A new Commonwealth Bank sponsored report sheds light on how Australia can be a global food supplier and our farmers can be the most tech savvy in the world.
The benefits are enormous but there are a number of challenges to overcome, and Commonwealth Bank is partnering with various stakeholders in the agri sector such as the National Farmers Federation and others to help drive innovation and change in the sector.
Commonwealth Bank’s General Manager, Regional and Agribusiness Banking NSW, Tim Harvey said he hopes the new report, Powering Growth: Realising the potential of agtech for Australia, will spark a conversation about the best ways to realise the potential in the industry.
The agriculture sector already contributes $42 billion in export revenue and four per cent of Australia’s total employment. Harnessing the power of digital agricultural technology (agtech) will help the sector continue to grow into the future, according to an exciting new report on the sector.
Powering Growth: Realising the potential of agtech for Australia, was co-authored by StartupAUS and KPMG, and proudly supported by the Commonwealth Bank and the Queensland Government.
The report finds that the opportunities in agtech are enormous. In 2015, global venture capital investments alone reached $1.5 billion across agtech, up 336 per cent compared with the investment in 2014.
Drawing from detailed discussions with agtech startups, farmers, investors and governments the report makes a number of recommendations including establishing a network of agtech hubs and a joint R&D fund with leading global agtech players.
These will provide the people working in agribusiness with the tools, data and knowledge to make more informed and timely on-farm decisions, and make the most of the possibilities in agtech.
“Commonwealth Bank recognises that enhancing the financial wellbeing of businesses, people and communities means identifying the best practices and benefits associated with a new wave of agricultural technology,” Mr Harvey said.
“To do this, we must first understand the roadblocks, and determine how we can contribute to turning significant opportunity into reality.”
You can read the full report at the StartupAus website.