Technology and investment experts to address Queensland conference

A leading plant biologist who has advised the administrations of three US Presidents, Dr Jaleh Daie, and KPMG’s global head of agribusiness, Ian Proudfoot, will be among the speakers at the Palaszczuk Government’s national conference on technical innovation in agriculture.

“The quality of those who will address the AgFutures Conference make it a stand-out event for Queensland and Australia,” Minister for Agriculture Leanne Donaldson said.

“It will be Queensland’s first conference focusing on future technology in agriculture and agricultural investment opportunities and has attracted some of the best international speakers in the field.

“I am thrilled that Dr Jaleh Daie will be flying in from California to provide a global perspective on attracting investment in agri-technology.

“Dr Daie is a leading plant biologist and the first woman to be appointed to the board of directors of the US Space Foundation.

“She is a Women in Technology Hall of Famer, a recipient of a US Congressional Citation and served the administrations of three US Presidents. She is currently managing partner at Aurora Equity which invests in early stage start-ups across a broad range of technologies.”

Dr Daie will be joined by KPMG’s Global Head of Agribusiness, Ian Proudfoot, author of the KPMG Agribusiness Agenda, a series of thought leadership reports which have been produced annually since 2010. 

Mr Proudfoot has a focus on exploring how food will be produced, processed, distributed and consumed into the future.  He has been described as a leading food futurist.

Minister Donaldson said it was critically important that Queensland looked to the international arena to understand trends, innovations and technologies that were being adopted globally.

“With our challenge of increasing production to meet growing global demand, particularly in Asia, we are delighted to have such a strong line-up of experts in their respective fields to share their insights,” Minister Donaldson said.

“Joining the international speakers will be a strong Queensland and Australian contingent of researchers, academics, policy makers and representatives from all sectors of the industry.”

Key speakers include:

• Mick Keogh, Executive Director – Australian Farm Institute
• Ros Harvey, Managing Director – The Yield
• Professor Steven Raine - Institute for Agriculture and the Environment, University of Southern Queensland
• Rob Cairns, Head of Corporate Affairs Australasia - Syngenta
• Professor Tristan Perez - Robotics and Autonomous Systems, Queensland University of Technology
• Tom Howard – SunRice
• Professor Robert Henry – Queensland Alliance for Agriculture and Food Innovation.

Minister Donaldson said Queensland and Australia boasted some of the world’s leading agricultural innovators, and they were well represented on the list of presenters.

“AgFutures will provide the forum to not only share and celebrate our home-grown innovations, but to provide a platform for industry champions to come together to discuss advancements, emerging trends and future investment.

“I would also like to acknowledge those organisations which have come on board as sponsors for the conference, including Queensland University of Technology, KPMG, Queensland Farmers Federation, University of Southern Queensland, Cotton Research Development Corporation, TropAg 2017 and Rezare Systems Limited (New Zealand).

“To achieve the best outcomes for the industry, it is vital that we work in partnership with the private sector, tertiary institutions and business.”

Professor Bronwyn Harch, Executive Director of QUT’s Institute for Future Environments (IFE) said QUT was proud to be the Gold Sponsor of the AgFutures Conference.

“Making agriculture more sustainable and profitable is critical to the world’s economic and social future, and we believe Queensland can be an engine room of ideas and innovations that transform the way we farm,” Professor Harch said.

“At QUT we are developing various pioneering agricultural technologies, techniques and products – including weeding and harvesting robots, greenhouse gas monitoring systems, drought- and disease-resistant pulse crops and new biofuel and biochemical production methods.

“We are looking forward to sharing ideas on the future of farming with producers, policymakers and investors at AgFutures 2016.”

AgFutures 2016 has been specifically designed to showcase two critically important areas driving industry development and expansion – agri-tech opportunities and global investment within the sector.

Internationally-renowned researchers and innovators will demonstrate the latest agri-tech developments and their on-farm applications from digital and data platforms, to robotics, satellites, and bio-technologies.

With investment within the agriculture sector also being a headline issue, experts from the business and investment community will discuss emerging trends, business opportunities and capital models.

This will include a presentation from the Queensland Investment Corporation and its recent $400 million investment in the North Australian Pastoral Company.

The AgFutures Conference will be held at the Brisbane Convention and Exhibition Centre on 22-23 November.

For further information and to purchase tickets to the conference visit www.agfutures.eventbrite.com.au

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