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NEW DEAL EXCITES
Western Growers – founded in
1926 and representing local
and regional family farmers
growing fresh produce in
Arizona, California, Colorado
and New Mexico – will establish a relationship
with Agritech New Zealand to open doors for Kiwi
companies to enter the US market. It will focus
on providing in-market support for New Zealand
agritech companies, offering them the chance
to interact with its members and their workers,
who provide more than half of America’s fresh
fruits, vegetables and tree nuts, and including
nearly half of America’s fresh organic produce.
Agritech NZ executive director Peter Wren-Hilton
says the deal will strengthen and accelerate
the development of agritech markets in both
countries, given the myriad of issues severely
impacting agriculture and the production of food
globally. “We are excited to embark on this new
partnership to foster economic growth in the US
and New Zealand through international connections
and missions.” Western Grower’s senior vice
president Hank Giclas says building a two-way
bridge for agricultural technology will result in
international collaboration “where we can create,
transfer and share knowledge and experiences
about new technologies that can help solve the
industry’s most pressing issues.” Wren-Hilton
says connecting New Zealand’s agriculture
innovation ecosystems will benefit innovators,
growers, investors, regulators, researchers and
public stakeholders not only in both countries, but
around the globe. Western Growers will provide
a co-working space that offers agritech start-up
companies access to training and mentorship;
monthly seminars; regularly scheduled events;
and exclusive events with Western Group
members such as specialty crop farmers in
Arizona, California, Colorado and New Mexico. The
American company will also work with Agritech
NZ to evaluate opportunities to conduct research
and development trials with potential New Zealand
partners during the northern hemisphere off
season. Agritech NZ was launched earlier this
year to connect agritech innovators, investors,
regulators, researchers and interested people. The
organisation is helping build a world-class agritech
ecosystem, but New Zealand needs to integrate
agriculture and technology to strengthen its primary
export sector. As the world’s demand for food
increases with its ever-growing population, New
Zealand can expand its primary sector further by
focusing on producing higher value produce for the
world, Wren-Hilton says.
AGRITECH A partnership between Agritech New Zealand
and a major American company has the
industry excited about the potential for
speeding up growth.
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