This year’s 35 funded projects span across our food and fibre sector. What unites these diverse projects is their potential for genuine impact.
Our three funding rounds in 2024–25 received 171 applications in total, requesting over $10.5 million. Applicants ranged in age from 18 to mid-80s and represented most corners of the country.
The funded projects represent a total strategic investment of $2,822,880 that aims to unlock significantly larger future funding and create lasting value for New Zealand’s food and fibre sector.
Several themes emerged from this year’s funding decisions:
Clear progression pathways: Each project demonstrates clear next steps for scaling or attracting further investment and industry support, ensuring AGMARDT’s catalytic funding creates lasting momentum and unlocks progress if required.
Collaborative approaches: Multi-partner projects that leverage diverse expertise and resources, from iwi-company-CRI collaborations to regional development initiatives.
Market-ready innovation: Successful innovation projects were backed by proven demand or strong market pull, like the blackcurrant bioactive sought by international customers and a high-protein beef broth aimed at the fast-growing over-65 market.
Urgent problem-solving: Direct responses to urgent sector challenges, such as biosecurity threats and the circular economy potential of waste streams.
Transformative potential: Innovation projects that could create entirely new categories, optimise land-use, or complement New Zealand’s existing strengths, such as plant-derived dairy proteins and wairuakohu-derived products.
Collaboration
Seven collaborative partnership programmes were funded, including two that aim to extend and pilot the approaches put forward in The Common Ground – expect an update with more information on these soon.
We were pleased to renew our support of Sprout Agritech for the fifth year, to support growth in commercialisation capacity, and to enter a three-year partnership with The Aotearoa Circle, which focuses on tackling the complex systems work required to make headway on longstanding environmental challenges. With our partner FoodHQ and co-funder ASB, we were able to pilot a Strategic Market Insights Tour in Singapore.
Capability
We supported four leaders with development opportunities that connected them to important export markets and international opportunities. For example, Gavin McEwen attended the huge Consumer Electronics Show 2025 in the US to investigate emerging technologies relevant to New Zealand agriculture, the produced an interactive report about his insights. Sam Lang completed the CREATE agroecological coaching programme in Australia, which includes a strong focus on developing collaborative capacity. Sam is now leading a fundraising effort so that five other Kiwis are supported for the same opportunity.
Seven group capability projects were funded. Some of these, like Growing Future Farmers and the Regional EDA Collaboration Initiative, continued our support while the programmes work to become self-sufficient. Others supported one-off needs, such as re-booting the Farming Women Tairawhiti Development Group, a network for support and strategic thinking, after two years of post-cyclone stress, strain and repair work.
Innovation
The 17 projects that received Agribusiness Innovation Grants exemplify AGMARDT’s enduring mission: backing bold ideas at the crucial early stage. Whether it’s creating value from waste streams or pioneering new protein sources, these projects embody AGMARDT’s role as an early-stage catalyst for transformative change.
The funded projects each demonstrated a clear pathway to scale up or commercialise. Read on, to learn more about a few of these 17 projects.
Diversifying New Zealand’s Protein Sector through Innovative Plant-Derived Ingredients
Miruku Limited was funded $199,500 to develop a new category of protein ingredients for food products, by modifying safflower to produce dairy proteins in its seeds. AGMARDT has previously championed change in the biotechnology regulatory environment through our partnership with The Aotearoa Circle, so considered this project a good opportunity to move from thinking to action. As well as providing an exemplar of what could be possible under regulatory change, the project will need to navigate regulatory challenges, helping create a pathway to for others to follow.
Smart Sensor for Early Detection of Insect Pests
Scentian Bio is developing a biosensor platform with multiple use cases and global market potential. Its first sensor targets early detection of the Fall Armyworm, one of the world’s most destructive agricultural pests and a looming threat for New Zealand farmers under climate change. Trustees viewed the technology as highly promising. AGMARDT supported early-stage development of a prototype sensor with $100,000 in funding to help position the venture for future investment. (Disclosure: AGMARDT has an existing investment of around 1% in Scentian Bio, both directly and through its shareholding in Sprout.)
Wairuakohu Toxicity Testing
A consortium of two companies, a CRI and three iwi are developing products containing compounds found in wairuakohu (Radula marginata), a native plant with potential health applications. Trustees noted the large and fast-growing consumer demand in North America for products with similar characteristics. This work has a strong foundation of cross-sector investment, of $2 million over seven years. AGMARDT made a small grant ($30,000) to enable toxicity testing of four compounds, enabling the group via IO Limited to unlock additional investment and move toward commercialisation.
Bioactives in Blackcurrants
Ārepa aims to develop commercial processes to extract sarmentosin, a unique compound in New Zealand blackcurrants that has been shown to inhibit monoamine oxidase and boosts dopamine, potentially benefiting mood and neuroprotection. This could create high-value opportunities for blackcurrant exports in the dietary supplement market. AGMARDT provided $80,000 in funding to develop the extraction process, run toxicology tests, and create a business case for a future extraction facility. Trustees appreciated the potential size of the opportunity in export markets, and the significant interest Ārepa has fielded from large export customers indicated a strong market pull.
The Vine Vaccine
This Plant & Food Research-led project aims to develop a vaccine for the virus that causes grapevine leafroll disease, spread by mealybugs. The virus (GLRaV-3) is having a large economic impact on vineyards, and treating it with a vaccine would be an international first. Trustees noted there was a clear pathway to commercialisation, with significant organisational expertise to guide this, and part-funded the project ($60,000).
Hydrolyzed High Protein Beef Broth
This project will commercially scale production of a high-protein beef broth aimed at the elderly, made by hydrolysing meat with kiwifruit enzyme. AGMARDT’S $29,820 in funding for Zamati Technology Limited will support packaging / shelf-life testing as well as the production of larger commercial volumes. This project was received enthusiastically for its potential in modern nutrition, for a large and growing market of those aged 65+. Trustees appreciated the novel use of kiwifruit enzymes and the existing partnerships, which indicated thorough research and strong connections.
Feasibility of Regional Agritourism Groupings
This project, led by Agritourism NZ in collaboration with Thriving Southland, will set up a regional cluster of agritourism businesses to coordinate tourism activities and create new opportunities. This will test a process that, if found viable, will be scaled nationally. Trustees saw value in connecting urban and rural New Zealand through agritourism. The project was backed with funding of $28,634, for its potential to enhance income diversification for farmers, and because of the strong potential to scale, thanks to Agritourism NZ’s established connections and experience holding regional agritourism accelerator programmes