FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Mary Jane Duff – (816) 841-0922, mjduff@agrithority.com
AgriThority® Hosts On-Farm Technology Adoption Roundtable Sept. 28
(Kansas City, Missouri, USA — Oct. 15, 2021) During the World AgriTech London Summit, AgriThority® hosted a roundtable on the topic, “Overcoming Barriers to On-Farm Technology Adoption.”
Ignacio Colonna, AgriThority Global Director, Science and Technology, led the virtual discussion with participants from many sectors of agriculture, including vertical farming, drones and imaging, biotech, decision-making software, and technology development.
“We had a great discussion on the barriers to technology adoption,” Colonna said. “Our roundtable participants presented the challenges their companies face in dealing with new technologies either as farmer users or as developers. We were joined by Hungarian farmer Gabor Fülöp who raises apricots and plums and was able to give us his perspective on barriers to adopting new technologies.”
To get the conversation rolling, Fülöp started by talking about the barriers he faces on his farm. “I’m building a family farm based on new, modern technologies,” he said. “It’s a continuous job, and I always have questions. The use of new technologies usually costs more in the short term, and I’m concerned about how fast it will pay back. When I started utilizing certain modern technologies to improve harvest quality and logistics in my orchard, there was little or no expertise in Hungary to help me. I had to learn every new product and technology. Many farmers didn’t understand what I was doing.”
From Fülöp’s perspective, there are a few key steps that can help overcome barriers to adoption of new technologies.
“Communication with the farmer throughout the process of adoption is very important, along with supplying in-depth product introduction,” Fülöp said. “The product should be as simple, understandable and easy to use as possible. Involving a farmer in development also will help companies understand the barriers ahead of product launch.”
He expects the companies to take responsibility for their technology, give a guarantee the product will work and stay in touch with him even after the sale.
Industry participants followed up with answers to the following questions:
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- What barriers have you ran into as you launch new products into markets?
- How have you overcome these barriers to user adoption of new technologies?
- What’s the toughest product development stage to execute for your company?
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The discussion included challenges in predicting large-scale effects of crop management strategies that had been evaluated at the early development stage only under a limited range of controlled environment and finding the right network of associates to implement the use of new digital technologies.
“While challenges will always exist, having a complete and realistic landscape of adoption barriers is a critical initial step for an achievable product and market development plan that aims at maximizing product value across different environments and cultures,” Colonna said.
AgriThority® uses a disciplined, proven Prescriptive Response™ process to help develop new products. TrialWerx® is a large-scale, on-farm trial program that transforms new products on the path to commercialization. Reach out to AgriThority for more information about how the process aids clients in their scientific product, business and market development.
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About AgriThority
Founded in 2008 and with roots dating back to 1985, AgriThority moves agricultural innovations to market. Our seasoned, scientific global network serves as an independent and collaborative resource devoted to accelerating product, business, and market development. We help overcome regulatory challenges, manage product development process, and establish connections for market access. Learn more at https://www.AgriThority.com/.
