Author Archive

• the formal preview of the New Zealand Agritech story, Powered by Place.  View it here. 
• the establishment of a new agritech venture fund, bringing international connected capital into New Zealand
• the successful delivery of the Agritech Unleashed event at National Fieldays
• the creation of deeper ties with Western Growers, the largest producers of fresh produce in North America, following a major New Zealand agritech delegation visit to California at the end of June.

However, the most significant news of the past few weeks was Minister David Parker’s announcement on 2 July of a new sector led approach to grow industry innovation and boost productivity, with an early focus on agritech.  You can download the strategy document here.

Previously, I have written about the establishment of the All of Government (AOG) agritech taskforce. This is bringing together several Ministries and government agencies to work on an agreed set of initiatives and actions. They include Ministry of Business Innovation and Employment (MBIE), Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI), Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade (MFAT), New Zealand Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), Callaghan Innovation and New Zealand Venture Investment Fund (NZVIF).  Agritech New Zealand is partnering with this AOG taskforce to develop a range of industry led initiatives designed to scale the sector, lift export earnings and provide more innovation to enable New Zealand farmers and growers to produce higher value product, sustainably.

In the coming weeks, Agritech New Zealand and the AOG taskforce are organising a series of regional workshops to gain industry feedback and input on the strategy document.  This is your opportunity to help develop a major platform to make New Zealand a significant global agritech hub and we want you to attend!

The first four venues and dates have been confirmed, so please reserve your free seat.  Join the Agritech Strategy Consultation Workshop on 2 August in Palmerston North, 8 August in Auckland, 26 August in Hamilton, 29 August in Lincoln and 2 September in Tauranga.

I will join the AOG agritech taskforce lead, David Downs and together we will facilitate the workshops. Following the workshops, we will report back to all participants with the conclusions and outcomes.  This content will lead to the creation of a set of initiatives and actions which both industry and Government will support.

These developments are not going unnoticed offshore. I am in regular contact with global partners who are looking to collaborate with New Zealand agritech researchers and businesses. Minister Parker’s formal release of the strategy document has set in train a number of opportunities for the country’s agritech community.  At Agritech New Zealand, we are delighted to be taking the industry lead to turn that opportunity into deliverable activity.

David and I look forward to meeting you at one of the upcoming workshops.

Ngā mihi

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
Agritech New Zealand

NEWS

Have you joined Scale-Up New Zealand yet?  It’s free!

Agritech New Zealand is proud to be the first ‘Country Partner’ of the Farm2050 ecosystem, committed to advancing the future of food by supporting agritech entrepreneurs and start-ups. This unique ecosystem will be coming together in an Ideation Day, hosted by Innovation Endeavors and Finistere Ventures in Palo Alto on 4 September to help founders think through some of the most difficult technical and business challenges they face.

Farm2050 is a unique collective of global venture funds and international agribusinesses. Corporate members include Bayer CropScience, Syngenta, Corteva, Mars & PepsiCo. Its membership includes global tech firms such as Microsoft & Google X. In August last year, I had the honour of signing the Partnership Agreement with Farm2050 as New Zealand became the collective’s first ‘Country Partner’. The photograph above was taken in Innovation Endeavors Palo Alto office shortly before the signing.

Next month’s Ideation Day is the first initiative if its kind. In New Zealand, Agritech New Zealand is working with the Sprout Accelerator and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise to identify potential start-ups to pitch next month. Each start-up will have the opportunity to present what they are working on at a high level to the broader group and to make specific requests of the Farm2050 membership (e.g. strategy feedback, partnership opportunities, etc.). The entire group will then go into an open brainstorming/Q&A session to provide the start-up with feedback and collaboratively ideate on ways they can be more successful.

This model goes way beyond anything I have seen to-date. By bringing together not only major global investment funds, but also some of the world’s leading agritech minds, start-ups will be able to significantly increase their visibility to a connected audience.

One word of caution. New Zealand’s definition of a start-up and those gathering in Palo Alto are not always the same. Typically, they will have already landed seed funding from professional investors. They will almost certainly have secured or be in the market for Series A funding, enabling them to accelerate growth. But Farm2050’s Ideation Day is more than just about access to capital. It’s about engaging with potential global partners to scale internationally and explore actionable next steps regarding investment, commercial and partnership opportunities.

For any ‘start-up’ selected to pitch at Farm2050’s Ideation Day, the opportunity to connect and engage with the world’s leading agritech collective will be truly transformational.

These are really exciting times for the global agritech sector. It’s crucial that New Zealand plays its part.

Scale-Up NZ is a significant platform that is being built out by Callaghan Innovation. It is designed to shine a light on New Zealand’s thriving innovation ecosystem. It delivers accurate insights on ambitious, innovative New Zealand companies, removing information gaps that too often prevent our businesses from achieving their potential. 

The platform is based on the hugely successful Start-Up Nation Finder, which provides information on over 7,000 companies that make up Israel’s innovation ecosystem. Thousands of people use Start-Up Nation Finder every day to search for Israeli start-ups, potential partners and investors. 

The platform groups together companies in similar areas of innovation based on an advanced tagging system. With My Collections, registered users can follow and analyse companies, investors, hubs, and multinationals in one easy to manage interface. Users can request mediated introductions, which also has potential to help job seekers connect with possible employers. 

For New Zealand agritech companies, this provides an amazing platform to increase visibility to potential investors & partners around the world. Best of all? It’s free! All you need to do is go online to www.scaleup.nz and check the eligibility criteria for listing your company or entity and, if eligible, upload your business details for review by Callaghan’s team of data analysts. Users can log-in using existing LinkedIn and Google account details. 

As New Zealand’s agritech sector grows, the Scaleup NZ platform provides an invaluable opportunity for companies to increase global visibility. Significant investment is being made into the platform by Callaghan Innovation. It is there for you to use.

Agritech New Zealand strongly supports this initiative. We urge you to make full use of this fantastic opportunity.

Sign up at www.scaleup.nz now.

Callaghan Innovation, in partnership with Agritech New Zealand and NZTE, is coordinating a mission around the 2019 Irish National Ploughing Championships and UK Dairy Day.

If you think National Fieldays is big, think again. The Irish National Ploughing Championships attracts over 300,000 visitors. With similar pastoral farming systems to New Zealand, I believe that Ireland offers huge commercial opportunity to kiwi agritech firms. I recognised this when I attended the Agtech Nexus Europe conference in Dublin in December. The same opportunity applies in the UK. Our comparative pastoral farming systems and yet different northern & southern hemispheres, provide a great platform for NZ agritech firms to conduct 12 month R&D and field trials across two growing seasons.

In September, this mission of New Zealand mid to late stage start-ups and mature businesses along with researchers and capability providers, will get a deep insight into both the UK and Ireland’s agri industries, research, innovation systems and channel partners.

This trip will also offer New Zealand companies and agencies a chance to showcase our abilities and technology.

As well as in-market visits and meetings, the mission will attend the 2019 Irish National Ploughing Championships – one of the largest agricultural exhibitions in Europe – and UK Dairy Day, a dedicated annual one-day event for the dairy industry featuring over 300 exhibitors demonstrations and seminars.

Those participating in the mission will benefit from the opportunity to:

• Gain insights into the UK and Ireland’s agri industries, research, innovation systems and channel partners. 
• Take part in UK in-market visits to the AgriEPI Centre and CIEL, and Hands Free Hectare, among others.
• Take part in Ireland in-market visits to Origin Green, UCD Lyons Farm, and Teagasc, among others.
• Network with Irish and UK agritech organisations and businesses.
• Attend a pre-mission workshop in Auckland to prepare for the mission.
• Gain specific advice and support on event, accommodation and flight bookings to ensure the mission stays connected, as well as transportation and logistics arrangements over the two weeks.
• Enter the Ploughing International Innovation Awards.

To register for the mission, please complete this form by Friday 19 July.

Callaghan Innovation will co-fund a limited number of companies based on stage, strategy and suitability. Co-funding criteria is available on the registration form. 

Confirmation of your place on the mission is subject to Callaghan Innovation approval and availability. The mission will begin the evening of Sunday 8 September in London, UK and conclude on the evening of Friday 20 September in Dublin, Ireland.

For any questions prior to application or to discuss funding opportunities please contact: international@callaghaninnovation.govt.nz 

My take? High value produce in Salinas Valley does not translate into high margin. Rising labor costs on the one hand and crazy pressure from retailers on the other are squeezing growers like never before. Whole crop varieties are shutting up shop. A number of major growers are moving their operations south (to Mexico in many cases). According to the CEO of Driscoll at the Forbes Live conference, strawberry growers, the largest single specialty crop variety in California might only have 5 years left. These folk are worried. Big time.

For New Zealand’s growing agritech sector, this environment offers huge opportunity. Our work in the field of robotics and automation was recognised by several speakers at the conference. On Wednesday morning, the New Zealand delegation was given a 90 minute slot to present to Board members of Western Growers, including its President, Tom Nassif. This session over-ran by 30. Automating many in-field processes is seen as a priority for Western Grower members. It is also one of ours.

Now as we arrive back in Aotearoa, we are planning our next steps. In the next 3-4 weeks this will include an all-day workshop at which we will download our learnings from the week. This will likely include identifying the specialty crops which offer the best opportunity for our tech to address.

The composition of the delegation means that a number of our universities, crown research institutes and industry players will collaborate together to make this happen. It maps one of Agritech New Zealand’s main purpose statements; to build export sales by connecting everyone and everything in the country’s agritech ecosystem.

Last week we saw the value of that in spades. New relationships were developed and a common resolve emerged. If New Zealand is to scale globally, it has to work together. The workshop later this month will translate that ambition into action.

It’s great to be back home. It’s now time to get this done.

Today a large delegation of experienced New Zealand agri robotic and automation researchers and entrepreneurs arrived in Salinas, Northern California. We are here to meet Agritech New Zealand partner, Western Growers, the largest producers of fresh produce in North America. 

That’s 50%+ of all fresh vegetables, 50%+ of all fresh fruits, 50%+ of all organics. This is big.

We are here to learn more about one of Western Grower members’ most significant challenges. Labour. Lack of and cost of. Whilst the US public focuses on the merits, or otherwise, of a Mexican wall, the sad reality for most North American farmers &  growers is that more Mexican farm labourers are returning home than heading north. The labour crisis here is real. And its costing growers. Big time.

I have worked for several months with the Agritech team at Callaghan Innovation (big nod to Nicky & Simon) to bring a large and experienced team of kiwi specialists to Salinas.  We have representatives from;

• AgResearch
• Agritech New Zealand
• Auckland University
• Callaghan Innovation
• CR Automation
• Figured
• GPS-IT
• Lincoln Agritech
• Massey University
• New Zealand Trade & Enterprise
• Plant & Food Research
• PlantTech
• Robotics Plus
• TracMap
• Uniservices
• Waikato University
• Zespri

It’s a fantastic group. We are here for a week and we are here to get stuff done.

I am writing this post during our Monday (PST) lunchtime break. This morning we have been on-farm looking at three crops; Romaine, Lettuce & Broccoli. This afternoon we are joining the Western Growers Trial meeting here at the WG Innovation & Technology Center in Salinas. This is when we will discuss the opportunity for conducting field trials of NZ agritech on Western Grower properties. This is when the rubber really hits the road.

Western Growers provides a huge commercial pathway for New Zealand agritech in the global specialty crop market. For context, according to a report published by Persistence Market Research in March 2018, the global specialty crops market is expected to witness a CAGR of 3.7%. from a valuation of US$ 1,382.3 Bn in 2017, to touch a valuation of US$ 1,842.3 Bn by the end of 2025. That’s NZD 2.77 trillion. Go figure.

It’s a massive opportunity, but for US growers, it’s also a massive challenge. Margins in this sector are often in the 3%-5% range. That’s tops. Increasing labour costs are wiping this out. The need to automate on-farm processes, particularly the harvesting of crops, is therefore front & centre for these growers. And this is where this week’s New Zealand’s agri robotic and automation delegation come in.

Back in August last year, Agritech New Zealand & Western Growers signed a strategic partnership agreement. It was designed in part to address this challenge. In case you missed it, this is what Western Growers had to say about it on US TV: https://www.kion546.com/news/global-partnership-could-bring-more-ag-tech-to-salinas-valley/788201576

Tomorrow, we are in the field again, this time in Watsonville talking to growers of strawberries and other berry products. A major outcome of these discussions is that the technologies that we are focusing on this week will help growers back home; kiwifruit in the Bay of Plenty, apples in the Hawkes Bay and grapes in Marlborough. All suffer seasonal labour shortages and all will benefit from the increased application of on-farm and in-orchard harvesting automation.

This mission is one of the most significant I have been on. It’s not just about learning about real on-farm experience in a general sense. It’s about enabling New Zealand’s agritech sector to understand and address a very specific grower need. And to do so in a very big market.

We have a major week ahead.

Last Thursday, at Agritech Unleashed, Arama Kukutai, co-founder & Managing Director of Finistere Ventures, announced that his firm planned to open up an office in Palmerston North to help identify new and manage existing New Zealand agritech investments. The office is be led by Dean Tilyard, founder of the Sprout Accelerator.

It was a hugely important announcement. To understand that, you need to also understand some of the major global investors who were in the room when Arama made the announcement. They included:

• Mathew Pryor, Partner at Agthentic
• Mary Dimou, Business Development Director, Canopy Rivers
• Kirk Belsby, Partner at Finistere Ventures
• Michael Lavin, Managing Director at Germin8
• Alexey Rostapshov, Global Head of Digital Innovation, John Deere
• Richard O’Gorman, Director, Rabobank Food & Agriculture Innovation Fund
• Craig Boshier, General Manager, Yamaha Motor Ventures

Several of these funds have already invested into New Zealand agritech companies. Some are part of Farm2050, the global collective of venture funds. Others were in New Zealand to get a better understanding of the landscape for future investment into the sector.

I had joined the delegation in Auckland when they arrived on Tuesday and then co-hosted the delegation with New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE) on Friday for a day’s workshop in Rotorua.

For me, Arama’s announcement on Thursday was just the start. Interest in New Zealand’s agritech sector is growing rapidly and Agritech New Zealand has been doing all it can to raise the visibility of the sector to offshore investors. Over the coming weeks, I expect details to be announced about significant additional venture funding capacity for our growth stage agritech companies.

It’s never been a more exciting time to be involved in New Zealand’s agritech sector. Check out our News section as we release details of these upcoming announcements.

This major initiative has been a joint venture between Agritech New Zealand and New Zealand Trade & Enterprise (NZTE). Over the past six months, we have been organising workshops, preparing insights both onshore and offshore, and working with industry and government agency partners to identify our sector’s core strengths & values.

This video is just part of the story. It talks about ‘Powered by Place’ and our special kaitiaki; the concept of guardianship, for the sky, the sea, and the land. It talks about that real connection that connects farmers, growers and innovators with our environment.

It talks about New Zealand values and the role that our innovation and agri technology has to play. Not just to produce high quality food and fibre, but in a way that protects and sustains our environment. It’s a value that we want to share with the rest of the world.

Please feel free to share the video and provide us with your feedback. Our intention over the coming months is to continue to build out the story with case studies and other relevant collateral.

At Agritech Unleashed, I said to the many agritech companies attending the event that this was not our story; it was yours. As we build up our asset base of videos, images & stories, I would ask all New Zealand agritech companies to feel free to use these materials to promote your products, your services and your mission.

At Agritech New Zealand, we look forward to continuing to work with NZTE as the story builds. To Kenny & Neil, in particular, great work. The red carpet though has been rolled up and the bunting put away. It’s now time to kick on!

Much of the talk was about the UN’s sustainable development goals, Muller says.

“These goals are the blueprint to achieve a better and more sustainable future for all. They address the global challenges we face, including those related to poverty, inequality, climate, environmental degradation, prosperity and peace.

“New Zealand and the Netherlands both produce food and have a big focus on agritech, food quality and environmental sustainability. We will hear a lot more about the New Zealand agritech story during Agritech Unleashed at the national Fieldays.

“Both country’s governments are also trying to digitalise, break down internal silos, be more innovative and do more for people by leveraging smart technologies.

“The United Nations sustainable development goals are at the forefront of many people’s minds in the Netherlands. Every city is required to meet these goals and they are looking to tech to solve the problems.

“Kiwi tech companies would be advised to consider these goals too. We need to think globally and consider sustainable wellbeing issues in our approach to tech.

“Technology is now New Zealand’s fastest growing and third biggest industry and our tech companies and organisations have a chance to lead on this sustainable approach which is so strongly supported across Europe.

“The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, which has been adopted by New Zealand and all other UN member states, provides a shared blueprint for prosperity for people and the planet, now and into the future. We need to act on these goals in New Zealand,” Muller says.

The goals are simply an urgent call for action by all countries in a global partnership. They recognise that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand-in-hand with strategies that improve health and education and spur economic growth, as well as tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

Across the world countries are looking to technology to deliver solutions to these big challenges.

For further information contact Make Lemonade editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188

Agritech New Zealand is delighted to announce that Peter Beck, founder and chief executive of Rocket Lab, will be speaking at the Agritech Unleashed event at National Fieldays today.

Since founding the business in 2006, Peter has grown Rocket Lab to become a globally recognized industry leader in space and a billion-dollar company employing world-class engineers and technicians. Peter established Rocket Lab’s Electron orbital launch program in 2013. Peter also oversaw the development of the world’s first and only private orbital launch range, located on Māhia Peninsula. He played a crucial role in establishing international treaties and legislation to enable orbital launch capability from New Zealand. That capability was realized in January 2018 with Rocket Lab’s first orbital launch of the Electron rocket.

Peter will be speaking at the Bledisloe Function Centre at Mystery Creek during the Agritech Unleashed conference at 1.30pm. Peter is keynoting the session, ‘How the 2019 New Zealand Aerospace Challenge is supporting sustainable farming’. You can learn more about the session at https://agritechnz.org.nz/fieldays-2019/

Access to the session is free. We would however strongly recommend you turn up no later than 10 minutes before the session begins. Demand for seating will be high. This will be one fantastic session.

I look forward to seeing you there.

TAURANGA; 11 JUNE 2019: New Zealand’s leading independent organisations promoting the adoption and development of agri-technology – Agritech New Zealand (https://agritechnz.org.nz) and the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (https://precisionagriculture.org.nz/) are in discussions regarding a merger to form a single entity representing the entire agritech ecosystem in Aotearoa.

Since 2012, the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand has supported on-farm adoption of new technology through hosting field events, workshops and conferences around New Zealand. In the last year, Agritech New Zealand has raised the profile of New Zealand’s agritech strengths internationally and has attracted new capital investment and government policy focus.

Bringing together the real-world experiences of farmers and growers working to adopt new technology in their business, with a strong focus on supporting investment in, and development of, new agri-technology to improve primary production, would be a potent combination.

The executive committees of both organisations are excited at the potential to create a unified approach in the development and application of new high-tech capabilities for agriculture. They look forward to defining mutually agreeable terms for a merger that reflect the best interests of the existing members of each organisation.

Media contact details;

Roger Robson-Williams; Chair of the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand: 021 926210

Peter Wren-Hilton, Executive Director of Agritech New Zealand: 021 791120

AgritechNZ chief executive Peter Wren-Hilton says New Zealand is taking a global lead on bringing cutting-edge technology to Kiwi farming and the Agritech Unleashed summit on June 13 is a crucial step toward that goal.

“This major project will bring together widespread knowledge and resources to advance the mission of Farm2050 so we can help feed the planet sustainably and affordably,” he says.

“With the need to feed the world’s population of 9.8 billion people by 2050, AgritechNZ is looking at ways New Zealand can scale up its food production to meet the growing global demand.

“Global food systems will need to transform at an unprecedented speed and scale so this event next week will seek to explore and confirm the power of innovation and technology to meet the greater demand on food production,” he says.

“We also have to take into account sustainability and climate change; healthy diets, meat alternatives and nutrition; market efficiency; and shaping a national strategy for the future of food.”

“Increasing scrutiny of environmental impact on farms has raised the need for remediation and analytics to meet increasing and stricter regulatory requirements. 

“Growth in the New Zealand dairy sector since the mid-1980s has seen nitrogen fertiliser use increase 10 times, while farm energy inputs doubled over the last 20 years and has led to a negative regulatory and public reaction to fertiliser over-use.’’

At Agritech Unleashed, leading global experts will be outlining the three-year agritech initiative and why New Zealand will be taking a lead role and how players in the nutrient sector in New Zealand can take part.

Among the heavyweight speakers are Sara Ahmed-Holman, of Eric Schmidt’s (former chief executive and chair of Google) investment vehicle, Innovation Endeavor.

Other international agritech specialists include Alexey Rostapshov, global head of Digital Innovation, John Deere and Michael Levin, founder and managing director of Germin8.

If New Zealand’s agritech community is serious about supporting farmers and growers address some of the major environmental impacts necessary to continue to secure the social license needed to operate, this initiative will go a long way down that path, Wren-Hilton says.

“As Farm2050’s first country partner, New Zealand has a pivotal role to play. We have advanced farming systems and deep domain knowledge.

“We produce some of the finest agricultural product in the world, yet our farmers and growers are well aware of the regulatory environment in which they now operate. Consumer concerns about environmental impact, and government regulation are all affecting sentiment within the primary sector,” he says.

The New Zealand tech sector is the country’s third largest and fastest growing export sector, worth over $6.3 billion in 2015 and employing more than six percent of the New Zealand workforce.

AgritechNZ is part of the NZ Tech Alliance.

For further information contact Peter Wren-Hilton on 21 791120 or Make Lemonade editor-in-chief Kip Brook on 0275 030188