High school students in regional NSW are getting firs-hand experience using the latest tech like drone mapping and artificial intelligence as part of the NSW Government initiative to boost skills and employment in the Agriculture Technology (AgTech) industry.
Up to 1,500 students are taking part in programs designed to help develop skills in Science, Technology, Engineering, Maths (STEM) and Agriculture, learning about the latest innovations and research in AgTech.
The program offers students an opportunity to visit Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development research institutes and participate in hands-on learning at TAFE NSW where they design model smart farms, use drone mapping, and learn to use data and artificial intelligence to analyse weather patterns.
One of the larger AgTech events, AgVision Yanco, was held on 11 September, and gave students in the Riverina-Murray the opportunity to engage in workshops with industry professionals and learn specific agriculture skills.
It comes ahead of the AgTech Innovation Summit on 24 September at the University of New England SMART Farm, where industry partners will coach and mentor student teams to harness their design thinking and entrepreneurial skills to develop new innovations for agriculture.
Developing a significant AgTech workforce is essential for primary industries to address the many challenges of now and the future such as increasing costs, climate change, biosecurity and productivity.
Not only will agriculture workers and farmers need to be AgTech savvy but there will need to be a sustainable AgTech sector developing hardware and software products and providing maintenance.
The AgTech workforce development effort is part of the NSW Government’s ongoing work to invest in skills and employment to future-proof the agriculture sector. It is being delivered by the Department of Primary Industries and Regional Development and Training Services NSW in partnership with TAFE NSW, University of New England, Charles Sturt University and AusAgritech.