Virtual event Future of Agritech - British Columbia and the Netherlands
On March 24, 2021, British Columbia (Canada) and the Netherlands will come together over their shared priorities for economic recovery, to improve agricultural processes and feed the world's growing population, and their desire to tackle climate change. This event, Future of Agritech is hosted by Trade and Invest BC, in partnership with the Consulate General of the Netherlands and the Canadian Embassy in The Hague.
Agritech in British Columbia
Agritech is the art and science of producing more with less. Its goal: to yield more nutritious, affordable and abundant food with less space, water, soil, energy, fertilizer, chemicals and waste. In British Columbia, developments using vertical growing, drones, sensor technology, robotics, genomics, health and therapeutics and environmental controls are transforming the agriculture and seafood sectors.
Netherlands and British Columbia Collaboration
On March 24, 2021, British Columbia and the Netherlands will come together over their shared priorities for economic recovery, to improve agricultural processes and feed the world's growing population, and their desire to tackle climate change.
This virtual event Future of Agritech will be hosted by Trade and Invest BC, in partnership with the Consulate General of the Netherlands and the Canadian Embassy in The Hague. It will support their commitment to work together and seize the unique opportunities that arise through the evolution of agritech, by bringing together agritech companies, academia, and governments from B.C. and the Netherlands. There will be opportunities to showcase agritech firms and stakeholders, develop innovation partnerships, attract investment, and facilitate trade deals.
The Netherlands is already one of Canada's largest investors, and hundreds of Canadian companies are active in the Netherlands. Read Prime Minister Mark Rutte's speech to the Canadian Parliament in Ottawa on October 25, 2018, to learn more about Canada and the Netherlands' unique shared history. Details of the event are below.
Agenda
Program
Attendees will hear from business experts, researchers, and government representatives from across the sector. The plenary will include remarks from the Honourable Ravi Kahlon, B.C. Minister of Jobs, Economic Recovery, and Innovation; and Henk Snoeken, Consul General of the Netherlands. Mike Manion, Executive in Residence, Agri-Food Venture Accelerator Program, will present the keynote address. There will also be three-panel discussions on robotics, genomics, and environmental controls, followed by virtual B2B networking opportunities.
Program
The Future of Agritech event leverages opportunities generated by the Canada-European Union Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement and the recent Letter of Intent between B.C. and the Netherlands. It also builds on past relationship-building efforts, including visits to the Netherlands by the B.C. Premier in June 2019; the B.C. Innovation Commissioner in September 2019; the Food Security Task Force in October 2019; a visit from the Dutch Ministry of Agriculture to B.C. in November 2019; and the subsequent Letter of Intent. While the event focuses on the Netherlands, companies and institutions elsewhere in Europe have also been invited.
For more details read the attachment below