TEKFARM

SOUTH AUSTRALIA

Helping South Australian producers to find, filter and work with the right technology to solve real on-farm problems.

WHAT WE DO

We help build agrifood tech and innovation solutions that deliver commercial benefit and industry impact.

By supporting more producers to collaborate with agtech providers to fast-track the development, commercialisation and adoption of tech solutions that deliver real on farm benefit.

WHY NOW

The South Australian AgTech Strategic Plan identified an additional $2.6 billion per year to GVP of the SA agricultural sector if there was an increase in the adoption of agtech solutions.

The adoption of technology presents a significant opportunity for Australian agriculture to improve profitability, with digital technologies alone predicted to increase GVP by 25% to $20 billion. Australian agriculture aims to become a $100 billion industry by 2030 and farmers are increasingly feeling the pressure to be more innovative, adaptive and technologically equipped to reach these targets.

As a result, there has been a rapid growth in new agtech innovations and entrants into the industry from non-traditional players, bringing with it several adoption challenges fro farmers:

The value proposition of new technology is not always clear and ROI is not well defined.

Capital costs can be prohibitive to many producers.

Tech developers may lack a deep enough understanding of producers problems leading to solutions that don't fit.

Technology is not always 'fit for purpose' and agtech companies may be slow to respond to users input.

Producers don't always know where to find the technologies most suited to their farming businesses.

Additional barriers missed such as connectivity, reliability, overly complex design and lack of integration.

"When you're only at an early stage in your business journey sometimes you think when it comes to things like agtech we're kidding ourselves and we should just put that on the back burner until we've got everything else sorted, but there's too many benefits to be gained in the meantime that we don't really want to pass up."

RECENT TEKFARM PRODUCER
HORTICULTURE
PIRSA DEMONSTRATION FARM, NURIOOTPA

THE SOLUTION

We have developed TEKFARM- SA to support Aussie farmers in understanding how technology can be used to solve problems within their farming systems and businesses, and to implement agtech which is fit for purpose.

The TEKFARM project is based on three concepts:

Agtech solution providers are contributing to the slow rate of adoption by having poorly articulated value propositions and unjustified cost/benefit analyses.
Farmers are struggling to determine solutions which are appropriate for their farming enterprises and which are 'fit for purpose'.
Industry intermediaries play a vital role in being a trusted advisor for farmers on practice change and innovation.

Taking the guesswork out of the adoption process by matching producer problems with tech solutions.

To address these realities, TEKFARM sees the adoption process from the perspective of the producer, asking them to identify adoption objectives and capability barriers in their own farming business.

We then support producers and existing agtech solution providers to overcome these adoption barriers by facilitating the connection between the two based on the likelihood of problem-solution fit.

Trusted intermediaries such as agronomists, industry organisations, farming systems groups and consultants are incorporated within the entire adoption journey to assist with the practical application of the project.

If you are a farmer, agtech company or an intermediary organisation interested in learning more, get in touch today!

CONTACT

THE PROJECT SO FAR

Connecting innovative SA producers with proven technology solutions.

The first pilot of TEKFARM is being delivered in South Australia with support from PIRSA and the Meat & Livestock Australia Donor Company.

The TEKFARM SA pilot was designed to test each element of the framework across four key stages:

STAGE ONE

Engagement

STAGE TWO

Capability Assessments

STAGE THREE

Facilitated Adoption

STAGE FOUR

Evaluation + Expansion

WHAT WE HAVE ACHIEVED

TEKFARM SA has brought together representatives of all of the key groups consisting of:

28 expressions of interest from agtech solution providers
16 applications from trusted intermediaries
22 producers from a variety of sectors who have participated in various stages of the pilot

The participants have shared their adoption experiences, barriers and desires from different agricultural sectors including:

Red meat and livestock
Grains
Horticulture
Viticulture
Eggs and poultry

We have conducted the following key activities to test the validity of the TEKFARM model including:

Producer capability self-assessments
Agtech solution provider technology adoption readiness tests
Virtual workshops with trusted intermediaries
Producer adoption plans