Growing Innovation

New Zealand's $64.3 billion food and fibre export sector is being reshaped by agricultural technology - and how the country responds in the next few years will help determine whether rural communities thrive or continue to shrink.

This discussion paper draws on interviews with farmers, co-operatives, levy bodies, venture capital firms, and public sector leaders. It sets out 13 recommendations to turn AgriTech from a force that risks displacing intergenerational rural knowledge into one that strengthens it.

The food and fibre sector accounts for 8.8 per cent of New Zealand's GDP and 12.4 per cent of employment. There are now more than 500 AgriTech firms operating in New Zealand, generating an estimated $2–3 billion in annual revenue.

AgriTech can help to grow the efficiency and productivity of the food and fibre sector, to maintain the attractiveness of New Zealand products in high-value markets, to create new skilled tech jobs, and to meet New Zealand’s emissions targets.

But our paper finds the sector's potential is being held back by financing barriers that favour large operators over family farms, gaps in rural connectivity and services, fragmented data ownership, and a slow regulatory environment. Meanwhile, the number of farms in New Zealand has declined by 33 per cent in recent decades, and farmable land by 15 per cent - a consolidation trend AgriTech could either accelerate or help reverse.

Recommendations include:

• A national "Living Knowledge Bank" to capture the unwritten expertise of experienced farmers - including mātauranga Māori - before it is lost
• A farmer-in-residence mentorship programme placing experienced farmers inside AgriTech firms to embed practical wisdom in the design of new technology.
• A modernised agricultural curriculum with nationally recognised AgriTech micro-credentials, and a Digital Adoption and Extension Programme jointly funded by industry and government to accelerate on-farm uptake.
• An Open Data platform so farmers benefit from the data they generate.
• A co-funded AgriTech Adoption Fund to share investment risk, and a ‘regulatory sandbox’ to fast-track safe innovation trials.
• A commitment to rural connectivity and services to ensure rural areas remain liveable for the skilled workforce AgriTech needs.