P.PSH.1363 - Accelerating AgTech Adoption by South Australian Red Meat Producers

Summary

The purpose of this pilot project is to develop and test a new red meat accelerated ag-tech adoption framework with selected South Australian red meat producers and ag-tech solution providers. The objective is to address key challenges that have been identified as inhibiting ag-tech adoption.

Objectives

The objective was to address key challenges that have been identified as inhibiting ag-tech adoption including:
1. Value proposition is not always clear to producers.
2. Relative immaturity of the ag-tech sector.
3. Inadequate knowledge base preventing producers from making informed decisions to accept or
reject new technologies.
4. Significant barriers to the deployment of new technology related to connectivity, reliability and
digital capability.

Key findings

The project has successfully developed a model framework for accelerating the adoption of
ag-tech solutions for red meat producers.

The overriding assumption of this pilot was that barriers to adoption existed both for producers
lacking the appropriate knowledge and skills to identify and adopt tech solutions, but also
ag-tech solution providers in struggling to clearly articulate the value position and benefit of their
technologies to producers. This assumption was proved undeniably true and the driving factor
behind adjusting the project methodology and nature of the framework was responding to this
reality so that the adoption process was viewed entirely through a producer lens.

All of the barriers and challenges with ag-tech adoption identified in the SA Agtech Strategic Plan
were validated by producers and trusted intermediaries. While some of these barriers were
more pronounced than others, it is apparent that there are commonalities in the experiences of
all three target groups in approaching adoption which highlighted these barriers in practice.

Benefits to industry

The project will address key challenges that have been identified as inhibiting ag-tech adoption including:
1. Value proposition is not always clear to producers.
2. The relative immaturity of the ag-tech sector.
3. Inadequate knowledge base preventing producers from making informed decisions to accept or reject new technologies.
4. Significant barriers to the deployment of new technology related to connectivity, reliability and digital capability.

MLA action

MLA to access the scalability of the framework developed for accelerating the adoption of ag-tech solutions for red meat producers.

Future research

MLA continues to address key challenges that have been identified as inhibiting ag-tech adoption.