A new partnership between Bosch Australia and Monash University will further support Victoria’s standing as Australia’s premier agriculture state and home of innovation.
Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford visited the new AgTech Launch Pad facility being established at Bosch Australia’s Clayton headquarters, with one hectare allocated to a smart farm for cutting edge research and development.
The smart farm will include space for cropping trials and early-stage prototype development, enabling the use of artificial intelligence, automation, robotics and advanced sensor technology.
Monash University is planning to use the site at Bosch Australia and the parties will work together to drive digital agriculture innovation and build on their respective expertise.
Bosch Australia is a global player in agriculture technology and has entered other partnerships within Australia to foster innovation, building on their reputation as a technology developer for the automotive and industrial sector.
Agriculture Victoria Research is also collaborating with Bosch Australia on research using cloud based technologies to make the most of data-rich smart farms for more of our producers.
Monash University is already working in the ag-tech space with its Food Innovation Centre, which supports Australia’s food industry through product development services with a focus on enabling businesses to rapidly export to target markets in Asia.
As Australia’s largest university and with particular strengths across Engineering, IT, Science and Sustainability, Monash is uniquely placed to collaborate with government and industry to capitalise on the sector’s major growth opportunities.
The Andrews Labor Government is getting it done, transforming Victoria into the smart farming capital of Australia. It follows a $1 million announcement to spearhead agriculture accelerator programs such as SproutX, as well as $12 million for the Internet of Things Demonstration Project and the move to mandatory Electronic Identification of Sheep and Goats.
Quotes attributable to Minister for Agriculture Jaala Pulford
“This is a glimpse into the future of farming in Victoria. We lead the way in both on and off farm technology adoption and we’re proud to work closely with organisations like Bosch Australia to give farmers the edge they deserve.”
“This facility is an asset and brings together some of our state’s biggest strengths: agriculture, education, innovation, technology and advanced manufacturing.”
Quote attributable to Minister for Innovation and the Digital Economy Philip Dalidakis
“More than 3,200 jobs have been created through tech investment since we were elected and it’s great to see agtech playing a big role in our innovative economy.”
Reviewed 19 August 2020