Digital Strategy for Australian Cotton Industry

Unlocking the value of digital agriculture for Australian growers has been a key priority for CRDC and other Rural Research and Development Corporations. Previous studies have found that there are two key requirements to linking data across the supply and chain and realising the full value of digital agriculture:

 1. Data governance arrangements that both provide clarity on data ownership, control and access, and facilitate data sharing between multiple participants; and

2. A clearly-defined value proposition for sharing data along the supply chain.

Unless these requirements are met, on-farm innovation and the development of innovative business models will be constrained.

A cotton industry Steering Committee, has been created to oversee the development of a digital strategy to help industry decide, collectively, the best way to realise the potential of digital agriculture. The Steering Committee is composed of representatives from across industry, including cotton growers, CRDC, Cotton Australia, Cotton Seed Distributors, Bayer, CSIRO, and NSW DPI.

CRDC and the Steering Committee have nominated Agthentic Advisory and DataGene to inform development of the industry digital strategy. The aim is to identify and build a business case (value proposition) for data sharing solutions within the near supply chain, from farm to merchant. IntellectAg has been contracted by Agthentic Advisory to facilitate industry engagement and validate value propositions.

A core component of the project is industry engagement to identify opportunities where data can be shared, unlocking value for all involved. with an idea. Maybe you want to launch a business. Maybe you want to turn a hobby into something more. Or maybe you have a creative project to share with the world. Whatever it is, the way you tell your story online can make all the difference.