Agritech news stories - Page 2

We are on the cusp of some massive and exciting tech changes in our lives, says NZTech chief Graeme Muller.

Thirty of New Zealand’s agritech innovators have finally landed in Silicon Valley this week as they get ready to put their innovations to the test.

An upcoming agritech conference in Silicon Valley may have a huge impact on New Zealand’s agritech sector, even from thousands of kilometres away.

“While New Zealand currently exports around $1.6 billion of traditional products to the UK, the big growth opportunity is hi-tech."

“We’ve always had a number 8 wire culture in farming but it is crucial we power that up with science and technology," says Hemi Rolleston.

Agriculture as the very bones of NZ has seen an uprising in the number of startups in the agritech space - but this expert says we can do better.

Looking to disrupt the kiwifruit industry, Acuris Systems employed the services of a fellow Kiwi startup's online legal marketplace.

Over 30 leaders from technology, scientific, agritech and social enterprise sectors will be speaking in a curated programme of 15 events.

Tauranga-based RPL is an early stage R&D company that develops robotics and automation solutions for highly variable agricultural environments.

New Zealand’s agritech sector is aware of what’s going on in the technology space, but are struggling to keep up with the pace of change.

"Robots never sleep, and this makes them ideal workers. They’ll do the menial work humans should no longer be expected to do."

Simply Payroll recently signed a strategic partnership with Federated Farmers providing free set up, training and support for the mobile service.

Dunedin-based agri-tech company TracMap has scored investment from Genesis Private Equity, which will help boost GPS tech development.

The agritech market doesn’t really sound the domain of the traditional IT reseller, but tap into it in the right way, and there are riches to be had.

"There are also opportunities for the application of big data and analytics, particularly as speedy online transfers of data between farmers."

The Fieldays Innovation Accelerator is a new initiative sponsored by Callaghan Innovation and aims to help Kiwi innovators rise to the global stage.

With ten years of data to look at, it’s clear that the New Zealand tech sector is heading in the right direction.

“A typical fertiliser-spreading truck operation will pay for the cost of the unit in terms of savings and efficiencies in around three months.”