Qld AgTech Month NOVEMBER EACH YEAR

If you’re in agriculture, technology, innovation or entrepreneurship, Queensland’s the place to be in November – that’s the message from organisers of the inaugural Qld AgTech Month, officially starting on Friday 1st November 2019.

The ever-growing AgTech community of big thinkers, forward planners and invested innovators who call Queensland home will be celebrated – and encouraged to collaborate – during Qld AgTech Month which is proudly promoting the many AgTech events held in every corner of the state throughout November.

The inaugural awareness month is placing a spotlight on those leading the sector from rural and regional Queensland and is the result of a powerful conversation between Queensland entrepreneurs and AgTech leaders.

Qld AgTech Month group member James Walker from AgriHive, Longreach said the working group cluster wants to shine a light on the leadership and complex problem solving being undertaken throughout the state in the AgTech sector.

“This really is all about showcasing the resilience and agility of Queensland farming that will benefit local agriculture and encourage overseas investors to investigate the potential of the state’s AgTech sector,” Mr Walker said.

“Our group is driven by the motto, ‘We take the best of Queensland and share it with the world - and take the best of the world and share it with Queensland’,” he said.

Fellow group member Jess Fealy from Startup Tablelands, Mareeba said the group is committed to ensuring that the local AgTech sector continues to grow through building a solid culture of collaboration.

“There are more than 10 AgTech events being held throughout November – from pitch competitions to research conferences to hands-on workshops to field days and forums,” Mrs Fealy said.

“Instead of being in competition with each other, we hope that connecting the events being held from the far north to the south west will provide a ‘power in numbers’ mentality that will benefit farmers and AgTech companies alike,” she said.

“We recognise too that while there’s a lot of new AgTech in the marketplace now, not all of it has direct or easy use for the agriculture sector, so we see a very important part to play in keeping the ‘Ag’ in ‘AgTech’ and ensuring we can actively support new ideas that will solve on-farm problems.”

Jacqui Wilson-Smith from the Food Agribusiness Network (FAN), Sunshine Coast is also part of the group and said working cooperatively would achieve faster, more significant results for the sector.

“A lot of AgTech startups work in isolation and as a result, can find it quite difficult to get the cut through and the opportunity to trial with farmers on the ground,” Ms Wilson-Smith said.

“Collaboration is the best way to support Queensland in becoming a world leader in delivering smart, highly productive, efficient agri-food systems and technologies,” she said.