The backing was announced at the Beehive by Lab chairman Mat Hocken.
The initiatives came after a wide call for people to submit ideas to help solve rural issues.
“Farmers are facing a myriad of challenges.
“How do we move from our existing systems and succeed in an uncertain and challenging future? The best way to get ahead of disruption is to innovate,” Hocken said.
The four ventures were selected from about 50 applicants and include a carbon calculator co-designed with farmers to estimate on-farm emissions, an online platform for farmer-to-farmer rentals and the development of a Maori agribusiness collective.
“We also have 80 third-year Massey University students working on a further 10 projects,” Hocken said.
The Lab was set up in Palmerston North in February last year with a $400,000 boost from the Government’s Provincial Growth Fund. Since then it has engaged with more than 150 farmers, growers and Maori landowners to identify the key challenges they face and develop solutions.
The chosen ventures will receive support of more than $15,000 from the Lab, which includes facilitation from start-up experts The Factory, access to partners in the Lab’s collaborative network including Massey, Microsoft and the ecentre, and financial contribution to project costs.
“We’ll also be supporting the four project teams to engage with farmers and growers to help shape their ideas and innovations, facilitating their development over the next few months and providing them with mentoring by leading farmers in the region,” Hocken said.
The projects were selected in a competitive process with proposals assessed by an independent panel. The criteria includeddriving value from regulation and compliance, contributing to the mitigation of or adapting to climate change, improving data for better decision-making, addressing consumer needs and creating new business models.
“When you have 14-year-old entrepreneurs who are creatively responding to challenges farmers and growers are facing it’s a very exciting time to be in the primary sector.”
Agriculture Minister Damien O’Connor said “These projects exemplify the sort of enterprise and innovation that we want to see in our rural communities.
“The food and fibre industries are the backbone of New Zealand’s economy, delivering more than $45 billion in export revenue last year.
“New ideas and technologies like these are essential if we want to keep our primary sector growing and maintain a competitive edge.”
The Lab is a pilot initiative for the development of similar programmes across NZ.
Its supporters include Federated Farmers, Palmerston North City Council and local economic development agencies.
The four ventures
WombatNET
Alex Stewart, 14, of Whanganui is democratising affordable broadband access to rural farms and communities.
His innovation helps primary industries where inter-connectivity and-or internet connectivity is required. Since establishing WombatNET Alex has already run a small-scale trial on a rural property at Okoia where he beamed a farmer’s home broadband connection to his woolshed, making high-speed WiFi available at every corner of the farm.
The Lab will help Alex buy critical infrastructure, engage with the Smartfarm farmer network to expand his reach and gather user feedback.
AbacusBio
Co-founders Jo Kerslake and Mark Teviotdale will work with farmers to design a calculator to quantify on-farm emissions.
The project will bring together Manawatu-Whanganui farmers and AbacusBio’s data scientists and software developers to ask what farmers would like to know before designing a calculator to further enable their understanding of farm emissions.
The Lab will connect AbacusBio with its extensive farmer network and support farmer input into the design, supporting the grassroots development of farmer-friendly tools.
Online platform for farmer-to-farmer rentals
Manawatu’s Alexandra Tully and Scott Cameron have developed a concept for a peer-to-peer lending platform that creates a financial opportunity for farmers.
The website and app-based platform will be designed in an Air BnB style, enabling machinery owners to list items for their desired price and generate income from unused gear.
The Lab will help them get the idea off the ground, engage with farmers and growers to validate concept and develop a business model to enable the platform to be launched in the next couple of months.
Maori Agribusiness Collective
Lisa Warbrick from Smith Warbrick and Associates and Wilson Karatea and Taruke Karatea from Te Reureu Valley will establish a Maori Agribusiness Collective.
The project aims to deliver, over four months, a comprehensive engagement plan that builds a central database of Maori landowners in Whanganui and Manawatu including land demographics, future aspirations, challenges and succession constraints. The information will provide a foundation for targeted wrap-around support.
The Lab will support relationship engagement and co-ordination as well as the development of ongoing communications channels.
