Tag: funding

Nine projects were funded via AGMARDT’s transitional Agribusiness Innovation Grant (AIG) round in August 2026. This small round provided a bridge between our previous grants approach and the more relational, collaborative funding model we’re moving towards in 2027.

We received an incredible number of Expressions of Interest (EOI). Fifteen were invited to a full application. Nine projects were then funded, distributing around half a million dollars, with some funding held in reserve for more strategic, collaborative approaches to persistent problems that were targeted by multiple EOIs.

Several of the projects funded are aimed at developing or extending entire sectors (unlocking more value from wool and honey, a fund for growing organic supply, long-storing feijoas). Others put information directly into farmers’ hands (an AI scanner for orchard yield forecasting, real-time cost information for water-quality mitigation, and a diagnostic score for smarter drenching decisions).

“The nine projects we’ve funded cover large parts of the agricultural sector – horticulture, wool and sheep genetics, cattle, environmental resilience and organics – reflecting the breadth of ideas we received, and confirming that AGMARDT is well-placed to support the kind of cross-sector collaborations that can enable real transformation in future,” says Lee-Ann Marsh, Chief Executive of AGMARDT.

Funded projects

AI Ultrasound for Intramuscular Fat in New Zealand Sheep

neXtgen Agri International Limited was funded $109,608 (of $182,680) for an AI-enabled ultrasound and computer vision system that measures intramuscular fat in live sheep, supporting higher-value meat exports. Right now, only two accredited technicians in New Zealand can score IMF from ultrasound images, and both are already working at capacity, limiting how fast breeders can improve meat quality. neXtScan’s AI model aims to break through that ceiling, making measurement faster and more available. Breeder partners are contributing $36,800 in cash towards the project, and links with Beef + Lamb Genetics gave Trustees confidence there’s wider industry appetite for the tool.

Fund to Grow New Zealand’s Certified Organic Supply Pipeline

Organics Aotearoa New Zealand Society was awarded $60,000 (of $100,000) to design and test an innovative industry-led funding approach that helps farmers transition to certified organic production, closing a persistent barrier to higher-value organic exports. The model draws on the US’s Mad Capital Perennial Fund, which raised an oversubscribed US$78 million in 2025.

Catchment-Managed Risk-Sharing Feasibility Pilot

Perrin Ag was awarded $30,000 to test a catchment-managed risk-sharing model, where downstream landowners help fund upstream mitigation work that reduces flood and erosion risk for the whole catchment. It’s an early feasibility study, testing a new way for catchment groups to share the cost of resilience. A report will be released so the idea can be used and developed further in collaboration with industry, government and the private sector.

Evidence-Based Diagnostics for Cattle Drenching

DAGI Limited received $29,888 for TrueWorm Score, a diagnostic tool to give cattle farmers evidence-based drenching decisions, reducing unnecessary drenching and slowing the development of drench resistance. The tool will combine worm egg counts with species data. The project’s open-source approach and alignment with the wider Coalition Against Drench Resistance initiative gave Trustees confidence this would make a contribution towards slowing drench resistance in cattle, before it becomes the chronic systemic problem facing the sheep sector.

Identifying Genetic Links to a Long-Storing Feijoa Trait

Massey University was funded $115,000 (of a total $420,000) to identify genetic markers linked to extended feijoa storage life. Longer-storing cultivars could shift feijoa exports from air freight to sea freight, opening new international markets. The project builds on decades of breeding work by Nigel Ritson, an independent breeder whose germplasm underpins the opportunity. Trustees saw this as a rare, time-limited chance to help build an entirely new New Zealand export category from the ground up.

Vehicle Agnostic 3D Crop Scanner

HoloCrop Limited was funded $54,000 (of a $95,000 project) to develop a vehicle-agnostic 3D crop scanning system, with a camera that can be mounted on common farm vehicles to improve yield forecasting, harvest planning and supply-chain efficiency for fruit growers. Existing scanning tools have been built for ideal research scenarios with a focus on a single crop, while HoloCrop’s system will be trialled across apples, cherries and wine grapes, in partnership with growers including Rockit, Electric Cherries and Cloudy Bay. Trustees saw a clear case for the technology and wide potential benefit.

Understanding the Cost Effectiveness of Mitigation Options in Real Time

Scarlatti Limited received $30,000 to build a decision-support tool that will enable farmers to assess the current cost and effectiveness of different environmental mitigation options. Rather than creating something new for farmers to learn, the tool is designed to feed directly into platforms farmers and advisers already use, such as DairyNZ’s FarmAPT and Ballance’s MitAgator. Involvement from Dr Katrina Macintosh (DairyNZ) and Professor Richard McDowell, who respectively helped build FarmAPT and MitAgator, gave Trustees confidence the tool has a genuine path to uptake.

Wool Bioproducts Playbook

New Zealand Wool Collective received $29,900 to develop an industry playbook identifying and prioritising New Zealand’s highest-potential wool bioproduct opportunities, including keratin and cholesterol-derived products. Rather than developing a product, the playbook is designed to strategically guide where future investment, research and commercialisation effort should be targeted across the wool sector. A similar strategic research plan was previously effective for growing our merino sector. The project is being delivered in collaboration with the NZ Product Accelerator and complements AGMARDT’s investment in the Future of Fibre Aotearoa project, which aims to connect the full value chain of New Zealand’s fibre, textiles and biomaterials.

Polyphenolic Profiling of New Zealand Honey and Fruit Bioactives

Mānuka Performance Limited was awarded $30,000 (of $50,000) to test the polyphenolic profile, stability and compatibility of honey and whole-fruit bioactive formulations, to create evidenced products for high-value export markets. The project’s findings, including its testing methodology, will be shared as a case study for other New Zealand exporters working with similar ingredients.

We received an incredible number of Expressions of Interest (EOI) for our 2026 transitional Agribusiness Innovation Grant (AIG) round – much higher than anticipated, exceeding the number of applications we received in total across three separate grant rounds in 2024–25.

The purpose of the EOI stage of AGMARDT’s transitional AIG round was to create a short first step in the funding process to test strategic fit, before applicants were asked to commit more time to a full application.

We also found it had a second and extremely valuable purpose: as a listening exercise, letting us know where the attention, ambition and energy of our food and fibre innovators are currently focussed.

“Hearing from innovators across the full food and fibre sector gave us a much clearer picture of where the opportunities and pressure points are, and insights that are shaping where we focus next,” says Lee-Ann Marsh, Chief Executive of AGMARDT.

A short first step

AGMARDT continues to evolve how we can best use our resources to ignite transformation in Aotearoa New Zealand’s food and fibre sector. This transitional round was a step in that evolution, providing a bridge between the funding model AGMARDT has run for years and a redesigned, more relational and collaborative approach we’ll operate from 2027.

Rather than jumping straight to a full application, applicants were asked for a short EOI first to test alignment with AGMARDT’s strategic direction. We aimed for this to take just an hour or two for applicants and kept the process lean on AGMARDT’s side by ruling out pre-submission conversations and detailed feedback.

Projects that had already received AGMARDT funding weren’t eligible to apply again, although past recipients with new ideas were welcomed back.

“Hearing from innovators across the full food and fibre sector gave us a much clearer picture of where the opportunities and pressure points are, and insights that are shaping where we focus next”
—Lee-Ann Marsh, Chief Executive of AGMARDT.

 

What we heard

Because of the volume of EOIs received, we were able to review them across six broad themes.

Pests, crop disease and biosecurity drew a number of eligible ideas, most of them leaning toward proactive management over reactive treatment, an approach our Trustees have historically often preferred. Many took aim at a single pest, species or crop. The ideas that stood out went after several targets or crops at once. One pest in particular, varroa, was the focus of several applications. Assessing this theme raised questions about sector priorities that were difficult for AGMARDT to answer in isolation. As a result, we plan to engage with industry to better understand pest and disease priorities, and whether and how AGMARDT support might contribute to progress.

Assessing this theme raised questions about sector priorities that were difficult for AGMARDT to answer in isolation.

Ideas around livestock productivity and animal health tended to support progress that was more incremental than transformational, easing a labour or seasonal pain point rather than solving it outright. Mastitis was another focus, as it has been in many historical grant rounds. Sometimes, collaborators we’d expect to back these ideas, whether as funding partners or in-kind supporters, weren’t named in the application. When an idea for tackling a well-known problem is seeking AGMARDT investment, we look for industry to co-invest to show support.

The second-largest theme, reducing chemicals, better fertiliser and climate resilience, gave us a mix of early-stage science ideas and practical tools, with water resilience ideas emerging as a response to our changing climate. Apps, drones and AI systems built to fine-tune systems suggest that precision agrichemical application is a future state many see as important. We received more of these agritech applications compared to past grant rounds, signalling strong demand and a sector-wide funding gap linked to the shifting funding landscape. We prioritised EOIs that had clear pathways to potential commercialisation or adoption.

We received more of these agritech applications compared to past grant rounds, signalling strong demand and a sector-wide funding gap linked to the shifting funding landscape.

High-value products, ingredients and waste valorisation was the single largest group, making it a competitive field. AGMARDT had to stay disciplined and prioritised EOIs with benefit to the wider primary sector, beyond the company making the application. The strongest proposals drew on strengths specific to New Zealand and pointed to export market interest.

Many of the ideas that fell under resilient food systems and diverse crops were rooted in a single crop or region, so EOIs with more expansive potential stood out. This theme raised a question that regional or sector-wide conversations may be better placed to answer: What should regional clusters or New Zealand more broadly be producing at scale in 10 to 20 years that it isn’t today? Some of the community and conservation ideas in this theme (and others) were considered a better match for specific funding from community or philanthropic trusts than from AGMARDT.

Processing, packaging and supply chain ideas showed us some infrastructure gaps. Several EOIs focused on smarter forestry intelligence; others on localised meat processing. There were several ideas that used apps, drones and AI systems to improve yield prediction.

The clearest signal from the EOIs is that many bright ideas are being developed in isolation to tackle single facets of entrenched or systemic problems. This is an issue we’ve observed over past grant rounds, and it became even clearer to us that a more strategic, collaborative approach is needed.

How decisions were made

From the ideas received, AGMARDT’s Trustees approved those that best fit with our strategy to be invited, in July, to develop full proposals over three weeks. Applicants then had the option of a draft review from AGMARDT staff before submitting, and most took this up.

Full applications were then assessed for eligibility and completeness, alignment with AGMARDT’s strategic priorities, and fit with the rules that govern what AGMARDT can fund.

Final decisions made by AGMARDT’s Trustees considered where AGMARDT’s support could add unique value or make a critical difference. Trustees looked at the idea itself, the strength of the team and collaborators, and aimed for a mix across themes and innovation readiness (from early science to applied).

As always, the most important consideration was the potential impact on the sector and New Zealand.

As always, the most important consideration was the potential impact on the sector and New Zealand. Where the benefits were narrow, we considered whether an existing company or industry body could reasonably be expected to fund the work on its own. We recognise there are always more R&D ideas than there is funding, and that gap has been growing. However, AGMARDT’s pool of funding is small, and our resources can have the most impact when applied to understanding and overcoming barriers, that benefit the wider primary sector.

AGMARDT distributed around half a million dollars across this round’s approved projects, holding some of the round’s funding in reserve for persistent problems that drew multiple, overlapping EOIs. Rather than picking a single winner from among these small individual projects, we’re exploring the potential for more strategic, collaborative approach that reflects our growing focus on building trust and alignment across the sector. Early conversations about this approach have been encouraging.

What’s next

AGMARDT is continuing to progress towards a more relational and targeted funding strategy. We will keep engaging with a range of people across the primary industries as we develop our future approach. Stay connected through the website, newsletter and LinkedIn.

To everyone who submitted an idea: thank you.

There is a lot of innovation occuring from people who want to be involved in shaping the future of New Zealand’s food and fibre sector, and all of these ideas are invaluable as we make decisions on where we direct our resources next year.

If your idea didn’t make it through this time, we are working to make clearer what AGMARDT funds, and why, so it’s easier to see where your own work might align in future and how you can get involved.