Backed by up to $51 million in government co-funding over three years, the Accelerator will support sector-led projects that remove barriers to adoption and help more farmers put proven mitigation tools into practice.

AgriZeroNZ chief executive Wayne McNee says Kiwi farmers are closer than ever to having effective tools that can reduce methane and nitrous oxide emissions without compromising profitability or productivity. “Most of the tools we have invested in are aiming to improve animal productivity and, through that, farmer profitability”.

Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) chief executive Ray Smith is buoyed by AgriZeroNZ’s successes. “We’ve actually earned the right to grow,” he says.

Artificial intelligence-powered platforms are helping farmers make better decisions; automation is advancing rapidly; drones are becoming mainstream farm tools; and data is emerging as agriculture’s next competitive advantage.

Notably, many of the technologies on display at Fieldays were commercial products seeking scale, investment and market adoption. This signals a maturing innovation ecosystem where New Zealand’s agricultural technology sector is increasingly capable of taking ideas from research and development through to global commercialisation.

Dairy co-operative Fonterra is to the foreground in using science to develop high-value products for NZMP, its B2B brand, which services high-value customers in more than 100 markets.

AgriTech New Zealand chief executive Brendan O’Connell forecasts, “At our current rate of growth, agritech will be the same size as horticulture by 2030. By 2040 the sector could create as much GDP for New Zealand as dairy does today.”

NZ rewires global trade playbook

New Zealand agribusinesses are navigating a period of profound geopolitical, technological and market disruption.

Access to global supply chains and critical inputs including diesel, fertiliser, agrichemical and freight has been disrupted during the fuel crisis but is assumed to continue at higher prices according to MPI’s analysis.

Donald Trump’s renewed tariff agenda — which was expected to result in a new round of tariffs later in the week — supply chain disruptions, the persistent fuel crisis, geopolitical rivalry between the US and China, rising protectionism and climate pressures are all reshaping international trade.

New Zealand’s response is not to retreat. Exporters are diversifying markets, investing in technology, developing premium brands and pursuing new growth opportunities in India, Southeast Asia, Europe and the Middle East, leveraging trade agreements nailed by successive governments.

All credit here to Minister for Trade and Investment Todd McClay, who late last week notched another success by announcing the first steps in trade negotiations with Switzerland.

Swiss State Secretary for Economic Affairs Helene Budliger Artieda underlined Switzerland’s protectionist forces would, however, come into play — dairy was “going to be a sticking point; guaranteed”. Artieda was one of a group of trade ministers and high-level officials from 20 countries gathered in Auckland to advance talks on reducing non-tariff barriers to trade.

They came together under the umbrella of the Future of Investment and Trade (FIT) Partnership — an economic club of 16 smaller nations — of which New Zealand was a founding partner.

The upshot was eight countries joined New Zealand in a declaration on confronting non-tariff trade barriers. New Zealand and other FIT partners also issued a Ministerial Declaration on digital trade to harness the power of digital technology to facilitate trade, including driving paperless trade.

Thirteen members of the FIT Partnership issued a Ministerial Declaration on economic resilience to address economic security risks. They resolved to work together, and with other trade partners, to ensure that trade can continue to flow unimpeded, and that critical infrastructure such as land routes, air and seaports remain open to support the viability and integrity of supply chains globally.

A new work area was agreed to focus on global subsidies, in ways that complement efforts in the WTO. Subsidies distort trade and investment flows, suppress global prices, and disadvantage competitive exporters. Addressing them is essential to restoring fair competition, says McClay.

Three new members — Korea, Peru and Thailand — were announced, bringing the total membership to 19.

McClay’s success in negotiating a free trade agreement (FTA) with India, the conclusion of a comprehensive economic partnership with the UAE and an FTA with the Gulf Co-operation Council rewires New Zealand’s trade playbook.

This comes on top of former Labour Trade Minister Damien O’Connor’s successful FTAs with the EU and UK. The challenge now is ensuring New Zealand can successfully scale its innovations, attract investment and maintain its position as a global leader in agricultural technology.

Freer trade is central to that.