Cork AgTech Event attracts ‘Cream of the Crop’

An Agtech Convention being hosted in conjunction with Local Enterprise Week 2019 promises to bring the ‘Cream of the Crop’ from the sector to the stage.

The free event, which takes place at the Fota Island Resort on the 6th of March, is aimed at promoting the technology requirements of the agricultural industry.

The purpose behind the hosting of this specialist convention is to bring the best minds in technology, business and agriculture together.

The line up for the mornings schedule includes some of Irelands leading CEOs from the top AgTech companies in this sector right now.

One of the pioneers of smart phone AgTech technology, Fabien Peyaud will give a keynote speech on the future challenges and opportunities perceived in the continued evolution of AgTech.

Fabien is the founder and CEO of Herdwatch, an application that removes the paper work from farmers saving a lot of time consuming record keeping and improves the traceability aspect of the produce.

Other top CEOs will be part of an AgTech Start Up Panel including Dr. Eoghan Finneran, CEO of FarmEye and Padraig Hennessy, CEO of Terra NutriTech.

Terra NutriTech use IoT to feed supplements into the water systems on farms reducing labour and improving returns.

The company recently won the top prize at the National Enterprise Awards and have been selected as one of 10 Global start-ups to join the Pearse Lyons Accelerator program out of 251 worldwide AgTech applicants.

Farmeye has recently launched their new Nutrient Management System, the NMP Portal. 

The online, map-based system, for sustainable soil nutrient management is a tool for Agri-consultants and Agronomists to manage and monitor sustainable fertiliser usage on farms.

The company is a NUI Galway Spin-out company, set up by Roscommon native Dr Finneran, who aim to create 10 new direct jobs.

The Cork event, titled ‘AgTech – The Future of Sustainable Agricultural Business’ will outline the importance of AgTech to solve many of the issues facing the agricultural industry.

The schedule for the convention begins at 9am. It concludes after lunch at 2pm and will include three sessions plus the keynote.

The first session, ‘The Future Challenges of Farming & the Requirements of AgTech’ will cover the trends and challenges facing the agricultural industry and how AgTech can play a role in the sustainability of the sector.

Speakers in this session include Dermot Forrestal of Teagasc Oak Park and Seamus O’Mahony, Agricultural Science Association Vice President and Head of Commercial, Dairygold. These expert speakers will give an overview of their specialist agricultural sector.

The second session will give AgTech CEOs the platform to tell their stories under the title ‘AgTech Start Up Panel: The Journey’.

The third session could prove to be the most important as the most crucial role in AgTech is roll out and market adaption. The session is titled ‘AgTech in Action: On-Farm Implementation’.

The panel features well recognised and innovative farming personalities who will discuss the role AgTech currently plays in their farm business and the future requirements from a farmers viewpoint.

Speakers include Alan Jagoe (Agri Aware President), Ursula Kelly (Cormac Tagging) and Brian Kelly (‘Tinder for Bulls’ – bullmatch.ie)

Joe Burke, Assistant Head of Enterprise LEO South Cork commented “We in the Local Enterprise Office have a large cohort of clients involved in AgTech enterprises, be it in food, engineering, technology or the sciences. Every year as part of our national enterprise week promotions we focus on a specific enterprise sector to highlight and celebrate its entrepreneurs.”

“We hope our first AgTech Convention on the 6th of March will achieve and deliver on our objectives plus we hope to attract more entrepreneur’s and technologists to take a fresh look at the opportunities in the sector for the future.”

Organised by Cork County Council’s Local Enterprise Office, this event is the first of its kind in Cork, and moderated by Joe Dermody, Irish Examiner Business and Farming Correspondent, promises to spark discussion and innovation in developing solutions to sustain the agricultural industry in Ireland.

Councillor Patrick Gerard Murphy, Mayor of the County of Cork, in reaffirming the importance of the agricultural sector for both Cork and Ireland said “it is timely that we are looking beyond the traditional when it comes to agriculture. The next twenty years will see an unprecedent change in demand for the outputs of our agricultural sector.”

“Underpinning our competitiveness in meeting this challenge will be the technology that is developed and introduced to the farm. The application of both innovative software and hardware to farming is the AgTech that will be the differentiator and allow Irish farming and Irish technology businesses thrive in the challenging times ahead”.

Tim Lucey, Chief Executive of Cork County Council said “a key part of the business support strategy of the Council is to become a leader in how Local Authorities address future business challenges and opportunities. Supporting AgTech SMEs is central to this strategic approach.”

“With the recent award of €1.86m from the Regional Enterprise Development Fund for the Agri Innovation Hub Ireland (AIHI) which will be based in Kilworth, a partnership of Cork County Council, Teagasc, Tyndall and CIT, it is timely that our Local Enterprise Offices are delivering this AgTech convention. We look forward over the next few years to see the emergence of new, innovative technologies and businesses delivering solutions in this space.”

The AgTech Convention at the Fota Island Resort is free to attend, however registration is required and numbers are limited. All wishing to attend can register by clicking here or https://www.localenterprise.ie/SouthCork/Training-Events/Online-Bookings/AgTech-The-Future-of-Sustainable-Agricultural-Business.html