As technology becomes an increasingly critical component in the war against globally declining bee populations, AgriFutures Australia has launched the inaugural Bee Tech Challenge.
The Bee Tech Challenge welcomes applications from startups and entrepreneurs with ready-for-market products that meet the needs of the honey bee and pollination industry in the key areas of hive health, biosecurity, hive safety, bushfire protection and preparedness.
The top ten finalists will be invited to showcase and present a 5-minute pitch to key industry stakeholders at the 4th Australian Bee Congress in Sydney from Wednesday, 8 June to Saturday, 11 June 2022.
AgriFutures Honey Bee & Pollination Program Manager, Annelies McGaw hopes this innovative approach will have a lasting impact across the board.
“It is our goal that the Bee Tech Challenge’s novel approach in identifying ready-to-go technology will have a positive impact not only on our honey bee businesses, but the broader agricultural sector.
“The honey bee industry does a lot more than provide us with honey and beeswax products. Pollination services provided through honey bees are essential to our $14.2 billion horticultural and cropping industries. Without a strong national colony of bees we will see a number of drastic flow-on effects to our nation’s food supply, ultimately leading to decreased yields for producers and increased food prices for consumers,” Ms McGaw said.
Three winners will be determined based on the most innovative and relevant solutions for the beekeeping industry. The successful trio will receive complimentary tickets to AgriFutures evokeAG 2023 taking place on 21-22 February 2023 in Adelaide where they can network with AgriFutures evokeAG attendees including global leaders, investors and innovators in agrifood innovation. The winners will also receive ongoing promotion and support from AgriFutures Australia.
