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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.

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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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.

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

AI in Agriculture

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View ourAgritech Story #PoweredByPlace

Building New Zealand’s agritech capability is a prerequisite to strengthening our position in the world’s agritech marketplace. To support this, Palmerston North based Sprout Accelerator has announced that pre-registrations for its 2020 Accelerator programme are now open. Sprout plays an invaluable role within New Zealand’s agritech ecosystem. For those unfamiliar with its activities, Sprout, a member of Agritech New Zealand, is a six month business accelerator designed for the next generation of agritech and future food companies. By helping develop a pipeline of new emerging agritech companies, the Sprout Accelerator is helping build the country’s longer term agritech capability.

Now that I am back in New Zealand, my immediate focus has turned to the All of Government agritech taskforce and its Industry Transformation Plan (ITP). On Monday, I will be attending a hui at Te Taiwhenua o Heretaunga in Hastings to enable Māori whānau, hapū, iwi and industry to provide feedback on the Government’s draft agritech strategy document.

Proposals for planned actions and initiatives under this draft document will then be submitted to Government Ministers. A number of Government agencies are currently supporting different streams within the Plan’s strategy. Agritech ITP will be the first sector plan to be formally submitted and I will update, more fully on what this might look like in next month’s newsletter.

These are hugely significant times for the country’s agritech sector. Whether onshore or offshore, by working together, we can continue to build and scale our capacity to increase export sales, as well as secure the adoption by farmers and growers of agri-technology at home.

Join us as we accelerate the opportunity.

Ngā mihi,

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
Agritech New Zealand

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#NZAgritechStory #PoweredByPlace

Yesterday, NZTE posted the New Zealand Agritech story campaign assets on our website, www.agritechnz.org.nz. This includes video, images and case studies. I have been working closely with the NZTE creative team for the past nine months, helping to provide industry insights into its production and I’m delighted that Agritech New Zealand is taking ownership of the story. Going forward we will continue to work in partnership with NZTE, as we develop more collateral for the sector. Use of these assets by New Zealand agritech entities is available license-free. It’s our aim to provide assets that our agritech businesses can use to promote their own products or services. Check out the links on our website to view and access these assets.

At last week’s meeting of the Agritech New Zealand Executive Council, we agreed a draft Heads of Agreement with the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ) which will see both organisations partner into a single entity. The PAANZ Board had approved the draft the previous week. I look forward to working with the Chair and Board of PAANZ as we progress the process. It will see the emergence of a strong unified organisation that is not only focused on the scaling of the agritech sector but also on the adoption of that technology by farmers and growers in New Zealand. It’s a powerful combination.

Since the last newsletter, have spent much of the past four weeks working with the Government’s agritech strategy task force as we have sought industry input into the Government’s Industry Transformation Plan for the sector. Over 300 delegates attended our workshops in Auckland, Tauranga, Hamilton, Palmerston North and Lincoln. Our next steps are to aggregate the input received from these workshops and assist the taskforce present a list of action and initiative recommendations to government. Despite a tight deadline, we are aiming to deliver these recommendations to Ministers by the end of next month.

Before flying to Ireland, I spent Thursday and Friday last week at the Australia New Zealand Leadership Forum (ANZLF) event in Auckland. This is the annual gathering of government ministers and business leaders from both countries. I had been approached by ANZLF in May with a request to develop an agritech focused proposal for the Forum. I spoke to a number of ecosystem colleagues across the Tasman and on Thursday we launched the Australian New Zealand Agritech Council. It’s designed to promote the trans-Tasman region as an agritech hub to the global venture capital community. You can learn more here: www.anzagritech.org.

As we approach the final quarter of 2019, there is no sign of any slow down in activity. Work has already begun on the evokeAG conference in Melbourne in February and the MobileTECH conference in April. We continue to work with our Government partners to raise the profile of the sector both at home and offshore.

As they say in Ireland, Tabharfaidh an obair chrua na torthaí isteach (The hard work will deliver the results).

Ngā mihi,

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
Agritech New Zealand

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The future of sustainable farming is being showcased in a trial on Kowhai Farm. Learn more about the Internet of Things at the 2019 IoT Half-Day Conference on 3 October in Auckland.

Explore business opportunities in Singapore with networking events on 19 September in Tauranga and 20 September in Auckland. Join Ag Innovations Bootcamp on 1 October in Hamilton.

Medicine, science and tech! New Zealand’s first medicinal cannabis summit, MedCan 2020 has been announced by BioTechNZ. Register your interest for the 19 March, 2020 event.

Investors in New Zealand’s early stage capital markets are being invited to comment on policy settings for the new Venture Capital Fund. The Angel Association’s annual founders survey closes 20 September.

Ahead of the APEC SME Summit 2019, 14 November in Santiago de Chile, applications are now open for Inventing the Future 2019 startup challenge. Entries close 29 September.

Other closing dates; 27 September for Deloitte’s Corporate Entrepreneur Awards, 29 September for Inventing the Future 2019, 4 October for Callaghan’s RFP for incubators and 25 October for our study tour of China. 

Attend the Future of 3DP in MedTech on 1 October in Christchurch. Advancing Women in Technical Industries and Roles is 25 November in Auckland. Learn more about the current state of women in tech, returnships and leadership opportunities.

TechLeaders recently met with Minister Jones to discuss how to accelerate digital advancement in provincial New Zealand. Explore their insights and read the briefing paper here. Watch Techweek TV on demand; automation in agritech, aerospace and agritech and more.

Standards New Zealand is looking for digital entrepreneurs with ideas for how to use standards content in new ways to make it more useful for those who put them into practice. Learn more.

Discover how AI can help New Zealand in the newly published report Towards Our Intelligent Future. Plus read Interactive Aotearoa – driving growth and wellbeing through interactive media.

The workshops were focused on discussing the Government’s strategy document – ‘Agritech In New Zealand: Towards an Industry Transformation Plan’, released on 2 July by Minister David Parker. You can view it here: https://www.mbie.govt.nz/dmsdocument/5878-growing-innovative-industries-in-new-zealand-agritech-in-new-zealand-towards-an-industry-transformation-plan

We wanted feedback. And we got it. In spades.

The Taskforce was established at the back end of 2018 to bring a number of New Zealand government agencies together – MBIE, MPI, NZTE, Callaghan Innovation, NZVIF & MFAT – to develop a cross-agency agenda to help grow the country’s agritech sector. Agritech New Zealand has been working closely with this taskforce ever since to ensure that its core deliverables are very much sector-led. We are all agreed that industry input is vital to ensure that the government gets it right.

So what’s next?

Over the coming weeks, the feedback and insights delivered at the workshops will be downloaded and distilled into a document that sets out some key actions and initiatives that are the outcome of these workshops.

Government Ministers thankfully are not hanging around. I’m expecting briefing documents to be prepared and presented to Ministers by the end of next month. We are likely to see the first actions and initiatives launched in Q1, 2020. In my experience, this is light speed for the public sector. In my view, this also demonstrates the commitment that government is giving to the growth and scaling of the sector.

This is critical for our domestic primary industry. Agriculture technology is one of the main levers that can help farmers and growers address many of the challenges they are facing today. It’s that impact that drives many of us to do this.

Increasing New Zealand agritech exports is another key aim of the Transformation Plan. This can only be done by scaling our agritech businesses with the right skills, investment and offshore support. These are all areas that Agritech New Zealand has been focused on over the past 12 months. It’s an area in which we are looking to add significant value to the government’s own work in this area.

Finally it’s a process that will keep going. Once the first set of actions and initiatives are ready to kick in, I expect to organise another set of workshops to enable entrepreneurs, researchers and established businesses engage directly in this work.

Thanks to everyone who has taken part in the workshops over the past month. You’ve been totally awesome!

Hamilton: 26 August: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-nz-government-agritech-strategy-consultation-workshop-hamilton-tickets-65383131707

Lincoln: 29 August: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-nz-government-agritech-strategy-consultation-workshop-lincoln-tickets-65383310241

The first two workshops in Palmerston North & Auckland were pretty much ‘sold out’ with great input from the 120 delegates who attended. We captured all that feedback and it will go a long way to help develop key actions and initiatives going forward. We already have over 120 people registered for the two workshops next week. I very much hope you can join us.

The final workshop is due to take place in Tauranga on Monday 2 September. Tickets for this event, taking place at the Classic Flyers Museum, are already flying (pardon the pun) out of the door. If you have not registered yet, you can reserve your seat today.

Tauranga: 2 September: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-nz-government-agritech-strategy-consultation-workshop-tauranga-tickets-66136713691

The taskforce is now made up of representatives from 6 government agencies. At the conclusion of the current roadshow, Agritech New Zealand will sit down with the team to help identify real actions that government can take to support the sector. This initiative, which is being driven at multi-Ministerial level, is one that we totally support. We hope you can join us over the next two weeks to help provide input into the key actions and initiatives we should take.

If you have not yet attended one of the scheduled workshops, there is still an opportunity to provide input directly to Taskforce representatives. There are still some seats available at our events on 26 August in Hamilton, 29 August in Lincoln and 2 September in Tauranga. 

Since last month’s newsletter, Agritech New Zealand and Callaghan Innovation have co-hosted a post-USA delegation workshop for our leading agri robotic and automation researchers.  We have identified some major commercial opportunities in North America with our partners, Western Growers. Leveraging these requires collaboration across our research sector and a further workshop is scheduled next month to progress these opportunities.

Yesterday, we co-hosted a workshop for the large delegation of New Zealand agritech companies heading to Ireland and the United Kingdom (UK) next month. Unlike the USA visit which was largely horticulture and crop focused, the delegation to Europe will be largely dairy tech-based. Highlights of the visit include participation in the UK Dairy Day event and the Irish Ploughing Championships in Carlow. With 300,000 people expected to attend, this is one event that we do not want to miss.

At home, Agritech New Zealand is also preparing for a major expansion of its activity. Over the past few months, we have been talking to the Precision Agriculture Association of New Zealand (PAANZ) to identify opportunities to collaborate and partner. Three members of the PAANZ board have been invited to join the Agritech New Zealand Executive Council as we progress these discussions. Adoption of agritech on New Zealand farms and orchards is a key driver to increase productivity, profitability and sustainability. Building one voice for the wider agritech sector can only help further drive it.

These activities would not be possible without the support of our members. Agritech New Zealand is a membership organisation and it’s the membership fees that make all this activity possible.

Agritech New Zealand’s Executive Council is currently developing a set of actions and priorities to further increase membership benefits. If you are not already a member and want to participate in some of the exciting events that are coming up, please visit our online Membership Application.

2019 has seen a significant ramping up of activity as agritech takes centre stage in Government thinking and strategy. Agritech New Zealand is at the forefront of this action as we provide the key interface with industry and the wider agritech sector.

I very much hope you can join us on this journey.

Ngā mihi

Peter Wren-Hilton
Executive Director
Agritech New Zealand

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• 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

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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.