Australia has introduced a program that supports farmers in the country. It enables them to launch businesses in agricultural and food technology, By providing them with the latest tools and technologies, Understand consumer trends, and find innovative solutions to the challenges they face.
The Australian National Farmers Association has set an ambitious goal of having Australia’s agriculture sector worth US$100 billion by 2030. However, agriculture in Australia is at a critical stage due to several factors. These include climate change and stagnant agricultural production. However, the competent authorities noted that there are two main factors affecting the local agricultural market, namely the dependence of most farmers on traditional agricultural methods. There is a large gap between farmers and technological services or smart digital solutions. Technological service providers do not have a clear idea of farmers’ needs. This may negatively affect the feasibility of solutions and innovations aimed at serving farmers or food producers.
In this sense, Launched by Australia with government funding, A pioneering programme aimed at supporting Australian farmers under the slogan “From Farmers to Entrepreneurs” (Farmers2Founders). The program is focused on providing the necessary support to farmers to enable them to integrate modern technology and business models in the agricultural fields to meet market needs and changes in consumer attitudes. The main idea of the program is to involve farmers in the innovation development process rather than treating them as users of technological solutions only. In this way, appropriate solutions are devised to address the challenges facing the agricultural sector and support farmers to build projects of high value and productivity.
The program provides support to Australian farmers across two tracks:
- Adoption of technological solutions: This track is for farmers who want to obtain technological solutions that meet their needs. It starts from farmers identifying the “challenges” they face, They are then directed by those in charge of the program to find solutions that can address these challenges.
- Supporting new projects: This track is concerned with helping new entrepreneurs from farmers who have business ideas beyond the scope of the farm, But they face challenges in putting their ideas into practice. They are educated on the most important principles of entrepreneurship and provided with the necessary tools to launch their projects, And guide them on ways to connect with customers so that they can eventually create a prototype to show to consumers.
In practice, the implementation of the program includes three main axes: These are workshops on innovation and idea generation, New enterprise development programs, and the Farmers’ Technology Participation Initiative.
The innovation workshops are free workshops for farmers across Australia. Farmers are introduced to emerging trends in the technology sector and digital transformation, Interactive sessions with local and international experts. The benefits of these workshops are that farmers acquire the knowledge and skills they need to find innovative solutions to address business challenges or to launch their own businesses. Given the important role that technology plays in the innovations of the agricultural sector, Through the Enhancing Farmers’ Participation in Technology initiative, the program creates links between farmers and electronic and digital service providers to help them access the best services at a competitive cost.
The new project development programs also allow farmers who wish to develop their businesses or adopt a specific technology to enhance the productivity of their farms to join the “Business Accelerators” program, which provides the necessary support to farmers so that they can present their ideas to experts and study the possibility of applying those ideas in practice. Participants also receive funding opportunities from project affiliates. If a participant then wishes to accelerate the growth of their project, will receive expert support to develop strategies and build processes that contribute to the achievement of its objectives, And develop new channels to reach new customers.
During the first year of the “From Farmers to Entrepreneurs” program, more than 300 farmers in various Australian states were reached. and providing electronic support to 25 local farm producers, The program also enabled 32 projects led by local farmers to develop their businesses technologically or market value-added products.
According to data collected until 2020, This program has been able to help farmers in several areas, starting with facilitating their more effective engagement in agricultural and food innovation, To hone their skills in using technology and entrepreneurship to improve the quality of their agricultural and food products. The program also helped farmers understand consumer trends and emerging technologies. To be able to introduce new products of high value in the local and global markets.
References:
https://ebb8e173-a284-42c5-a989-0f06857e93b2.filesusr.com/ugd/2d0426_bb3951bad93a4617a00932af45da0571.pdf https://www.transparency.gov.au/annual-reports/rural-industries-research-and-development-corporation/reporting-year/2019-20-19
