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Embracing agtech: nine practical ways to develop agtech solutions worth adopting
Dry September
hits winter crop
prospects
INNOVATION in ag- riculture is not a new phenomenon – in fact, Australian farmers are considered among the most innovative in the world.
New AgriFutures Aus- tralia research has uncov- ered barriers to agtech adoption and ways farm- ers and other sector stake- holders can create valu- able agtech solutions.
A new AgriFutures Australia-funded report ‘Accelerating the devel- opment of agtech solu- tions worth adopting’ by advisory firm AgThentic addresses the knowledge
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gaps in relation to Aus- tralia’s agtech ecosystem, specifically in relation to how farmers interact with and adopt agtech solu- tions.
The report acknowl- edges the barriers farm- ers face interacting with agtech and seeks to high- light opportunities for entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers and the ser- vice sector to understand the needs of each group and build relationships to drive the development of better technologies in the agricultural sector.
AgriFutures Australia Program Manager, Re-
search and Innovation Jennifer Medway said the report is key to unpack- ing how all parts of the agtech ecosystem can better work together to achieve mutual benefits.
“Australia is on the cusp of realising the opportu- nities agtech brings,” Ms Medway said.
“To date we have fo- cused on the end product, the deal flow or technol- ogies themselves – this report offers new insights into the engagement mod- el between end users and start-ups, and highlights opportunities to improve technology development
for the sector.” AgThentic’s Sarah Nolet
offers a global perspec- tive on the agtech ecosys- tem and is quick to point out that agtech is well and truly on the map in Australia.
“The new wave of inno- vators, products and ser- vices rolling out across the globe are ripe for the picking and have big potential to help Aus- tralian agriculture in- crease profitability, meet changing consumer de- mands, reduce negative environmental impacts and create new career opportunities in regional communities,” Ms Nolet said.
“What we need to work on, though, is harnessing the momentum and point- ing it towards the devel- opment of solutions that solve real problems for farmers.
“Entrepreneurs and new technologies can bring value to Australian agri- culture, but they cannot do it alone.”
Push and pull factors associated with agtech adoption are explored in the new report, and insights are offered into why technologies fail to solve real problems in a practical way, leaving producers frustrated and unconvinced of the value of agtech.
The report also ques- tions agtech value propo- sitions, suggesting they are missing the mark, but
digs deeper to understand the challenges associated with the complex agricul- tural environment.
The end result is nine practical and actionable opportunities that have the potential to accelerate the development of agtech solutions worth adopting.
AgriFutures Australia is on an ambitious path to support the maturity of the agtech ecosystem in Australia.
Key to this is ensur- ing the value of agtech is recognised and the best products are brought to market.
EvokeAG, to be held in Melbourne from Febru- ary 19-20, 2019, will be a milestone event for the research and development corporation and will con- nect people across the ag- riculture sector to change the conversation about the future of food and farm- ing.
“We know digital tech- nologies alone hold the potential to increase the gross value of produc- tion by over $20 billion, an increase of 25 per- cent,” Ms Medway said. “We’ve only just begun to scratch the surface when it comes to the benefits agtech can offer our rural industries.”
The evokeAG program launched on October 31, 2018 and early bird tick- ets have been extended to November 11, 2018.
For more information, visit evokeag.com
AUSTRALIAN win- ter crop prospects deteriorated during early spring follow- ing unfavourable seasonal conditions in most cropping re- gions, according to a preliminary assess- ment conducted by ABARES.
ABARES execu- tive director Dr Steve Hatfield-Dodds said the September edi- tion of the Australian crop report had identi- fied a lack of timely rainfall in early spring and frost events as key risks to winter crop prospects.
“Unfortunately, Sep- tember rainfall was very much below aver- age in many cropping regions and there were significant frost events in southern NSW, Vic- toria, South Australia and Western Austral- ia,” Dr Hatfield-Dodds said.
“October rainfall benefitted crop pros- pects in southern NSW, southern Wimmera in Victoria, southern South Australia and Western Australia.
“On balance, how- ever, the benefits of October rainfall are expected to be much smaller than damage that resulted from the unfavourable seasonal
conditions during Sep- tember.
“We expect 2018-19 winter crop produc- tion to be around 15 percent lower than our September forecast of 33.2 million tonnes.
“Wheat is now ex- pected to come in about 13 percent lower than our September forecast.
“The story is similar for barley production, down an expected 17 percent, and canola production, down an expected 20 percent.”
Dr Hatfield-Dodds said the most sig- nificant falls in crop prospects occurred in Victoria and South Australia.
“Winter crop area devoted to grain and oilseed production is estimated to have fall- en by about 8 percent because a higher than planned area was cut for hay,” Dr Hatfield- Dodds said.
ABARES is continu- ing to monitor the pro- gress of 2018-19 winter crops and will publish a detailed assessment in the Australian crop report on December 4, 2018.
Full details of re- vised winter crop pro- ductions estimates are available on agricul ture.gov.au/abares
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