Co-operation not competition between Irish and New Zealand ag-tech sector

The ag-tech industry in Ireland and New Zealand should co-operate to expand into new markets according to the countries’ ambassadors.

The Irish and New Zealand (NZ) ambassadors, Peter Ryan and Brad Burgess made the comments on a recent webinar which focused on further developing industry connections between the two countries.

Speaking at the event, Burgess said the two countries already have many established relationships and connections, but further strengthening these make sense to do so.

He also said that there is real opportunities to further develop research ecosystems between the two countries, stating that having access to the EU Horizon funding through Ireland is a huge opportunity.

Challenges

The webinar highlighted some of the ongoing research and ag-tech developments taking place in the two countries in a bid to address the pressing challenges facing the agricultural sectors, particularly in relation to livestock.

As Ireland and NZ both have a strong pasture-based livestock industry, there was a real sense of urgency on the webinar to address the environmental issues facing the sector and retain their competitive advantage.

“There is a sense of urgency among leaders to take up technology and embrace it,” said ambassador Burgess in order to meet these challenges.