Agri-tech innovation offers response to global challenges

International farmers, researchers and tech entrepreneurs come together to pursue the goal of sustainable, productive and profitable agriculture.

Innovation in agri-tech has the potential to address many global sustainability and productivity challenges in agriculture, but to be effective requires an interconnected view of natural systems and collaborative solutions. To explore how they can work together on mutual challenges, a number of international players announced initiatives at Agri-TechE ’s REAP 2020 conference.
Announcements include:

• New partnership with Western Growers – the organisation represents family farmers across California, Arizona, Colorado and New Mexico, who provide over half of America’s fresh fruits, vegetables and tree nut; it is partnering with Agri-TechE to accelerate innovation in field harvest automation. Read more.
• A new mission with the British Embassy Warsaw – farmers and agri-tech companies from a consortium of four countries – Poland, Hungary, Czech Republic and Slovakia – will meet Agri-TechE members.
• Next stage in the relationship with Missouri agri-tech ecosystem – the heartland for 50 per cent of US crop and livestock production. New programme for 2020 announced in partnership with Agri-TechE . See what happened on our first trade mission here.
• Oost Netherlands joins Agri-TechE as members – Oost NL represents farmers, agri-tech companies and researchers keen to strengthen links with UK agri-tech innovation. Read more.
• South Korea’s Chonnam National University – offers members of the Agri-TechE ecosystem a launchpad for Asia. Chonnam province and Gwangju city is the core of agriculture production for South Korea. Read more.

Dr Belinda Clarke, Director of Agri-TechE , comments: “The theme for REAP 2020 is ‘From micro-scape to landscape – Innovating at the frontier’, acknowledging that small changes in the micro-scape can have big impacts on the landscape and vice versa. It is interactions on a microbial scale in soils that drive the carbon cycle and impact climate change.
“To achieve the global ambitions for agriculture, food production and land management, we need a much better understanding of how systems at these different scales operate and interact. We are delighted that this vision is shared by other agri-tech communities as this will create the global scale needed to make real change.
“We hope these exciting new initiatives we are announcing today will provide value to our members to access new market opportunities and gain new insights into best practice on farm. Connecting with best-in-class globally is the way to tackle the challenges facing agriculture and we are proud of our new partnerships.”