OPINION – Owen Williams, Hub Manager at the Agtech and Logistics Hub

What do Danish robots, Silicon Valley AI and Israeli drones have in common?

Simple. They’re all looking to Australia for agricultural innovation and leadership. And the Agtech and Logistics Hub is in the thick of the action.

While we’re incredibly proud to support Australian innovators working on ag products and services, we know some of the solutions and opportunities for farmers and producers can be found beyond our own borders.

This makes it important to search far and wide for the best agtech, and certain regions or countries lead different areas of innovation.

Europe, for example, tends to have some of the best sustainability agtech, as farmers there have been adhering to ESG (Environmental Social Governance) principles for years.

Then there’s Israel which produces impressive drone tech. The Middle Eastern country is also home to N-Drip, which has a presence in Australia and has answered one of our dry continent’s most pressing challenges with a micro irrigation solution powered by gravity that provides precise irrigation and higher yields while saving water. Their irrigation is already being used by farmers across the Darling Downs, including a cotton farmer who has reported water savings of between 20 and 25 per cent.

Other international tech making its way into Aussie farming paddocks include Robotti, an advanced agricultural robot from Danish manufacturer Agrointelli, and AgDrive, a cloud-based all-in-one management app for farmers created by a young farming contractor in the UK.

We are also seeing plenty of incredible agtech, including AI-powered farming vehicles, coming out of the tech powerhouse that is the Silicon Valley.

The bottom line is Aussie farmers and producers need access to the best technology from all corners of the globe to ensure our industry remains internationally competitive.

That’s why the Agtech and Logistics Hub in Toowoomba is committed to providing an agtech ‘landing pad’ for both homegrown and international innovators.

Our ‘landing pad’ is a place where innovators can base their business and have guaranteed access to relevant support and customers. It serves as a hub for knowledge exchange and expertise, bringing together farmers, researchers, entrepreneurs, investors and innovators, creating a dynamic network where ideas can flourish, and partnerships can be forged.

By facilitating interactions between these stakeholders, we enable the rapid development and deployment of cutting-edge technologies and practices in agriculture. We can also accelerate the development of world-class innovations in areas such as precision agriculture, robotics, data analytics, biotechnology, and vertical farming.

These advancements can help farmers optimise crop yields, reduce resource usage, minimise environmental impact, and improve the resilience of agricultural systems. They also have the power to address pressing challenges in agriculture production, such as increasing global demand, climate change, resource scarcity and sustainability concerns.

Our ‘landing pad’ is already attracting plenty of international interest, with representatives from 12 countries visiting the Agtech and Logistics Hub during the past 18 months.

In June, we hosted Richard Cowin and Louise Bisset from the British Consulate-General in Brisbane. We loved introducing them to farmers adopting agtech across the Toowoomba region. It was also great to show Richard and Louise the physical facilities available for UK innovators who see their future in Australian agriculture.

By providing a dedicated space for agtech innovators to thrive – regardless of their origin – we can unlock the potential of technology to revolutionise agriculture and create a more sustainable and productive future.

This article was originally featured in the July 2023 edition of Queensland Farmer Today.