The Australian Government has identified “Food and Agriculture” as one of Australia’s Industry Growth Centres, with the aim of growing the share of Australian food in the global marketplace. The Victorian Government has also identified the food and fibre sector as one of a number of growth sectors vital to the future economic prosperity of Victoria.

As the world’s population grows, the amount of agricultural land available per capita is decreasing. According to predictions made by the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO), farmers will have to sustainably generate around 50 per cent more yield by 2050 in order to feed the global population.

Agriculture 4.0 technologies developed in Australia will support the global agricultural sector to be more profitable, efficient, safe and environmentally friendly. These technologies include biotechnology, smart farming, ‘precision for decision’ agriculture, robotics, sensing technology, Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity, biosecurity and food quality surveillance.

Our expert panel will explore why agriculture is ripe for technological disruption, showcase different examples of how IoT and other technologies have improved productivity in the agriculture sector and discuss how early Australian ag-tech start - ups can be linked to big global businesses.

A delicious sit-down lunch will be provided.

Moderator:

• Karen Caston, Senior Investment Specialist Agribusiness and Food, Austrade

Panelists:

• Joerg Ellmanns, Chairman, Bayer Aust & NZ
  Bayer is the third - largest innovative agricultural input company in the world and they aim to help make the agricultural economy more productive.
• Peter Rindt, Business Development, Robert Bosch (Australia)
  Bosch is investing in Australia as an Agriculture 4.0 development hub for three major reasons – its rich history as a world - leading producer of agricultural commodities, the strength of its agricultural research and scientific capabilities and the food and agriculture industry’s willingness to trial and adopt new solutions.
• Sarah Nolet, founder of consultancy AgThentic and partner of Australian firm Tenacious Ventures