Founders looking to ride the wave of the next tech boom should look to AgTech, according to a group of panellists at Edmonton Startup Week.
Douglas Mills, the vice-president of external relations at the Canadian Agri-food Automation and Intelligence Network (CAAIN), told audiences during a panel discussion on opportunities within AgTech that the space was uniquely positioned to experience a boom in innovation, citing its tendency toward early adoption, lower regulatory thresholds, and hands-on validation.
Douglas Mills, CAAIN
“Whether you’re interested in AI, data, biotech, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, AgTech presents real-world problems that need innovative solutions.”
“[It’s] a sector rich with opportunity,” Mills said. “When we’re talking about agriculture, think broadly. We’re not just talking about a farm, tractor, or cows in a field. Think of opportunities across the whole value chain: animal health, logistics, transportation, solar, processing, value-add tools, machinery, analytics, robotics, computer vision, AI research, and biotech.
“It’s a massive sector when you’re looking at all the opportunities out there. Whether you’re interested in AI, data, biotech, sustainability, advanced manufacturing, AgTech presents real-world problems that need innovative solutions,” he added.
Mills was joined on stage by three others, including Colin Coros, the COO at precision diagnostics and medtech company Nanostics, BJ Fuchs, a cattle rancher and AgTech supporter, and David Bressler, the vice-president of international innovation and enterprise at the University of Alberta.
“One of the exciting things about Ag … is they’re leading technology. They’re early adopters,” said Coros. Prior to his role at Nanostics, he was the CEO of Delta Genomics, where he worked on livestock biobanking. Biobanking is the process of freezing and storing biological or genetic material to preserve agricultural diversity, or reconstitute livestock breeds.
“We think autonomous vehicles are coming one day, but they’ve already been in the agriculture sector for over a decade. There’s not a combine in Alberta that isn’t self-driven.
“It’s an industry where if there’s a solution, and they can increase productivity with it, they’ll adopt it, and they’ll adopt it faster than almost any other sector,” Coros added.
That makes the field particularly attractive to entrepreneurs, especially those looking to validate technology, or who are struggling to navigate complex regulatory requirements in a field like medtech or biotech. Coros said AgTech can be a useful stepping stone for both.
RELATED: Edmonton mayor hints at upcoming support for entrepreneurs as city’s Startup Week kicks off
“I talk to a lot of deep tech healthcare people … and you’re talking about going through a 15-year journey before you even get anything into the medical space,” he said. “If you really want to provide your technology, have you thought about livestock where maybe you can get this to market in five years, work out your kinks, and then maybe the next market is healthcare?”
That rule applies for tech startups who might not be in the traditional AgTech space. Fuchs, whose company Business Wide View has been involved in trialling innovations in real-world settings, said agricultural producers should be the first point of contact for anyone looking to see if their tech might have a dual-use purpose in the agricultural space.
“Sky’s the limit. Drones, water-trough monitors: there’s so much out there, and every operation is different,” Fuchs said. “If you have a great idea, talk to a producer; talk to more than one. It will give you answers around what the challenge is.”
BetaKit’s Prairies reporting is funded in part by YEGAF, a not-for-profit dedicated to amplifying business stories in Alberta.
Image courtesy Jesse Cole for BetaKit.