| | NOVEMBER 2020 8OPINIONIN MYWhen we first started in Agtech, everytime we mentioned the term, it was quickly followed by the clarification "agricultural technology". Today, as we sit on the cusp of wrapping up GrowLab's second crop of startups in as many years, the term agtech is no longer met by wrinkled brows and quizzical looks. Not as much anyway!Australia's come a long way since GrowLab first sprouted onto the scene. Over just a couple of years, the agtech ecosystem has well and truly blossomed. There are now 3 accelerator programs, several pre-accelerators and many other programs supporting aspiring agtech entrepreneurs across metro and regional Australia. Three major conferences on agtech take place every year, bringing together the brightest minds in the space. Very recently, an Australian agtech-specific venture started raising funds to invest in what is fast becoming a booming new industry.At Cicada Innovations, we have always held a clear thesis about the opportunity and importance of agrifood technologies, and the need to invest time and resources into those innovating in this sector. It's our belief that Australia's future growth in agrifood will come from a mix of productivity improvements, a reduction in food wastage and new ways to create value added food and fibre products for export to markets outside of Australia. We wanted to share these views as well as our opinion on how it may all unfold, aided by some examples of the types of startups we have seen along the way.We expect agricultural and food technologies will emerge in a few phases:Wave 1: Building an efficient and digitised agrifood sectorThe first wave of technology in this space is arguably the most important, as it will bring a level of digitisation and precision to FARMING FOR THE FUTURETHE NEW GENERATION OF STARTUPS THAT ARE REDEFINING FOODBy George Peppou, Founder and Program Manager, Cicada GrowLab
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