Agtech is seeing a real revolution in Ireland, according to Minister for Agriculture Charlie McConalogue.

He made the comments during the inaugural AgTech Ireland roundtable discussion on how technology can be implemented to help the agricultural sector.

In conversation with AgTech board member David Leydon of ifac, Minister McConalogue said: “The continued development of the agtech industry in Ireland is crucial as we face into a defining decade for the agricultural sector.

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“I believe the agtech community will play a vital role for the farming and agri-food sector over the coming decade as we continue to focus on sustainability,” he said.

The discussion focused on how technology can be adopted by the agricultural sector to help address numerous challenges. However, for such technology to be adopted, support must be in place to help farmers implement these solutions, according to AgTech Ireland.

The minister outlined that the new Targeted Agriculture Modernisation Scheme (TAMS) will be launched in January 2023 and agtech could be an area that is addressed in this new scheme.

All agreed that it is vital for all in the sector to help promote and advocate to the wider public how agriculture can be sustainable and healthy and that farming is vital to the whole of society to ensure food security.

The implementation of technology which allows farms to be more profitable, efficient, safe and environmentally friendly will aid in these efforts and underscore the importance of the agriculture sector, according to the group.