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.