New Zealand (NZ) agri-tech associations travelled to meet with leading researchers and companies at Munster Technological University (MTU) in Co. Kerry recently.
Irish representatives for developing agri-tech and Ireland’s bioeconomy, Circular Bioeconomy Cluster South-West and the AgriTech Ireland Cluster at MTU, met with NZ representatives, AgriTech New Zealand and Callaghan Innovation.
They engaged in strategic networking and knowledge exchange activities, aimed at developing new business and research connections between NZ and Irish industry clusters.
Topics of high interest were on the development of collaborative partnerships, and commercial opportunities in the fields of data solutions for sustainable agriculture, regenerative soils and land, and healthy and low-emission livestock.
Agri-tech
Prof. Joseph Walsh at MTU said: “This visit of the NZ Agritech delegation to MTU is global recognition of the highly innovative work that researchers, programme managers and enterprise development teams are delivering at MTU.
“This event is a great example of how we facilitate knowledge exchange and partnership opportunities between clusters, corporations, enterprises and researchers to accelerate partnership development and internationalisation of companies.
“Ultimately our goal is to contribute to long-term sustainable development in the region and I look forward to hearing more about the partnerships that emerge from this event.”
The European Commission and NZ recently signed an association agreement on the participation of NZ to Horizon Europe, the largest of the EU’s research and innovation programmes with a budget of €95.5 billion.
Recognising the future opportunities for collaboration through the Horizon Programme, respective organisations at the discussions at MTU shared case studies of exemplar projects and brought companies in the region together to outline key potential opportunities.
Future collaborations
Brendan O’Connell, chief executive of AgriTech New Zealand said: “There is no country more similar to Ireland than New Zealand.
“So, it makes complete sense that we would seek to share insights and approaches to the major challenges faced by both countries in food supply and farm adaptation.
“The visit to MTU was a meeting of minds and values. The discussions were very engaging and many relationships were either formed or strengthened. We look forward to continued interactions and future collaborations.”
Shane Dooley of Callaghan Innovation in NZ added: “The visit to MTU was a logical fit for our cohort of NZ Agritech innovators, researchers and investors.
“We had an excellent networking session and mini workshop, our organisations got a lot of value from the visit and we expect there to be ongoing interactions at all levels,” he added.