By Phil Edmonds

A recent report has highlighted why farmers are cautious about adopting new digital technologies in New Zealand.

The report points solution providers towards recognising specific incentives that could accelerate uptake. But, at the same time, it may be imposition rather than choice that determines a more significant escalation of farmers adopting digital technology.

The Baseline of Digital Adoption in Primary Industries report⁽¹⁾ published by Agritech New Zealand in August 2022 indicates that farmers and growers are engaged with, and aware of, digital solutions to their management challenges.

The survey found that a majority (59%) of the farming population lean towards digital adoption, compared with 41% who do not see much value in using digital technology to run their businesses. Further, the value of digital technology is well understood when it comes to business management (accounts, payroll, etc). The report notes that this has been an entry point for farmers, and their confidence has been assisted by having rural professionals (farm advisors, accountants) as supportive partners in the adoption. And where digital solutions can prove to be efficient, easy-to-use and able to integrate with existing systems, heads are most likely to be turned.

At the same time, there are still barriers to adoption, and the report does note that this reflects the significant proportion of farmers who do not immediately see value in adopting digital technology. This lack of interest is higher than outside the primary sector. The barriers to uptake identified include cost of adoption and proof of return on investment.

Interestingly, cost savings from adopting of digital technologies does not rank as a fundamental driver of change. In the current climate of rising farm input costs, there might have been more expectation that interest in technology solutions to offset this might rise. But the report notes that in other sectors, the opportunity to cut costs is likely to be more of a primary motivation to delve into technology solutions than in farming.

Farmax chief executive Gavin McEwen says it’s difficult to make generalisations when it comes to New Zealand farmers’ attitudes to agritech. While he agrees that, in line with the baseline report findings, more farmers than not are willing to contemplate digital solutions, it does depend on farmers’ own particular attitudes to farming and how they want to live their lives. “There is a particular persona within the industry who could be considered ‘data farmer’, but equally there is still a large segment of the market that thinks farming is more an intuitive art than a science. Not only that, there are some very good farming system models that don’t actually have requirements for additional technology.”

This reflection is supported by one of the report’s findings that debunks commonly held beliefs about who is (young) and who isn’t (old) open to digital adoption.

“You could have a highly indebted farmer, young or old, who needs to push their farm to the limit. One of the ways they might do that is to adopt digital tools,” says Gavin. “You might also have a young or old farmer who is more comfortable running quite a bit of buffer in the farm system and is prepared to give away dry matter for the sake of spending more time with their family.”

Rezare Systems Farm Systems Specialist Graeme Ogle shares a similar view. He says that when agritech does enter farmers’ minds they are open to listening, irrespective of age, but not all farmers are in the market. “In my experience, a large proportion of farmers are busy with other hurdles in their business, such as farm succession, farm maintenance, health issues and so on.”

None of this is reason to be defeatist about the prospect of more digital adoption on farm. However, an increase could well be driven by factors beyond those commonly recognised as enablers.

Connectivity has historically been seen as a critical enabler for agritech uptake. But the baseline report found that while still important, it is insufficient alone to explain levels of adoption. Gavin says that concerns around connectivity have unfortunately meant that agritech has been viewed entirely in terms of internet-dependent products. But tools to support farm modelling and decision making, such as Farmax, work offline. As indicated in the report, connectivity is still an issue, but not an excuse not to engage.

The need to use multiple systems to enter the same data has also been a factor that has justifiably turned farmers off adoption. But there does appear to be a renewed sense of industry urgency to address this, which could provide some light for farmers. There is widespread acknowledgement that it’s a failing that should have been solved a long time ago, and if properly addressed may well tip the balance more conclusively in favour of adoption.

Possibly the most likely cause of near-term adoption won’t be determined by incentives as projected by solution developers, and ascribed in the report (ease of use, for example), but perhaps by compulsion. Compliance measures associated with mandated farm plans and reporting of carbon emissions will almost certainly cause a step-change in uptake. Gavin says it’s fair to say that confusion about what a specific solution delivers and the associated value proposition has given farmers the excuse to just carry on with tried and trusted methods that have served them well. Compliance requirements may put an end to that.

References

1. Baseline of Digital Adoption in Primary Industries report, 2022. https://agritechnz.org.nz/wp-content/uploads/sites/34/2022/08/AgriTechNZ-Digital-Adoption-in-Primary-Industries-Report-2022.pdf