Industry leaders point to agriculture\u2019s appetite for new tech and its real-world problems that need solutions.<\/p>\n
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Founders looking to ride the wave of the next tech boom should look to AgTech, according to a group of panellists at Edmonton Startup Week.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Douglas Mills, the vice-president of external relations at the Canadian Agri-food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), told audiences during a panel discussion on opportunities within AgTech that the space was uniquely positioned to experience a boom in innovation, citing its tendency toward early adoption, lower regulatory thresholds, and hands-on validation.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cWhether you\u2019re interested in AI, data, biotech, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, AgTech presents real-world problems that need innovative solutions.\u201d<\/p>\n
Douglas Mills, CAAIN<\/p>\n
\u201c[It\u2019s] a sector rich with opportunity,\u201d Mills said. \u201cWhen we\u2019re talking about agriculture, think broadly. We\u2019re not just talking about a farm, tractor, or cows in a field. Think of opportunities across the whole value chain: animal health, logistics, transportation, solar, processing, value-add tools, machinery, analytics, robotics, computer vision, AI research, and biotech.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s a massive sector when you\u2019re looking at all the opportunities out there. Whether you\u2019re interested in AI, data, biotech, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, AgTech presents real-world problems that need innovative solutions,\u201d he added.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Mills was joined on stage by three others, including Colin Coros, the COO at precision diagnostics and medtech company Nanostics, BJ Fuchs, a cattle rancher and AgTech supporter, and David Bressler, the vice-president of international innovation and enterprise at the University of Alberta.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the exciting things about Ag \u2026 is they\u2019re leading technology. They\u2019re early adopters,\u201d said Coros. Prior to his role at Nanostics, he was the CEO of Delta Genomics<\/a>, where he worked on livestock biobanking. Biobanking is the process of freezing and storing biological or genetic material to preserve agricultural diversity, or reconstitute livestock breeds.<\/p>\n \u201cWe think autonomous vehicles are coming one day, but they\u2019ve already been in the agriculture sector for over a decade. There\u2019s not a combine in Alberta that isn\u2019t self-driven.<\/p>\n \u201cIt\u2019s an industry where if there\u2019s a solution, and they can increase productivity with it, they\u2019ll adopt it, and they\u2019ll adopt it faster than almost any other sector,\u201d Coros added.\u00a0<\/p>\n That makes the field particularly attractive to entrepreneurs, especially those looking to validate technology, or who are struggling to navigate complex regulatory requirements in a field like medtech or biotech. Coros said AgTech can be a useful stepping stone for both.<\/p>\n RELATED: Edmonton mayor hints at upcoming support for entrepreneurs as city\u2019s Startup Week kicks off<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI talk to a lot of deep tech healthcare people \u2026 and you\u2019re talking about going through a 15-year journey before you even get anything into the medical space,\u201d he said. \u201cIf you really want to provide your technology, have you thought about livestock where maybe you can get this to market in five years, work out your kinks, and then maybe the next market is healthcare?\u201d<\/p>\n That rule applies for tech startups who might not be in the traditional AgTech space. Fuchs, whose company Business Wide View<\/a> has been involved in trialling innovations in real-world settings, said agricultural producers should be the first point of contact for anyone looking to see if their tech might have a dual-use purpose in the agricultural space.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cSky\u2019s the limit. Drones, water-trough monitors: there\u2019s so much out there, and every operation is different,\u201d Fuchs said. \u201cIf you have a great idea, talk to a producer; talk to more than one. It will give you answers around what the challenge is.\u201d<\/p>\n