AgTech Ireland has announced the election of Lloyd Pearson as its new chair.

The current CEO of Pearson Milking Technology will succeed Padraig Hennessy, CEO of TERRA NutriTECH, who is also AgTech’s founding chair.

The organisation’s board also announced the election of its new directors Catherine Heffernan of MSD Animal Health Ireland, and Conan Condon of Alltech at its October AGM.

A spokesperson for AgTech Ireland said:

“Lloyd Pearson brings a wealth of experience and a dynamic vision to build on this strong foundation, steering the organisation into an exciting future of technological advancement and industry collaboration.”

Manifesto

The organisation’s new chair also launched the AgTech Ireland 2024 general election manifesto.

The manifesto is considered a “living document” to which further case studies would be added in the coming weeks.

The document aims to raise awareness among public representatives of the potential of Irish technological innovations to support agriculture in facing challenges, and the sector’s ability to develop global solutions and optimise Irish export earnings.

The manifesto outlines the main challenges and drivers of the global agritech market, which AgTech Ireland currently believes is worth up to USD$30bn and could be worth over USD$70bn by 2030.

The Irish agritech market consists of over 100 companies, hiring around 4,000 employees with 84% of these people based outside of Dublin.

Agtech Ireland has urged politicians to promote a “vibrant Irish agriculture sector and agtech ecosystem” and support both in practical ways.

The organisation said they want to push for more testing and innovation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the agriculture sector. In terms of more environmental initiatives, it called for further projects to measure the carbon sequestration capacity on farms, from hedgerows to grassland, and for more precise soil testing.

The manifesto focused on the lack of financial supports and skilled labour as the main challenges facing agriculture.

AgTech called for more access to finance from banks and more governmental grants to allow farmer to improve the environmental and viability aspects of their farms.

The organisation said it would also champion career opportunities in the agritech sector and to call for more affordable housing to help build its workforce.