9. Question No. 9—AgricultureKIERAN McANULTY (Labour) to the Minister of AgricultureQuestion No. 9—Agriculture9. KIERAN McANULTY (Labour) to the Minister of Agriculture: How is the Government supporting the agritech sector?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR (Minister of Agriculture): This Government knows that our primary sector is going to play a key part in our post-COVID economic recovery. New Zealand agritech companies are creating innovative technologies and solutions that support our farmers growers harvesters and fishers to create more value and achieve greater productivity and sustainability. This week Minister Twyford and myself launched key Government and industry plans critical to scaling up highly productive and internationally competitive Kiwi firms. Now is the time for New Zealand agritech firms to seize the opportunities to solve challenges affecting the primary sector globally and to show the world the Kiwi entrepreneurial spirit. This Government is investing $11.4 million directly into the agritech sector. They have access to $84 million of the Sustainable Food and Fibre Futures fund. They also have access to a $300 million fund initiated by my colleague the Hon David Parker supported by Cabinet that provides them a pathway to a better future.Kieran McAnulty: What role can agriculture technologies play in supporting the primary sector through their current workforce challenges?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: A huge role. This Government is committed to lifting skills and lifting incomes right across the primary sector and technology is one way of achieving that goal. As part of our Agritech Industry Transformation Plan that we launched this week there is a specific work stream around talent and skills. In common with other technology sectors the agritech sector provides a pathway for high-skilled roles and there is an increasing need for expertise in this area—for example this week I met with some highly skilled robotics and mechatronics engineers who are working in the field of horticulture robotics. We see the growth in automation as providing an opportunity for new highly skilled highly paid roles. The automation of farm processes that are traditionally labour intensive will also in time take pressure off the need to continuously find labour for picking for packing and for other roles. This is something that is a real challenge for the sector right now and as a Government we are committed to assisting them to solve those problems.Kieran McAnulty: What is the Government's reaction to the COVID-19 pandemic when it comes to the agritech sector?Hon DAMIEN O'CONNOR: COVID-19 has clearly been a major issue for all sectors. In our Industry Transformation Plan we've looked into New Zealand's comparative advantage globally and with the work our Government has done to eradicate COVID-19 we see that New Zealand is in a good position to use this period of global uncertainty to build our offerings. New Zealand has the opportunity to extend our agritech expertise into product areas which have an increased appeal globally building on our skills in dairy- and pasture-based innovation. COVID also gives us an opportunity to look at some of the challenges here in New Zealand that we can resolve in order to grow the sector such as how to better utilise data and how to increase the flow and commercialisation of our intellectual property. COVID-19 is a challenge but it offers huge opportunities for New Zealand also.