Taking Australian agtech to the world

Trade Minister Simon Birmingham said Australia was “behind the pack” of international competitors when it came to commercialising local technologies.

“We’re leading the way in areas such as ag biotechnology, novel farming systems, traceability tech and farming robotics, but the challenge is further developing these technologies into commercially viable products for wider use in Australia and overseas,” Mr Birmingham said.

“Australia has the potential to be a powerhouse in agrifood tech and we want to help the sector reach its full potential.”

Austrade’s Australia for Agriculture 4.0 is an online resource for potential investors, with market information, government contacts, case studies of local agtech developers and an interactive map of agricultural land use, soil and water resources.

Agriculture 4.0 tells potential investors that agtech could grow the value of production by $20 billion in the medium terms and details Australia’s strong track record in public investment in ag research and development.

The announcement follows yesterday’s news that the Grains Research and Development Corporation has partnered with venture capital firm Artesian to establish a $50 million fund designed to promote the growth of ag-tech start-ups. 

Agriculture 4.O highlights the Australian government’s range of incentives and infrastructure that’s in place to support food and agriculture industry.

Among many examples, is also highlights commercial achievements such as Western Australian crop breeding company InterGrain, which is developing new crop varieties for high value Japanese markets.

Another showcased initiative is the Oziris anti-counterfeit and traceability technology, which is used on more than 800 Australian products including crayfish, cheese, meat and wine.

Mr Birmingham will launch Agriuclture 4.0 at the EvokeAg agtech conference in Melbourne today.