Fieldays hub puts spotlight on innovation

Kalvin Singh will be showing the Maxi-Trak Quatro towing system in the Innovation Accelerator venue.

New Zealand's largest agriculture expo kicks off tomorrow with the spotlight on innovation in the agritech sector.

Fieldays has typically had a strong innovation focus but a new Innovation Accelerator venue at the expo will help boost the profile of companies attending and allow them to exhibit without the financial pressure of having to fund a full stand, says Fieldays chief executive Jon Calder.

The accelerator, sponsored by taxpayer-funded Callaghan Innovation, will house 10 companies that have previously exhibited at Fieldays, including agricultural towing system Maxi-Trak Quatro.

The system, designed to increase a tractor's traction level by pulling down on the tyres and so boosting work speed, won the Fieldays agricultural invention of the year in 2010.

Waikato-based inventor Kalvin Singh said he was excited to be invited to the Innovation Accelerator.

"This will give us an opportunity to showcase our product to the local public and hopefully meet with overseas visitors in what we believe is going to be a relaxed environment," Singh said.

Calder said the event was "more than just a trade show" and the new hub represented how important innovation was to the continued success of the agriculture sector.

"We recognise that Fieldays must continue to evolve and adapt if we are to remain relevant and connected to New Zealand's agritech and agribusiness sector," Calder said.

"In this way, Fieldays is much more than a trade show. Our mission is to advance agriculture," he said.

"The technology and innovation that Fieldays showcases and supports through our Innovation ecosystem are products, concepts and thinking that will continue to ensure New Zealand remains a leading agribusiness nation globally."

Callaghan Innovation's general manager of research and technical services, Richard Templer, said the theme of innovation continued to grow in profile and importance, and reiterated the company's support for innovative technology companies.

He said many of NZ's technology exporting successes had their roots in the agricultural sector, and agri-tech "continues to be a hotbed of innovation" in the NZ economy.