Behind the mic with Saron Berhane: Meet the emcees of evokeAG. 2025
Ever wondered what it takes to energise an event like evokeAG.? In this Q&A series, we're speaking with the four emcees who will keep the excitement alive at evokeAG. 2025, happening on February 18-19 in Brisbane, Queensland. They'll share their behind-the-scenes experiences and what they love most about the event, offering a unique look at the action. Get to know Saron Berhane, one of the four dynamic hosts ready to bring enthusiasm and insight to evokeAG. 2025.
Saron Berhane is a bioengineer and microbiologist who is passionate about using deep tech to improve the lives of people and the planet.
Her current research is focused on biomaterials and biotechnology that have the potential to address pressing climate, human health and societal issues.
In 2017, Saron co-founded BioScout, an agricultural technology startup that is pioneering biosecurity in the global agriculture industry.
BioScout was named as one the Top 100 Innovators by the Australian (2021), one of the Tech23 (2020), the FoodTech 500 (2020) and Australia’s Agripreneurs of the Year (2019).
Q. Why me and why now?
With a background in engineering and biological sciences, I am passionate about the need to translate complex technologies into real-world impact that benefits humanity.
Despite being an outsider to the industry, I founded my first startup BioScout to solve a wicked problem affecting farmers and the industry.
RELATED: Behind the mic with Oli Le Lievre: Meet the emcees of evokeAG. 2025
That experience taught me that curiosity, hard work and resilience can transform bold ideas into reality and that we need more innovators and researchers collaborating and engaging with growers and the industry to overcome major problems in agriculture.
Q. The Common Ground we must make, and why it’s urgent…
I believe that Common Ground means finding the overlapping regions between different tech, ways of thinking, communities and people to make progress on solving urgent problems affecting society.
With my background in the healthcare industry, we were able to focus on the common ground shared between two different industries (Healthcare and Agriculture) to start BioScout.
That difference of perspective, coupled with a passion to solve a massive problem affecting Australian farmers, is what enabled us to build and grow BioScout.
RELATED: evokeAG. 2025 unveils bold new format to ignite agrifood revolution
The need to find Common Ground in the agriculture industry is urgent and cannot be understated.
As we confront global issues such as food insecurity, climate change and resource scarcity, it is essential that we collaborate to drive meaningful change.
By having multiple perspectives at the table – farmers, researchers, technologists, investors – I believe we can leverage advancements and our respective strengths to create material impact on our food systems.
Q. The most compelling thread to me is…
The most compelling thread to me is the one centred on innovation and future technology because they hold the key to solving pressing environmental, industry and human health challenges.
In the face of food insecurity, climate change and health crises, we need bold solutions to wicked problems now more than ever.
The questions that keep me up at night are: How do we eliminate the barriers that hold us back from translating frontier technology and ideas into the real world? How can we accelerate the adoption of innovative tech?
I want evokeAG. 2025 delegates to…
To embrace a spirit of openness and curiosity. Get outside of your comfort zone, whether that means attending a session outside of your sector or being intentional in speaking to people outside of your network.
RELATED: Six tips for a winning evokeAG. Startup Program application
To truly connect with the conference principles, the audience needs to actively engage in two key ways:
1. Challenge your own assumptions! A big one for tech adoption and innovation cycles is rethinking how long change can or should take. Often, we underestimate the potential for rapid transformation in shorter windows of time or that it might come from unlikely/unexpected places and people.
2. Invest time in understanding a different perspective or viewpoint to your own: My provocation to the audience is that if you come across an idea or technology that you disagree with or don’t understand, lean in and dedicate as much time to understanding it and exploring why it could work.
Tickets are now on sale for evokeAG. 2025 to be held on 18-19 February 2025 in Brisbane, Queensland. Following a sell-out event in 2024 we are encouraging delegates to secure their tickets, flights and accommodation early.
We look forward to seeing you in Brisbane for evokeAG. 2025. In the meantime, catch up on the other conversations about sustainability, climate resilience and the role of agtech in meeting those challenges from here.