Creating Common Ground: Grass roots insights and perspectives

I had the privilege of exploring what the evoke^AG. 2025 theme, ‘Common Ground’ means to the representatives from the agrifood innovation ecosystem – and where it’s needed.  

The theme resonates more than ever and underscores the importance of collaboration, innovation, and sustainability in the agrifood sector and across the supply chain.  

As an organisation, AgriFutures Australia had a view on what Common Ground meant, but we were aware our audience might think differently. So, we undertook five virtual ideal ideation sessions with over 60 attendees, led by our collaborator, Bryce Ives.  

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What came out of these sessions was an overwhelming urge to collaborate and find tangible ways to partner to shape the future of Australian agriculture. There was a quote that epitomised what Common Ground means and what we want the program to support at evoke^AG.  

“We can’t solve problems in isolation, we need to work with others.”  

What is clear is that a system of silos cannot drive the innovation needed to address those wicked problems or capture the opportunities in front of us.  

The ideation sessions also provided direction in four threads of conversation to explore as part of Common Ground. And in each thread, it’s clear that partnership is key.

Thread 1: Economics & Trade

Shifts in leaderships in major trading partners means the geopolitical landscape has changed over the past 18-months.  

Every person at our ideation session had the importance of exports to Autralian agriculture at the front of mind. The shift in political power sparks questions around the potential for protectionism and what this might mean for Australian agriculture. The question, “How do we navigate export/import regulations in a rapidly evolving global trade environment?” underpinned our conversations.  

But the geopolitical landscape was also not the only concern; biosecurity was highlighted as a major worry. How might the ecosystem partner to protect our industry? What is the role in innovation in protecting against, but also pre-empting future threats?  

Harriet Mellish at AGTECH24 in Emerald, Queensland.

Thread 2: Sustainability and Environment

Even my four-year-old can identify whether a piece of packaging is recyclable or not, so it’s not surprising that sustainability and the environment is a crucial thread at evokeAG. 2024.  

It permeates our discussions, and I believe most agtech coming through has the ability in some way to deliver improved outcomes for the environment. 

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What was clear from our ideation sessions was the desire to treat climate change as both a pressing challenge and an opportunity for agriculture.

The sentiment was to not vilify producers – after all, most producers strive to be stewards of the land.  

We are experiencing the pressure and awareness of climate from the next generation and have been asked to consider what the agrifood supply chain looks like in 2040. Regional events such as AGTECH24 are pivotal in futureproofing industry through grass roots momentum.  

AGTECH24.

Thread 3: Workforce and Skills Gap

There is an urgency around the workforce; we need labour now, but we also need those skills well into the future.  

What skillset does the farm manager of the future need? Will the ability to fix machinery remain, or will a greater emphasis be placed on data management and analysis? As an industry, how can we ensure those future skills are developed to ready ourselves with the technical education for the existing workforce and the next generation.  

Finally, our ideation sessions highlighted that the perception of Australian agriculture and agtech needs to change. There is a story to tell. Surely it’s so much more than the cocky in a paddock, a windmill in the background and a kelpie in the back of the ute? 

Thread 4: Innovation and Future Technology

It’s clear that innovation and future technology is seen as the powerhouse of transforming agriculture.  

Data analytics, AI, generation modification are all front of mind, but there’s also a desire to know what the next big innovation or transformation will be.  

AI is now part and parcel of everyday life, infiltrating everyday tasks whether we know it or not. But the discussion that hasn’t yet bubbled up to the mainstream is the additional processing requirement for AI. It might offer efficiency, but there are other unintended consequences, such as energy use. Does this put further pressure on land use and resources?  

In the media we see growing commentary around investment in quantum computing. So, is quantum the next big thing?

I jokingly spoke about it with my team as ‘WTF is Quantum?’ and this has now translated into a session at evoke^AG.

How will quantum transform agriculture and food production?  

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Another topic I find fascinating is the rise of GLP-1 drugs, known more widely as weight loss drugs. Wegovy and Ozempic are household names. Discussion to date is on the ethics around access of the drugs.   

But what do these drugs hold for our food system? If you modelled 20% of the population eating 20% less and eating less processed food, what does that mean for agriculture? When I look back on my career in retail, I can’t help but think how this could shape supermarket categories through the range or products on shelf to the layout of the store itself.  

Regional events such as AGTECH24 play a significant role in futureproofing industry through grass roots momentum.

Finding Common Ground together

It was an honour to share the brilliant thoughts, concerns and key opportunities that arose from our participants in the evoke^AG. ideation sessions with attendees at AGTECH24.  

As momentum gains towards evoke^AG. 2025, we are building an event that stimulates the transformative conversations and partnerships that will drive the agrifood sector forward.  

One participant articulated perfectly, “the future of ag is in safe hands when we stand together and innovate with purpose”.