AGRICULTURAL entrepreneurs from Australia and worldwide have been invited to apply to the NSW Department of Primary Industries to access ag-tech research and incubation services through its Global Ag-Tech Ecosystem (GATE) Innovation Centre.

NSW DPI Deputy Director General Michael Bullen said the call for a third round of applications to the GATE program for 2019 aims to identify entrepreneurs with innovations that the Department can facilitate for the benefit of producers.

“Successful applicants will have access to Australia’s leading primary industries research and development organisation, with more than 600 world class scientific staff, 25 key research facilities and 13,000 hectares of trial land around the state.

“NSW DPI has already supported various Australian start-ups and fostered new research, as we saw at a recent showcase of the GATE cohort,” he said.

“The showcase saw innovators from across NSW with a diversity of products that will lift agricultural productivity, such as new herbicides and geophysics techniques to accurately identify water sources.

“We have also fostered technologies to help farmers with real time decision making, sourcing employees, quadbike safety and conversion of waste produce into consumer food products.”

The GATE Innovation Centre, in partnership with SparkLabs Cultiv8, also offers accelerator services to hasten prototyping, scaling and growth, with connections to global mentors, expertise and venture capital.

Applications close 3 December 2018 with successful applicants entering the GATE from mid-February 2019. For more information and to apply visit www.thegate.org.au or contact [email protected]