At the February 2020, Melbourne evokeAG conference, a group of key Australian agritech visionaries announced the launch of the Australian Agritech Association.

In September 2020, Wharf42 was invited to become Senior Adviser to the Association. Having effectively written the Agritech New Zealand playbook, we were asked to advise on issues such as stakeholder collaboration, membership development and government engagement.

Today, the Association goes from strength to strength. Its Board is made up of the initial key visionaries, together with representatives from Australia’s different States. Given the federal structure of the Commonwealth and the important role played by individual States, it was important that this component was baked into the organisation’s establishment structure.

As the Australian Department of Agriculture develops new strategies for the wider ag sector, the significance of emerging agritech solutions in areas such as drought management, water and sustainable productivity is not lost. Going forward, the Association and its members will play a crucial role to represent the wider agritech sector across the country.

A key dynamic in Wharf42’s Australian Agritech Association engagement is to see an increase in the amount of trans-Tasman collaboration with Agritech New Zealand. 2021 provides the opportunity to significantly increase this level of collaboration.

These are exciting times and Wharf42 is honoured to be working with our friends and colleagues across the Tasman to help create real impact.