AustralianFarmersOver 1,300 farmers, technologists and investors met in Melbourne this week for two days packed full of big ideas at the largest agtech event in the Asia-Pacific region.
The program saw more than 100 national and international speakers take to the stage and highlight new technologies, food markets, lessons on launching into international markets, and investment opportunities.
AgriFutures Australia Managing Director, John Harvey said evokeAG. aims to inspire and challenge new ways of thinking.
“We are putting the Australian agrifood tech ecosystem on the global stage. In its second year, evokeAG. has attracted more delegates, more speakers, more farmers, more startups and more investors and it’s tremendously exciting to see all parts of the ecosystem coming together to share their ideas and innovations on the future of our agricultural industry,” said Mr Harvey.
The event kicked off with a keynote from the CEO of SVG Ventures – THRIVE, the number one agrifood tech accelerator in the world. CEO John Hartnett explored how we use technology to get more out of available resources to feed our growing population and evolving consumer demands.
The Silicon Valley-based investor said it was clear that Australian entrepreneurs were not getting their fair share of global investment.
“Australian entrepreneurs are not getting their fair share of venture capital investment. Entrepreneurs need access to global venture capital and corporate investors in order to scale globally. Events like evokeAG. act as a catalyst to bring the key players within the ecosystem together and drive the focus on innovation within the sector,” said Mr Hartnett.
NFF President Fiona Simson reinforced the need for collaboration in order to achieve greater technology uptake in the sector.
“Collaborative thinking is the key to changing our future,” Ms Simson said.
“Every one of us must know our roles and do our part: governments, corporates, investors, researchers, startups & farmers. We all have a role to play.”
Elders Managing Director and CEO, Mark Allison, said while the enthusiasm in the agtech community presented exciting opportunities, it always needed to be grounded in on-farm realities.
“I see Elders’ role at the conference to be a voice of reason, ensuring the farmer is at the centre everything we see. While it is always fascinating to see the latest developments for agriculture, my message is that fundamentally what really matters is how developments address one thing – on-farm productivity,” said Mr Allison.
The National Farmers’ Federation used the event as a platform to launch the industry’s Farm Data Code.
The landmark Code is the result of collaborative effort led by the NFF, bringing together agricultural technology providers, researchers, industry experts and farmers. It aims to give farmers certainty in how their data is being managed and shared.
Chair of the NFF’s Farm Data Working Group, Ms Andrea Koch, said the Code fills a clear gap in the sector’s data governance arrangements.
“Farmers want to know how the data collected by machinery, satellites and sensors is being used, and who it’s being shared with. They also need to have some control in that process.”
“It’s critical to lay the groundwork so farmers are the beneficiaries of digital disruption – capturing a fair share of the value that new technologies will create.
“The Farm Data Code is a crucial step in that journey,” Ms Koch concluded.
Rabobank Australia
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