Ravensdown has established a new commercial entity, Agnition, aimed a providing increased innovation for farmers and growers.
Ravensdown chief executive Garry Diack said Agnition’s mission as a subsidiary of Ravensdown is to build, grow and invest in world-leading Ag-IP and innovations, like EcoPond and ClearTech, and turn them into valued products and solutions to combat climate change, and provide enhanced productivity.
He said Agnition is a structural response to Ravensdown’s strategy of “Smarter farming for a better New Zealand”.
“Ravensdown has an impressive track record of recognising, researching and bringing to fruition technologies and services that enhance our shareholders’ abilities to interconnect precision-based performance with long-term sustainability,” he said.
“The focus is now on taking innovations to market faster, getting them on farm and providing a return on investment for our shareholders.”
Diack said supplying nutrients to NZ farmers remains core to the Ravensdown business.
“While Agnition will have the agility and expertise of a venture capital-type company, it will have an important advantage of farmer insight when it comes to developing and launching on-farm innovation.”
Diack also confirmed Jasper van Halder’s appointment as Agnition CEO. He will have responsibility for a portfolio of existing Ravensdown investments, including C-Dax Agricultural Solutions, Cropmark Seeds, Southstar Technologies and Analytical Research Laboratory.
Van Halder and his team also have a mandate to invest in future nutrient and soil health innovations.
Coming from a farming family in the Netherlands, Van Halder was previously a strategy consultant for McKinsey & Company. He has experience across multiple industries, including agriculture, advanced technology and retail. In NZ, he supported companies such as Fonterra, Synlait and Ravensdown with innovation and growth.
