The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources, the California Department of Food and Agriculture, and the Governor’s Office of Business and Economic Development have launched the California AgTech Alliance.
Gabriel Youtsey, chief innovation officer at UC ANR, says this new alliance will help build a collaborative network to help those working in the agtech space work together for the betterment of California agriculture. And this is part of a $15 million investment by the state of California in agtech.
“What it really means for California is there’s a recognition by the California State Government, beyond the California Department of Ag, to the broader state government, that agtech is an economic engine in its own right, if done well,” he says. “And that’s what this investment really represents is California investing in agtech as an economic driver alongside the ag ecosystem, to help strengthen it, to be more climate resilient and meet the state’s broader climate objectives, but also to grow jobs and support the farming communities.”
Nine regional hubs will be a part of the AgTech Alliance to trial new technology, train ag workers and more. Youtsey says the innovation hubs help put the focus on the specialty crops grown in each region, as not all agtech solutions work in all commodities.
“That’s the blessing and the curse of California, is we do so many things, and we grow so many things here,” he says. “Something that’s going to work in table grapes is not going to work in tree nuts or lettuce or vegetable crops. Maybe sometimes there are transferable things.”
The AgTech Alliance’s efforts have been bolstered by more than 50 partner organizations, including Western Growers, California Almond Board, the California Farm Bureau, and California Citrus Mutual and more. Youtsey says it’s important that the alliance develop creative funding models to develop this innovation to reduce the regulatory burdens and create more equitable solutions for growers.
“It can’t be on the backs of traditional venture investors,” he says. “It has to be a more holistic solution where farmers come to the table and invest … We’re looking for those holistic, kind of cross-sectoral wins but also to create both the hyper-specialized technology solutions to keep some of these pretty niche industries here in California working, but also are transferable across the broader specialty crop infrastructure.”
According to UC ANR, the alliance has three pillars:
- Agtech deployment commercialization — to connect startups and researchers to growers with the network of field demonstration hubs as well as $2 million in innovation grants to support commercialization and adoption.
- Workforce development and training — the alliance plans to expand training for new and established farmworkers through programs such as the Farm Robotics Challenge and Academy and AgSTEP Workforce Program as well as with partnerships with colleges and universities. The Alliance plans to use technical trialing, digital literacy and hands-on learning.
- Regional collaboration and investment — Nine regional hubs span from the northern part of the state to the Imperial Valley to ensure innovation is locally informed and reaches the state’s diverse agricultural landscape.
Youtsey says a great example of why this collaboration is needed is the development of a tomato harvester for the processing tomato industry at UC Davis.
“Innovation is why we still have processing tomatoes in California,” he says.
And he says it’s critical that the industry also prepares the next generation of agtech workers as these new innovations take shape.
“If we think about a more integrated, holistic approach to innovation, where we develop automation solutions and, at the same time, we upskill these workers to participate in the operation of these new technologies, even while jobs are shifting to prepare workers to be in more of an agtech community,” he says.
This funding model also helps mitigate some of the risks involved with investing in agtech, Youtsey says. This way, growers can see firsthand the solutions that could make an impact on their farm, and the ultimate goal is to ensure Golden State farmers stay in the state.
“If we don’t find solutions, these crops are just going to keep getting exported to other places where, basically, labor is cheap,” he says. “I don’t believe it can last forever.
But Youtsey doesn’t see that crop exodus as being permanent and believes the AgTech Alliance can help solidify that future for California growers.
“We have to find ways to move these solutions forward here, and we just got to keep learning from the failures but coming up with new approaches to developing these solutions that work at scale and make sense for the grower to buy into these solutions,” he says.
