The New Zealand government recently developed and funded the Horticulture Technology Catalyst initiative to grow the size and impact of the country’s agri-tech business.
The initiative of 29.9 million New Zealand dollars aims to empower New Zealand agricultural companies to collaborate, provide services and support to the growing ag sector, as well as capitalize on global opportunities that will fuel investments to solve challenges, according to a news release.
“New Zealand’s future will be limited if we just focus on the production of more food. Further prosperity will only come from commercialising the technology, systems and intellectual property that are not bound by the same constraints as our food systems. This is the double benefit of exporting our fruit and our technology too,” AgriTech New Zealand Chief Executive Brendan O’Connell said in a news release.
This New Zealand government Wellbeing Budget measure provides much needed support that will drive higher paying jobs and new export revenues in the horticulture sector, O’Connell added.
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New Zealand’s current ecosystem of horticulture technology skills covers growers, technology innovators, researchers and investors. In addition to the food brands having global impact — such as Zespri, Rockit, Jazz, Enza and Miro — there are a growing number of technology brands forging the New Zealand reputation in global horticulture. These companies include Bluelab, Robotics Plus, Hectre, WayBeyond, Cropsy and Croptide, according to the release.
“This NZD $29.9million initiative will accelerate the development and adoption of technologies in horticultural and both position the sector for new levels of sustainable productivity and create a proving ground for the export of new technologies,” O’Connell said in the release. “Taking this globally focused approach to the development and proof of horticultural technologies in New Zealand justifies the levels of investment required to solve some of the biggest challenges faced by the sector. New Zealand can be both an originator and first adopter of great technologies, but unless they are focused on global application they will be undercooked and uncompetitive.”
According to the release, international figures estimate the automated harvesting of a crop requires approximately $100 million in research and development funding, per crop type. Harvesting is just one challenge, highlighting the need to ensure appropriate levels of capital are raised to grow globally relevant technology solutions in New Zealand.
