Agtech Field Days

The Hon. R.B. MARTIN (14:56): My question is to the Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development. Will the minister please inform the council about the agtech field days happening around the state this week?

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN (Minister for Primary Industries and Regional Development, Minister for Forest Industries) (14:57): I thank the honourable member for his question—

The Hon. K.J. Maher interjecting:

The PRESIDENT: Attorney, you are not helping.

The Hon. C.M. SCRIVEN: —and his ongoing interest in regional matters. Agtech is the broad term for a wide range of technologies that can help agribusiness and includes digital software and hardware, mixed and integrated farm systems, plant crop and livestock sciences and post farmgate agriculture value chain technologies. Its adoption is having a very positive impact on the way that primary producers can do business for the better. For our state to increase what are already productive, growing and sustainable primary industry sectors, it will require us to be at the forefront of technology, which of course is something that our state has always embraced.

South Australian primary industries, as all of us in this chamber would be aware I would hope, underpin so much of the economic activity that drives our state. They support around 70,000 jobs, many of which will be at the forefront of developing and/or using agtech in years to come. On the back of the recent highly successful evokeAG conference that was held here in Adelaide earlier this year, it is important to keep that momentum going as agtech becomes an ever-increasing influence on the way our farmers work.

Agtech field days are a great way for primary producers to experience agtech and learn how it could meet their needs, improving productivity, reducing costs and reducing risks on farm. They provide an important opportunity for producers to make informed decisions about the adoption of agtech. There are two agtech field days happening this week across the state, one in the Barossa and the other in the Riverland.

The Barossa agtech event is being held from 8 o'clock to 5 o'clock today at the PIRSA viticultural research station in Nuriootpa. It is taking place alongside the Barossa Pruning Expo and will follow the South Australian Pruning Championships, which is a landmark event supported by Barossa Australia and Wine Australia. The day will feature a viticulture trade show and workshops that look at tech solutions that are specific to production challenges in the Barossa region.

The Loxton AgTech Field Day is being held this Friday at the Loxton Research Centre from 8.30am to 3pm. It will focus on the value proposition and return on investment of agtech solutions, which are obviously key considerations when deciding whether or not to invest in technology.

Importantly, field days are another opportunity for primary producers in the area to engage with a range of technology providers. There will be 16 represented at the Barossa event and 13 at Loxton. Registration is required to attend these events, which can be done via the PIRSA website or via the Eventbrite website, but AgTech field days are free to attend.

Of course, the field days complement the state government's AgTech demonstration farms at Loxton, Minnipa, Nuriootpa, Struan, Kybybolite and Turretfield, as well as the AgTech startup hubs, the AgTech Growth Fund and testbed program, and the AgTech extension officers who support primary producers by providing expert advice and linking producers with technology developers, providers and end users.