MPI Partners With Boma NZ For Grow 2019 Agri Summit

MPI Partners With Boma NZ For Grow 2019 Agri Summit

Christchurch and Wellington, 4 March, 2019. The Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) and Boma New Zealand today announced their partnership for the inaugural Grow 2019: Boma NZ Agri Summit.

The two-day summit will take place on 10-11 April, at Horncastle Arena in Christchurch. Its focus is the future of New Zealand’s food and fibre sectors, with some big questions on the agenda:
• How can we grow our industry sustainably?
• How is technology transforming the way we grow and sell?
• How are consumer expectations changing?
• How can we better cope with disruption?
Steve Penno, MPI Director Investment Programmes says, “The world is changing in unprecedented ways, and we want to ensure Aotearoa’s primary sector stays ahead of the game. We’re partnering with Boma New Zealand on Grow 2019 to bring together local wisdom, insight and expertise with global trends and business practices to make sure our food and fibre industry is well prepared for what’s to come.

“The Grow 2019 Agri Summit clearly aligns with the goals of MPI’s Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures programme launched last year.”

Boma New Zealand CEO and Grow 2019 creator and curator Kaila Colbin says the two-day summit is an opportunity to face some of the thorniest issues impacting the primary industries—and, more importantly, understand what to do about them through practical, tangible action.

“Our work is about being more intentional and intelligent about the future. And you can’t talk about New Zealand’s future without talking about our primary industry. Food and fibre play a critical role in our national identity, our economy, and our way of life as New Zealanders.

“Through our partnership with MPI in Grow 2019, we’re looking forward to making this conversation as broad and inclusive as possible, with farmers, producers, distributors, researchers, government, and people from right across the supply chain,” Colbin says.

The Grow 2019 Agri Summit will tackle four key themes:
• Disruption: how technology is disrupting the status quo in the primary sector
• Transformation: how technology is transforming the way we farm and go to market
• Kaitiakitanga: how sustainability is impacting every aspect of food and fibre
• Adaptation: new products, new business models, and the changing face of the market.
Those themes are underpinned by a fifth: Action. The Grow 2019 programme is designed to create tangible pathways for action so attendees leave empowered to take charge of their futures.

Join MC Sarah Perriam, rural broadcaster, and an impressive list of national and international speakers, including:
• Lain Jager, Chair, Primary Sector Council; former CEO of Zespri
• Raymond McCauley, Chair of Biotechnology at Singularity University
• Cherrie Atilano, Founder and CEO, AGREA
• Zenia Tata, Chief Impact Officer, XPRIZE
• Tim Cannon, Founder and CEO, Livestock Labs
• Kerensa Johnston, CEO, Wakatū Incorporation
• Rachel Taulelei, CEO, Kono
• Andrew Priest, CEO, Ngāi Tahu Farming
• Steven Saunders, Owner and Chair, Robotics Plus Ltd
...and many more.

Other partners for Grow 2019 include ASB Rural, the Canterbury Mayoral Forum, Computer Concepts, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise, ChristchurchNZ, the US Embassy, and Amazon Web Services.

Full event details and tickets for Grow 2019: the Boma NZ Agri Summit are available at grow.nz.boma.global.

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