{"id":64771,"date":"2023-06-12T12:10:00","date_gmt":"2023-06-12T00:10:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/?p=64771"},"modified":"2023-06-12T11:05:10","modified_gmt":"2023-06-11T23:05:10","slug":"growing-nzs-agritech-revenue-will-take-an-innovative-approach","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.farmersweekly.co.nz\/technology\/growing-nzs-agritech-revenue-will-take-an-innovative-approach\/","title":{"rendered":"Growing NZ\u2019s agritech revenue will take an innovative approach"},"content":{"rendered":"Reading Time: <\/span> 2<\/span> minutes<\/span><\/span>\n

This article first appeared in our sister publication, Dairy Farmer.<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Growing New Zealand\u2019s agritech sector revenues to $8 billion annually by 2030 is the goal of a refreshed version of the Industry Transformation Plan expected to be launched by the government in June this year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AgriTechNZ, working with the Ministry for Primary Industries and the Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment, has just completed a countrywide tour, bringing the agritech industry up to date with the latest tweaks to the ITP and giving feedback that will be digested before the 2023 version is finalised.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

AgriTechNZ chief executive Brendan O\u2019Connell says achieving the $8bn target will be challenging. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIf we\u2019re growing businesses in the same way as we\u2019ve grown them in the last 10 years, we won\u2019t reach $8bn by 2030, so the ITP is looking at the new ways of growing businesses or the new types of behaviours we\u2019re seeing internationally that could grow the sector by that much,\u201d  O\u2019Connell says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

That will include looking at ways to commercialise science and making sure New Zealand is getting its share of global investment in agritech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are seven desired outcomes listed in the updated plan, including fostering global connections, operating as a \u201csmart ecosystem\u201d across all the different players that make up agritech in NZ, getting the right skills, talents and investment, and connecting better with M\u0101ori farming.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe seven outcomes listed in the plan are effectively creating the conditions to create the desired level of growth,\u201d O\u2019Connell says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He says AgriTechNZ is pleased to see large companies like Gallagher not only growing their own businesses but also investing in other enterprises.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe see Silver Fern Farms, along with Fonterra and Zespri and others, joining the Sprout Agritech startup ecosystem and we think that type of behaviour is new and will create different types of value going forward.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sprout both invests in \u201cagrifoodtech\u201d start-ups and runs intensive courses to train food tech entrepreneurs. O\u2019Connell is optimistic the involvement of established companies will accelerate the growth of the agritech sector in NZ<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While covid made one of the original goals of the ITP, getting out and making global connections, difficult, the pandemic did heighten the importance of agritech for food supply and security.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThe pressure and challenge on food systems around the world to produce more but with lower footprints has intensified and that speaks directly to agritech solutions,\u201d O\u2019Connell says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

He describes He Waka Eke Noa, the government and the farming industry\u2019s effort to agree on how to reduce primary sector emissions, as effectively one of the largest agritech initiatives NZ has seen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cFinding those technologies that may be in the research phase now and getting them applied on farms as quickly as possible will have an impact not only by reducing emissions but also in the size of the sector and meeting that 2030 goal.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The discussions that have been held over the past few months with agritech businesses around the country will lead to what O\u2019Connell says is a \u201cmore refined focus\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe\u2019re doubling down on some areas we think will have the biggest impact and that\u2019s what we\u2019re discussing right now, and when the launch is done, we\u2019ll go through what the actual work programme is to put interventions around those areas.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"While covid made one of the original goals of the ITP, getting out and making global connections, difficult, the pandemic did heighten the importance of agritech for food supply and security.\n","protected":false},"author":37,"featured_media":6440,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_FSMCFIC_featured_image_caption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_nocaption":"","_FSMCFIC_featured_image_hide":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[161,110],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t