars are as follows:

Reasons and benefits for standards including influencers and competitive advantage.
Tuesday 14 April 12.30pm.
Register here.

Business processes and message data standards – a global perspective with implications for NZ. 
Tuesday 21 April 12.30pm.
Register here.

Reference data, data ownership and moving data around.
Tuesday 28 April 12.30pm.
Register here.

Application and benefits for New Zealand (and Australia) alignment with the agritech ITP
Tuesday 5 May 12.30pm.
Register here.

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Over the past few weeks, I have continued to have regular contact with the Government’s Agritech ITP taskforce. While some of the immediate launch plans have had to be delayed, the drive to support the delivery of the Plan remains focused and for us, centre stage.

A significant amount of input came from Agritech New Zealand members during the consultation process and it will be those same people who will help implement many of the Plan’s key findings.

Over the coming days, we have further meetings with key members of the taskforce as we process forward. I will share details of what those steps might look like in the coming weeks.

Given the significant amount of digital work we are putting in place, I’ll be publishing a second newsletter after Easter. It will contain the confirmed dates for our next set of webinars and the first analysis from our COVID-19 survey. 

Having spoken to a number of members over the past few days, I’m very aware of the pressures that many are facing. It’s against this back drop that I hope the initiatives we are announcing today will help begin to address some of these pressures, as well as assist develop new pathways for the future. 

Until next time. Be calm, be kind, stay at home. We can break the chain.

Ngā mihi,

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
AgriTech New Zealand

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AgriTechNZ Executive Council nominations

A reminder that nominations for the AgriTechNZ Executive Council are currently open. All AgriTechNZ member organisations can nominate a representative. Submit your nomination using the online form here. The deadline for nominations is 5pm on Thursday 9 April. Online elections will follow and the new Council will be announced at our Annual Meeting on Thursday 14 May. Please register if you want to attend the Annual Meeting – note this is a member only event.

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News

It has been almost two years since Agritech New Zealand launched in May 2018.

We are thrilled with what Agritech New Zealand has achieved since then.

Our progress would not be possible without the commitment and involvement from our members, so thank you to everyone for being part of this journey with us.

If you are not already an Agritech New Zealand member, we would love for you to join us.

Kia ora,

We are on the home straight! Yesterday, David Downs and I delivered the final Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) workshop.

Over 200 people have attended the three workshops focused on ITP delivery in Auckland, Hamilton and Lincoln. After almost nine months of consultation with industry, research and support service stakeholders we are now less than four weeks away from the official launch of the ITP.

At MobileTECH Ag 2020 on 7 April in Rotorua, Ministers Twyford and O’Connor will release the full Plan. Two Ministers. One Plan. I think this confirms the priority the Government is placing on this significant initiative.

During the workshops, I outlined the role that industry would play in the delivery of the six workstreams and three High Impact Projects identified in the Plan. Agritech New Zealand will be establishing formal working groups to map each workstream and High Impact Project. Our members will be able to participate in as many working groups as appropriate. To date, the focus of our work has been on Government consultation however, from April our focus will be on delivery.

Workstream One in the ITP is simply called Global. One of its key actions is ‘Connecting the New Zealand agritech ecosystem to global opportunities’. Last month, we practiced what we preach in Australia during the evokeAG 2020 conference. Over 100 kiwis attended and it’s fair to say that New Zealand’s agritech sector is highly regarded on the other side of the Tasman. This is not hearsay, it’s supported by research! The United States Study Centre at the University of Sydney published a report prior to the conference, Isolated Agtech in Australia? A social network analysis of an innovative sector. It compares the connectivity of New Zealand’s agritech sector with that of Australia and makes an interesting read!

Following the conference, an Australia New Zealand Agritech Council breakfast was held in Melbourne. We were joined by Dame Annette King, the New Zealand High Commissioner to Australia, together with other New Zealand diplomats based in Australia, including representatives from New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Callaghan Innovation, Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI). The New Zealand team was mapped with a similar representative group from Australia Inc.

The meeting was designed to identify opportunities for the two countries to collaborate on the global stage. Promoting the region as a significant global agritech hub is a key strategy to attract inward investment and offshore interest. Expect more updates on the Council’s important work in future editions of this newsletter.

Returning to the ITP, Workstream Four is focused on Data Interoperability and Regulations. This is a hugely important topic for the sector to address. Immediately following MobileTECH Ag 2020 on 9 April, a free half-day workshop is being held, Ag Data – Insights and Applications. There are a limited number of seats left, so please reserve your ticket.

As Agritech New Zealand gears up to address some of the significant opportunities now facing the country’s agritech sector, we are beginning the process of holding new elections for our Executive Council. With the recent integration of the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ), every member can take part in the election process. Details of how to engage in the process will be sent to all members soon.

Finally, as we prepare to support the delivery of the ITP we are keen to fully engage the widest representation of the sector. Opportunities like this one do not come around too often. If you have not already signed up, membership details can be found here.

I hope you can join us on this journey.

Ngā mihi,

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
AgriTech New Zealand

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How connected are you? Techweek 2020 wants to know how you use tech in your everyday life.

The key theme at last week’s evokeAG conference in Melbourne was the power of collaboration.

In New Zealand, this has been a key driver for the past two years. Agritech New Zealand has succeeded in bringing together different key stakeholders from across the agritech ecosystem to create a sector-wide community; a community made up of industry, research, investment and government partners. Over the past 12 months, we have worked together to develop a long-term Agritech Industry Transformation Plan. You can view and download the final draft of this work from the MBIE website here.

This power of sector collaboration is now well understood in Australia and it was great to see the formal launch of the Australian Agritech Association (AAA) earlier this month. Its co-founders are Andrew Coppin, Sarah Nolet, Craig Shapiro, Matthew Pryor and Mike Briers. I’ve worked closely with these folk for a long time and it’s a hugely positive step for New Zealand’s own agritech sector, that the AAA has been established. A strong Aussie agritech sector is helping generate a viable and powerful regional ecosystem. To create global impact, that’s absolutely critical for New Zealand.

For the past nine months, I have been working with the same awesome Aussies to develop a dynamic framework for sector collaboration between Australia and New Zealand. The formal establishment of the Australia New Zealand Agritech Council last September was an important step in this journey. It brought together key ecosystem builders on both sides of the ditch.

This collaborative framework was formally recognised at a meeting organised by the Council on Thursday morning immediately following the evokeAG conference. (Thanks to Austrade for hosting). It has provided a MASSIVE long-term boost to the Council’s vision for the region’s agritech ecosystem.

On the New Zealand side, we were joined by Dame Annette King, the NZ High Commissioner to Australia; Vanessa O’Neill, the NZ Consul General & Trade Commissioner to Victoria; David Downs, the NZ Government agritech taskforce lead; Grant Bryden, Director for Primary Sector Futures at MPI, together with Angela Traill & Mitali Purohit, key representatives from NZTE & Callaghan Innovation. Dame Annette made it clear that she and the NZ Inc. team based in Australia would provide enthusiastic ongoing support for the vision.

On the Australian side, we were joined by Chantal Jackson, Director, Agricultural Innovation and Productivity, Ministry of Agriculture; Tim Lester, Executive Officer of the Council of Rural R&D Corps; Michiel Van Lookeren Campagne, Director of Agriculture and Food at CSIRO; Charlie Thomas, General Manager, Digital & Industry Partnerships, National Farmer’s Federation; John Harvey, Managing Director of AgriFutures Australia, together with leading representatives from a number of Australian states.

The meeting discussed the Council’s vision for identifying opportunities for trans-Tasman collaboration. One of our first key missions is to promote the region to the global investment community. Attracting international capital into the region will help support and scale some of our most promising early stage companies. Both the New Zealand and the Australian government representatives recognised the value of this collaborative approach and it will be tested for the first time next month during the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco. This event provides a platform for several Australia New Zealand Agritech Council members to share that vision with leading global investors and agribusinesses. I look forward to joining my Aussie colleagues in the Bay area as we make that pitch.

In his closing remarks on Wednesday at the evokeAG conference, John Harvey, Managing Director of AgriFutures Australia talked about how the first evokeAG conference in 2019 had created a splash, the 2020 version a ripple, and how he wanted the 2021 event to create a wave. Thursday’s Agritech Council meeting was designed to help generate that first wave. It’s scheduled to hit the shores of San Francisco Bay on 17-18 March.

I look forward to updating on the impact it causes.

Over 60 Kiwi agriculture innovators and leaders are now in Melbourne to showcase their technologies at the high-profile evokeAG event, create export and partnership opportunities, and build on New Zealand’s reputation as a leading agricultural innovator.

evokeAG is a two-day international event all about innovation in agriculture, drawing delegates from the entire agriculture ecosystem from across the Asia Pacific region and internationally. The mission is led by Callaghan Innovation in partnership with NZTE, Agritech New Zealand, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) and the Ministry for Primary Industries.

Simon Yarrow, Callaghan Innovation’s Agritech Group Manager, says New Zealand’s startup ecosystem for ‘agritech and new food’ has been ranked in the top 10 globally and there is an opportunity for our agritech to become a multi-billion-dollar sector by 2025 (currently $1.4 billion).

“We’ve got a strong mix of Kiwi startups, larger firms, research institutes, investors, commercialisation experts, and ecosystem connectors joining our mission this year,” says Mr Yarrow. ‘That’s a reflection of New Zealand’s agritech ecosystem being more advanced than most, though still young’. 

“We’re seeing real potential for global success in robotics and automation, cloud-based platforms to manage day-to-day tasks, environmentally friendly pesticides and fertilisers, and visual artificial intelligence for animal health.

“But what we don’t have is access to the same level of investment and global channels to market. It’s why our innovators need to go the extra mile to build these global partnerships.”

As well as showcasing their products and services to international agritech leaders, members will be validating their products and strategies in the Australian market, while meeting investors and checking out research institutes and farming operations in the Mildura region.

For as long as there has been farmers,  New Zealand has had the ability to turn local agritech Dsolutions into global success stories,” says Vanessa O’Neill, Trade Commissioner. “That means accelerating the growth of agritech innovations from NZ start-ups into scalable, investable and global companies.

“Global partnerships are second nature in New Zealand business. As Australia is New Zealand’s largest two-way trading partner it makes sense to look for opportunities to work together and take our agritech advantages to the rest of the world. ​Proven agritech innovations from New Zealand, boosted by Australian resources and networks, are a winning combination in global markets.” says O’Neill.

New Zealand speakers include Mitali Purohit (Callaghan Innovation), David Downs (NZTE), Darryn Keiller (Autogrow), Steve Saunders (Robotics Plus) and Dean Tilyard (The Factory).

Organisations joining the 2020 evokeAG mission include:

Agritech innovators

AgriSmart: cloud-based digital agritech company specialising in timesheet & payroll software for Horticulture and Viticulture.

Allied Farmers: NZX listed with a range of agricultural solutions for farmers including the MyLivestock livestock stock trading mobile app and trading platform.

Autogrow Systems: Controlled Environment Agriculture with automation solutions supporting growers in over 40 countries producing more than 100 different crop types.

BumperCrop: precision insights for covered crop farms using automated wireless sensors, intuitive labour management tools and a data management platform.

Cucumber Ltd: sources technology for business challenges, delivering digital solutions for improved insight, decision-making and operational efficiency.

Ecolibrium Biologicals: builds transitional technology for biopesticide pest control, allowing growers to achieve the same outcome as synthetic ag-chem.

Ecrotek: innovative solutions helping beekeepers of all sizes run sustainable, efficient and profitable operations.

Eko360: technology controlling nutrient release and fertilisers for food crops to optimise plant growth, reducing impact on soils, the atmosphere and waterways.

GPS-it: better farming decisions and navigation using the latest aerial mapping technology to produce the most accurate maps available.

Halo Systems (TagIT Technologies): a cloud-based monitoring, controlling and dashboard platform allowing inputs from other company’s technologies.

Instep (a division of Asian Scientific Technologies Ltd): provides a suite of carbon and sustainability programmes to a wide range of Australasian and international businesses.

Iris Data Science: artificial intelligence and machine learning specialists for the agricultural, horticultural and other sectors. Developed sheep facial recognition software. 

Livestock Improvement Corporation (LIC): farmer-owned co-operative providing dairy genetics, information technology, herd testing and DNA parentage verification services.

Marama Labs: the business and its flagship product, the CloudSpec, gives winemakers unprecedented access to flavour and colour data of their wines.

Mastaplex: veterinary point-of-care diagnostic tests for bovine mastitis treatment. Mastatest provides dairy farmers and vets an easy, precise and fast mastitis diagnostic.

NuPoint: system providing real time asset and people tracking which is used to provide accurate traceability and proof of placement.

Page Bloomer Associates Ltd: supports sustainable food and fibre production by connecting the primary sector with science and technology providers. 

PICMI: technology making hiring seasonal staff easier with technology streamlining the employment process delivering prepared, compliant workers ready to start work. 

Radius Robotics: automating most tasks associated with arable crop production. Its robotic polyculture farming system with machine learning reduces soil depletion.

Rezare Systems: helps agribusinesses embrace digital technology, streamline their operations and get closer to farmers and customers.

Robotics Plus: develops and commercialises mechanisation, automation, machine vision, robotic and sensor technologies to address global challenges.

Sparrows: connects growers, distributors and freight forwarders on one platform to enable tracking and monitoring of freight, reducing stock loss and food wastage.

Trust Codes: traceability cloud-based platform helping food and beverage businesses combat product fraud, engage with consumers and comply with regulations.

Zespri: global horticulture marketing company interested in innovations around crop prediction and addressing labour shortages on the orchard and in the supply chain.

Webtools: delivers innovative solutions through a suite of SaaS products and custom development, using cloud-based systems, native applications and IOT.

Agritech researchers

AgResearch: improving pastoral agriculture practices and outcomes with science

Auckland UniServices: helps commercialise intelligent ideas largely out of the University of Auckland, through partnerships with business the primary sector.

Lincoln Agritech: combines leading-edge science and engineering to deliver real solutions for the environment, agriculture (food and fibre) and associated industries. 

PlantTech: using cutting-edge artificial intelligence solutions to address scientific challenges in New Zealand’s horticulture industry.

Plant & Food Research: using world-leading science to improve the way its partners grow, fish, harvest and share food – healthy foods with sustainable production systems.

University of Waikato: Robotics and Sensing group develops smart machines, robots and visual sensors for horticulture and agriculture including harvesting and grading.

Agritech investment and support

Agritech New Zealand: a membership-based organisation advancing agritech through advocacy, collaboration, innovation, and missions to global markets.

Callaghan Innovation: NZ’s innovation agency helping big and small frontier firms get ahead with tech, science and commercialisation skills, co-funding, connections and advice.

Manaaki Whenua Landcare Research: a NZ crown research institute working with primary industry to develop science, research and technology solutions for commercial realities.

Ministry for Primary Industries: the NZ Government’s primary sector champion enabling, improving productivity and sustainability, and ensuring safe food production.  

Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment: NZ Government department developing and delivering policy, services, advice and regulation to support business.

New Zealand Trade and Enterprise: the NZ Government’s international business development agency, a key partner in supporting our exporters to succeed

NZ National Fieldays Society Inc.: Southern Hemisphere’s largest agricultural event in Hamilton, NZ. A key launch platform for cutting edge technology and innovation.

Sprout: incubator/accelerator for bold agritech businesses and entrepreneurs who move fast, think big, with solutions that reach from farm to fork.

The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust: an independent charitable trust making targeted investments in agricultural, horticultural and forestry.

WNT Ventures: incubator empowering early-stage frontier tech firms in commercialising deep-tech solutions and ideas, often in agriculture and horticulture.

MEDIA CONTACTS

Callaghan Innovation: Melanie Tuala, + 64 27 609 4502

NZTE: Mitchell Blincoe, + 61 427 801 843

Agritech New Zealand: Peter Wren-Hilton, + 64 21 791 120

The United States Study Centre (USSC) at the University of Sydney has today released details of a joint project between researchers at USSC and LinkedIn that has found that Australia’s agricultural technology (agritech) networks are less dense and less connected to the United States than New Zealand’s.  

The following text is taken from this morning’s USSC media release.

‘Using proprietary data from LinkedIn, the research released today uses social network analysis to examine the strength of connections in one of Australia’s emerging high-tech, high-growth industries. Dense networks are an essential component of innovation, and Australia is clearly lagging behind its trans-Tasman neighbour. 

Australia is also failing to leverage its relationship with the United States. New Zealand’s smaller agritech industry has denser connections to the US agritech network than Australia’s. The US agritech market is the largest in the world – estimated to be valued at US$10.2 billion. As it accounts for roughly 65 per cent of global agritech investment, connections with the US are vital and Australian agritech is not taking advantage of the strong cultural and economic ties between the two countries as other sectors have.  

Compared to Australia, New Zealand does more with less. New Zealand’s smaller agritech network is not only more cohesive and interconnected than its Australian counterpart, but its total number of connections to US networks is on par with Australia’s, despite its smaller market size.

The report offers a number of ways that Australia can work to address these shortfalls in what should be a booming future industry. These include implementing mutually-beneficial initiatives with New Zealand to increase foreign venture capital investment in the region generally. 

“Lack of access to funding, customer, supplier or partner networks is one of the often cited barriers facing Australian startups. This research makes an important contribution to understanding the linkages between Australia and the United States in the emerging agritech ecosystem.” said Claire McFarland, Director – Innovation and Entrepreneur Program at USSC’.

You can view the full report at https://www.ussc.edu.au/analysis/isolated-agtech-in-Australia-a-social-network-analysis-of-an-innovative-sector

In September, I joined Australian colleagues for the launch of the Australia New Zealand Agritech Council (www.anzagritech.org) at the ANZLF conference in Auckland. It was no secret that New Zealand’s agritech ecosystem was better developed than Australia’s. Agritech New Zealand is one of the major reasons. By connecting everyone and everything in New Zealand’s agritech ecosystem, we have sought to promote and scale the agritech sector both domestically, but perhaps more importantly, offshore. That has generated visibility in key capital markets in the United States and beyond.

For New Zealand, a poor performing Australia is absolutely not in our best interests. Yep. You read that right. For investors sitting in San Francisco, London or Singapore, they want to see a strongly performing trans-Tasman region. It’s one of the reasons that the ANZ Agritech Council was established back in September. Its mission, which is supported in the recommendations made in today’s USSC report, is to position the region as a strong performing global agritech hub with significant opportunity for inbound venture investment. I strongly endorse this strategy.

Over the next two days, 1,350 delegates in Melbourne attending the evokeAG conference, are going to learn more about the opportunities that the trans-Tasman region offers. It’s been a privilege to sit on the evokeAG steering committee and it continues to be a privilege to work with some awesome Aussies keen to help build that regional hub.

The next 48 hours are going to be truly awesome. To follow the NZ Agritech delegation in Melbourne on Twitter, check out our hashtag @agritech_nz

Welcome to the first AgriTech New Zealand newsletter of 2020 and what a start to the year!

Yesterday, the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment (MBIE) published the final draft of the ITP document to their website. You can view and download it here. The recommendations contained in the final draft were due in part to the extensive feedback received from a number of regional industry workshops organised through 2019. This matters. Transformation of the country’s agritech sector will only happen if industry, the research community and the Government work together.

The ITP taskforce and AgriTech New Zealand are now planning three new workshops to share details of the actions and initiatives. Taskforce lead, David Downs, will facilitate the workshops, seeking industry input into how best to deliver the recommendations. I will share some insights of the next phase of the plan’s delivery and how AgriTech New Zealand will be supporting it.

If you want to be part of the Agritech ITP and engage directly, I strongly urge you to register for one of the three FREE workshops on 3 March in Auckland, 9 March in Hamilton and 10 March in Lincoln. 

Over the past month, the team has been working hard to build on 2019’s major achievements. The integration of the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ) into AgriTech New Zealand is well underway. We have also been developing significant new initiatives to help scale and promote the sector.

Later this month, we will publish our calendar of monthly member events which AgriTech New Zealand will be hosting across the country. In April, we will be releasing a major research report, New Zealand Agritech’s Competitive Advantage. We will also be attending the MobileTECH 2020 conference from 7-8 April in Rotorua as the key Strategic Partner.

Next week, I will be joining over 100 Kiwis travelling to Melbourne for the 2020 evokeAG conference. Building international connections is one of the key themes identified in the ITP document and as a member of the evokeAG steering committee, we have worked hard to build a significant trans-Tasman flavour. Special thanks to AgriFutures Australia for helping facilitate this. It’s also significant that four government agencies have come together to support the New Zealand delegation; Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Ministry of Primary Industries (MPI) and MBIE.

The evokeAG conference also provides a unique platform for the recently formed Australia New Zealand Agritech Council to bring together industry and government representatives to identify joint opportunities to collaborate on the global stage. 

Next month, I am attending the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit in San Francisco. This is a key event on the international agritech calendar. I will be joining our partners from Farm2050 and taking the opportunity to meet senior representatives from another key global partner, Western Growers. Deepening these relationships not only provides New Zealand agritech companies with better access to globally connected capital and new market entry channels, they also position our sector as a global thought leader. 

It’s been quite a start then to 2020. The team is working to not only accelerate our mission to build on the purpose and opportunity provided by the ITP programme, but also to support New Zealand farmers and growers adopt the agri-technology that will help drive productivity, profitability and sustainability.

We look forward to working with you on this journey.

Wishing you a happy and relaxing festive season.

Ngā mihi,
Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
AgriTech New Zealand

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Sunday 1 March 2020: With over 100 attendees now registered, Tuesday’s Auckland ITP workshop at the ANZ Centre has officially SOLD OUT. There remain some seats at both the Hamilton (Monday 9 March) and Lincoln (Tuesday 10 March) workshops. You can register for your free place at one of these workshops via the Eventbrite links below.

Yesterday, the Ministry of Business Innovation & Employment published the long-awaited Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) to its website. This is the final draft. You can view and download a copy here. For the country’s agritech sector, this is massive.

It’s been almost a year since work on the Plan began in earnest. Over that time, Agritech New Zealand has been working closely with the ‘All of Government’ taskforce to ensure that the voice of industry has been heard. I can confidently say that the Plan published yesterday reflects many of the inputs that industry made during the ITP’s extensive consultation process.

The focus then over the past 12 months has been on constructing ‘The Plan’. Now comes the really important task: Preparing for its delivery. To support this process, Agritech New Zealand and the ITP taskforce are hosting three new workshops next month. They are designed to share details of some of the key actions and initiatives contained in the Plan…together with an invitation to the sector to help ensure its delivery. If the New Zealand agritech sector is to scale, then it will be the entrepreneurs, the researchers, the investors, the farmers and growers and the major agribusinesses that will make it happen. Government can support and facilitate this activity but it needs industry to take the lead role. It’s in this spirit that the three workshops next month are being planned.

David Downs, the ITP taskforce lead, will facilitate the workshops, seeking industry input into how best to deliver the Plan’s recommendations. I will share some insights into the next phase of the Plan’s delivery and what support Agritech New Zealand will be providing to help make it happen.

This post is an invitation to everyone connected with the country’s agritech ecosystem to attend and participate. The Plan is not just a piece of paper. It sets out a number of actions and initiatives that we believe will offer massive value to the sector and its different constituent parts. These workshops are FREE to attend and you can register for them right now.

Just click on the venue and date that is best for you and complete the Eventbrite registration form to secure your seat. This is your opportunity to help make a real difference.

Monday 9 March: Hamilton:

Tuesday 10 March: Lincoln

David and I very much look forward to meeting you next month.

As we look into our crystal ball, one thing is certain. 2020 will be a very different to 2019.

We have, of course, 2019 to thank for this. It was the year when a number of major foundations were put in place for the scaling and growth of the country’s agritech sector. Some of the key milestones for Agritech New Zealand included:

• The vote taken at the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ) AGM in November to disestablish itself and join Agritech New Zealand within the NZ Tech Alliance. Agritech New Zealand’s own Executive Council approved the move in December meaning that the country now has a very significant industry body representing both the demand and the supply side of the agritech coin. I look forward to welcoming PAANZ members to our team.
• The decision by the New Zealand Cabinet in December to support the recommendations made in the Agritech Industry Transformation Plan white paper. This provides a major opportunity for a wide range of government levers to be leveraged to address some of the key challenges and opportunities that the sector collectively faces. By working together, industry and government now have a powerful framework to build on. This will be a major focus for Agritech New Zealand through the year.
• The increasing depth of global capital being attracted into emerging New Zealand agritech companies. Interest in our sector is growing exponentially as offshore partners get a better understanding of our core capabilities and strengths. Further major offshore delegations in 2020 are designed to increase this level of global connectivity.
• The launch of the Australia New Zealand Agritech Council at the ANZLF meeting in Auckland in September. This is designed to position the trans-Tasman region as being a key agritech hub in the global market. Expect more news at next month’s evokeAG conference in Melbourne when over 100 kiwi delegates are expected to attend.

As I write this post, it’s hard not to think about the plight of Australian farmers and growers in the ongoing bush fire tragedy. It has brought the impact and reality of ‘climate change’ into sharp focus. I believe this is going to be a key theme for New Zealand’s own primary sector producers through 2020 and beyond.

There are a number of emerging global mega themes. Climate change, more extreme weather events, the environmental impact of agricultural production and the license to operate are some of the most significant. I believe that through 2020, these will be some of the key drivers in terms of agritech innovation and development in New Zealand.

Perhaps some of the most important opportunities for supporting the wider farmer and grower community by the country’s agritech sector are to be found in the provisions of the Zero Carbon Act, passed by Parliament in 2019. These set out the impact of an emissions pricing scheme designed to make New Zealand carbon neutral by 2050.  In supporting legislation, the Emissions Trading Reform Bill, the primary sector is still set to pay for emissions, but not until 2025. The sector will work with Government to come up with its own on-farm pricing scheme, aiming to reduce emissions in the meantime. A review in 2022 would develop the alternative pricing scheme, access the sector’s progress in reducing emissions and consider the barriers it faces. 

Significantly, “If the review finds there isn’t enough progress, the Government can put the agriculture sector into the Emissions Trading Scheme (ETS) at processor level earlier than 2025”.

From my perspective, this provides two key opportunities for NZ’s wider agritech ecosystem to collaborate together. And here I am looking at four key stakeholder groups: industry, research, producers & government.

The first is to support our primary sector producers by developing the key technologies necessary to reduce emissions and so meet the major targets set out in the legislation. Our farmers and growers have seen enough of the regulation, the media commentary and the negative bile from naysayers. It’s time to come up with the investment and innovation necessary for our key producers to assist them address the issues that they and the rest of the community (urban dwellers included) face around cleaning up our waterways and any other negative environmental impact.

The second, and perhaps much more significant opportunity, is for New Zealand to take a global thought leadership position around climate change and the environmental impact of agricultural production to rapidly scale our major agritech businesses on the international stage. This has to be a core sector goal. It meets the demand and supply side metric. Farmers and growers worldwide need the technology. Our researchers and commercial companies can deliver it.

Over the next 12 months, Agritech New Zealand will be working with the Government’s Agritech Industry Transformation Plan taskforce to accelerate some of these opportunities. They meet both an urgent domestic and a global need.

In 2019, Agritech New Zealand helped develop the emerging multi-stakeholder platform. Over the next 12 months, we have the opportunity to assist execute and deliver.

Welcome to 2020!

Welcome to the final AgriTech New Zealand newsletter of the year. Whilst some might be starting to think about the upcoming festive season, the beach and Christmas fruit mince pies, we seem to have managed to save the best until last!

On 29 November, the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ) agreed unanimously at their Annual General Meeting, to disestablish themselves as an incorporated society and join the Agritech New Zealand initiative within the New Zealand Tech Alliance. This is a truly momentous development for New Zealand’s wider agritech sector.

Established in 2013, the core focus of PAANZ has been to connect land users, researchers, commercial companies, Regional Councils, primary industry organisations, rural professionals and students. Its focus has been on increasing the uptake of precision agriculture technologies in land based primary production systems, accessing funding for research and the development of precision agriculture technologies, building capability within the sector and promoting adoption of precision agriculture through industry events, symposiums and field days.

This core focus will be 100 percent maintained as a working group within the Agritech New Zealand initiative. It brings both the supply and demand side of agritech together. Promoting the adoption of agritech on New Zealand farms and orchards perfectly complements Agritech New Zealand’s traditional mission to grow and scale the sector.  From a personal perspective, I would like to thank Graeme Muller, CEO of NZTech and Roger Robson-Williams and Brendan O’Connell, Chair and Vice-Chair respectively of PAANZ, for the background discussions that led to this decision. Also, to Kenneth Irons and Sophie Rebbeck, both members of the PAANZ National Committee who have been working with the Agritech New Zealand Executive Council over the past few months.

As we look to 2020, by bringing the two organisations together, industry will have much stronger, united and coordinated role to play in supporting the execution and delivery of the Government’s Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) for the agritech sector.

I plan to share the outcome of the recent cabinet meeting that discussed the Plan with Agritech New Zealand and PAANZ members shortly. My expectation is that in the first quarter of 2020, we will see considerable opportunity for members to engage with this process. 

Looking ahead, there is no shortage of activity already locked in for early 2020. A large delegation of New Zealand agritech entrepreneurs, researchers and support agencies are heading over to Melbourne in February for the evokeAG conference. If you have not already booked a spot, you can find more details at www.evokeag.com.

At the end of February, we will be releasing our first major research report on New Zealand Agritech’s Competitive Advantage. It will contain a series of recommendations designed to assist policy makers and regulators look at ways of accelerating the growth of New Zealand’s agritech sector.

In March, another group will be heading to San Francisco for the World Agri-Tech Innovation Summit. It’s a key date in the global calendar as an estimated 1500 delegates from around the world meet to discuss some of the most disruptive technologies transforming the global food system. 

Back home, MobileTECH is hosting its 2020 conference in Rotorua from 7-8 April. Agritech New Zealand is the event’s Strategic Partner and you can view the event’s latest event announcements here. 

Finally, applications for the 2020 National Fieldays Innovations are now open. Fieldays Innovations provides a global platform for creative problem solvers to showcase their innovation to the primary sector. 

That’s just about it for 2019!  It’s been a fantastic year for the sector and it’s been an honour for Agritech New Zealand to have been a part of it. Next year looks even more hectic (surely that’s not possible – Ed) as we embark on bringing some of the key actions and initiatives from the ITP to market. We look forward to working with you to make this happen.

Wishing you a happy and relaxing festive season.

Ngā mihi,

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
Agritech New Zealand

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News

At Friday’s Precision Agriculture Association of NZ (PAANZ) AGM, members voted unanimously to join the Agritech New Zealand initiative within the NZ Tech Alliance.

This is a truly momentous moment for New Zealand’s rapidly expanding agritech sector. By bringing New Zealand’s two key agritech ecosystem organisations together, we cannot only work together to scale the sector globally, we can also develop new strategies to accelerate the adoption of critical tech on New Zealand farms and orchards.

Over the coming weeks, we will be publishing more information about just what this means for the sector and how industry, research and government can better engage. From a personal perspective, I would like to thank Graeme Muller, CEO of NZTech and Roger Robson-Williams and Brendan O’Connell, Chair and Vice-Chair respectively of PAANZ, for the background discussions that have led to this decision. Also to Kenneth Irons and Sophie Rebbeck, both members of the PAANZ National Committee who have been working with the Agritech New Zealand Executive Council.

With the New Zealand cabinet decisions around the recommended Agritech Industry Transformation Plan expected later this month, Friday’s decision at the PAANZ AGM to sign the resolution to join the Agritech New Zealand initiative provides industry with an amazing new opportunity to execute and deliver on that plan.

2020 is already looking like the breakthrough year for New Zealand’s agritech sector.

Kia ora readers,

I’m writing this newsletter during perhaps one of the most significant weeks in Agritech New Zealand’s history.

Next week, the New Zealand cabinet will be reviewing the recommendations of the All of Government Agritech Taskforce as part of its Industry Transformation Plan (ITP). As recently reported in our monthly newsletters, we have been working closely with the Taskforce as its principal industry interface.

Later today, I’ll be emailing more than 400 delegates who attended the nationwide consultation workshops with a summary of the outcomes. It’s this summary which has influenced the Taskforce recommendations to cabinet. Thank you to everyone who contributed during these workshops, your inputs were invaluable. So what’s next? Implementation.

The Taskforce will follow this initial phase of discovery and recommendation with a list of the actions they believe can deliver the best outcomes for the sector. I will publish an ITP Special newsletter which will outline these actions, together with a call to action for Agritech New Zealand members. It remains a key ambition of the ITP programme that where possible, it is industry led. Agritech New Zealand will be doing everything we can, to ensure that the sector plays its full role in supporting the implementation.

I expect to witness some of this spirit at today’s Blinc Innovation Hub event, Climate Smart Food Production at the New Zealand Agricultural Show. I’m spending a couple of days in Canterbury meeting members and discussing some of the exciting opportunities we are setting up in 2020. Later in the month, I’ll be meeting more members in the Hawkes Bay as well as attending the Callaghan Innovation led Robotics and Automation workshop in Napier on 27 November.

Looking ahead to 2020, a significant date in my diary is the evokeAG conference, 18-19 February. More than 100 New Zealand agritech folk are expected to attend the conference in Melbourne. As a member of the evokeAG steering committee, I have seen how evokeAG has increasing amounts of trans-Tasman content. A number of New Zealand speakers will be presenting on the plenary stage and at breakout sessions and it’s great to see New Zealand Government agencies come together to promote New Zealand’s presence, led by Callaghan Innovation. Please register your interest and qualify for discounted tickets and a free pre-Mission workshop. 

Another key upcoming agritech event is MobileTECH 2020, 7-8 April in Rotorua. We have partnered with the conference and super early bird rates are now available. 

Although we are still a few weeks away from the annual year end break, it’s not too early to reflect on just some of what has been achieved over the past 12 months. Some of the key highlights for me include;

• The launch of the New Zealand Agritech Story
• Preparing a detailed research report on New Zealand Agritech’s Competitive Advantage, to be published in February 2020
• The emergence of the All of Government’ agritech taskforce and Agritech New Zealand’s key role as its sector interface
• The hosting of the Agritech Unleashed conference at National Fieldays
• Support for major outbound agritech delegations to Australia, the United States and Europe
• First Country Partner status with Farm2050
• The imminent launch of the three year Farm2050 Nutrient Initiative in New Zealand
• The signing of the strategic partnership agreement with Western Growers
• Multiple roadshow events across New Zealand throughout the year
• Continuously raising the profile of the sector with Government, industry partners and investors.

To everyone who has helped build and support this programme of work, a massive thanks. Next year promises to be awesome, as both industry and Government collaborate to build a significant platform for sector growth. If you would like to be involved in our 2020 programme and are not already a member of Agritech New Zealand, you can check out how to join here.

We look forward to working with you.

Ngā mihi,

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
Agritech New Zealand

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