An ‘AgTech Symposium’ is taking place today, (Wednesday, July 5) in the Horse and Jockey Hotel, Horse and Jockey, Thurles, Co. Tipperary.
The event will look into new opportunities in the Irish agricultural technology sector, which would be of particular interest to farmers, engineers, investors and entrepreneurs.
The AgTech Symposium is organised by the Local Enterprise Offices (LEO) in the south east region, including counties Tipperary, Kilkenny, Carlow, Waterford and Wexford.
Also involved are major players in the sector including Enterprise Ireland, Teagasc, as well as the Department of Agriculture, Food and the Marine – to name but a few.
Funded by the government’s Action Plan for Jobs initiative, the key objective of the symposium is to “identify and develop the opportunities and strengths of the agricultural technology sector in the region, and to create a vision for AgTech that will incorporate both innovation and sustainability,” according to the organisers.
In a forward-thinking move, the event will look into the opportunity to develop an “AgTech Innovation Fund” to facilitate investment in companies focusing on early-stage food and agricultural technology.
The fund will allow entrepreneurs to advance solutions to increase agricultural sustainability, boost farm productivity, update supply and distribution chains and form high-value products and services to enhance and progress the region in general.