AgriTechNZ recently attended dinner in Wellington with the Hon Stuart Nash, Minister for Economic and Regional Development. It was a special opportunity to highlight the importance of agritech in supporting New Zealand’s economic growth.
Minister Nash acknowledged the global challenges for the food and fibre sector including meeting new environmental standards and climate extremes.
“But we’re seeing that our people are responding with ingenuity. Our agritech sector is developing innovative solutions for the primary sectors in New Zealand and the world, increasing their productivity and sustainability,” says Minister Nash.
“From pastoral farming and dairy to arable cropping, horticulture and fresh produce, viticulture and aquaculture, and more recently digital technologies, we’ve made a name for ourselves doing just about everything you can imagine.”
The Minister was particularly supportive of the role AgriTechNZ can have in telling these stories both locally and internationally.
“The global opportunities for New Zealand from agritech are enormous, particularly if we focus on international markets and tell our stories well” he says.
Minister Nash also previewed TIN Agritech Research showing the growth in the agritech sector. During the past year, the largest 22 agritech companies had a revenue growth of eight percent and export growth of 6.4 percent. Companies with revenues over $200 million grew at a rate of 7.7 percent, while companies with revenues of up to $50 million grew remarkably at approximately 30 percent.
AgriTechNZ CEO, Brendan O’Connell, highlighted the shared challenge facing us all and that great things happen when we work together – the collective genius of the agritech community. He highlighted three key areas of shared focus that can empower agritech to deliver what the world needs from agriculture:
(1) enablement of digital agriculture – through strengthened foundations and supported adoption.
(2) investment and scale to fuel the change
(3) collaboration and impact
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Left to Right – Peter Nation, Graeme Muller, Kylie Horomia, Sophie Rebbeck, Brendan O’Connell, Juliet Ansell, Daniel O’Brien, Hayden Read, Bridgit Hawkins, Maria Jose Alvarez, Kenneth Irons
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