This article previously appeared in The Grower
You can read about things, but actually experiencing them is something else.
Dan Bloomer joined Callaghan Innovation , NZTE and two dozen New Zealand agricultural technology organisations for a week in San Francisco.
The purpose was to understand how New Zealand could fit with the US agricultural technology scene. We visited UC Davis, agricultural technology companies, Silicon Valley start-ups and venture capital firms. We visited an almond orchard, a vineyard and a winery in Napa Valley. We went to a large raspberry farm in Salinas.
Driscoll’s berry fruit operation highlighted the difference in scale between New Zealand and the USA. With $US 3 billion in annual sales and a global growing and sales network, they have an advanced and comprehensive R&D programme.
The issues facing Driscoll’s are fully familiar to any farmer in New Zealand: produce more from less, reduce wastage all along the supply chain, prevent nutrient loss to water, address the disappearing labour force, meet increasing regulatory requirements, prove provenance and food safety, and get the best product to the right market in excellent condition at an acceptable price.
While at Driscoll’s we heard from technology companies with whom they are collaborating to address issues facing them now and in the future.
AgroBot is a machine developed by a Spanish entrepreneur to automate picking small produce like strawberries.
HarvestPort provides an on-line connection to share seasonally used resources such as fruit bins or crates.
Growcentia is developing microbial biostimulants to increase crop production and decrease the environmental impact of agriculture.
GeoVisual is focused on remote sensing and big data analytics to improve and predict crop yields, better manage croplands and improve harvests.
Food Origins is focused on precision data collection and analytic services for hand harvested produce.
Each of these could add value in New Zealand.
AgTech is growing very fast. Wharf42 reported that 499 companies attracted US $4.6 billion of venture capital investment in 2015, nearly doubling 2014 figures. 303 companies were in the US. India came second with 64 and Australia 11th with 6 investments. Although we have some local investment, New Zealand didn’t register on the global stage.
In New Zealand we are impressed by million dollar investments. Climate Corporation was bought by Monsanto for $US 1 billion. It aims “to build a digitized world where every farmer is able to optimize and flawlessly execute every decision on the farm”. Yamaha just bought a share in UAV company PrecisionHawk in a $US 18 million deal.
We spoke with venture capital firms about accessing funding. Swamped by opportunities within two hours of the San Francisco CBD, they have no need of New Zealand. So New Zealand needs to have excellent technology, travel to them and have obvious local presence.
The week of intense stimulation, new experiences and gaining new understandings left me very positive about New Zealand technology capability and about our prospects in the world agtech markets.
We have numerous New Zealand companies that easily compete on a technology level with what we saw. We can do it, and with Callaghan Innovation , NZTE and private initiatives, there are things in place to help New Zealand companies succeed in this enormous market. But we have to think differently and execute very well.
When the right technology gets presented in the right way in the right place things can happen very fast. After winning a major US innovation award for its noise-reducing drone technology, nine month old New Zealand startup Dotterel Technologies is on a fast track to global success. We need more Dotterels.
This visit was organised by Wharf42, NZTE, Callaghan Innovation and the Silicon Valley Forum.