E Tipu 2021: The Boma NZ Agri Summit Set To Spark Innovation Across The Food And Fibre Sector

Key Points

E Tipu 2021: The Boma NZ Summit to be held May 11-12 2021 at the Christchurch Town Hall

First wave of speakers announced

General Admission and Virtual Experience tickets released Monday, March 22

Christchurch NZ: Boma New Zealand is proud to present E Tipu 2021 | The Boma NZ Agri Summit, the biggest food and fibre event of the year featuring remarkable local and global guest speakers at the forefront of the industry.

Held on May 11–12 at the Christchurch Town Hall, E Tipu will see a mass gathering of both local and international thought-leaders, game-changers, business operators and like-minded attendees from the primary sector.

Amongst the confirmed guest speakers will be prominent business leader and respected CEO Paul Polman. Formerly CEO of Unilever, Paul is the Co-founder and Chair of IMAGINE, an organisation that works with CEOs who are building their companies into beacons of sustainable business and leveraging their collective power to drive change on tipping points in their industry. Paul is also the Honorary Chair of the International Chamber of Commerce, Chair of The B Team and Saïd Business School and Vice-Chair of the UN Global Compact. Described as “a stand out CEO of the past decade” by the Financial Times, he is a speaker not to be missed.

Invercargill-based, award-winning farmer Tangaroa Walker is a force for good within the farming community, locally and beyond with over 150,000 Facebook followers. Founder and host of popular Farm 4 Life Learning Hub, Tangaroa will be bringing his popular online platform to the floor, as he shares his knowledge around the education of transformational farming practices and the highs and lows of farming life.

Singaporean Dr. Sandhya Sriram, the Co-founder and CEO of Shiok Meats, is a true food tech disruptor, creating lab-grown seafood such as shrimp, crab, and lobster by harvesting from cells instead of animals. As a stem cell scientist with over 10 years’ experience, Sandhya believes in the transformational potential of translating biotech research into products.

Sandhya is one of Singapore's star startup founders, with two previous successful startups: SciGlo and Biotechin.Asia. She's been featured on Forbes Women in Tech and is an author for Nature Biotechnology blog.

Also included in the first batch of speaker announcements are Miranda Burdon, recognised leader and Co-founder of Food Nation; Logan Williams (Ngāi Tahu), internationally acclaimed Scientist, serial inventor, entrepreneur and Founder of Keravos; and Dr Ian Yule,

Research Director of PlantTech Research and Co-founder of Hyperceptions.

Over two days, E Tipu will provide workshops and space for business operators and attendees to explore four key themes within the industry from those who know it best including:

Innovation / Auahatanga: Exploring ways in which growers, product developers, and suppliers are applying innovation to what they do (e.g. robots on farms)

Disruption / Haututūtanga: Exploring ways in which our entire understanding of the industry may be turned on its head (e.g. lab grown meat)

Transformation / Kia Toitū, Kia Toiora: Transforming our understanding of our wider context and our responsibility within that context (e.g. response to climate change)

Inspiration / Whakaohoohotanga: Food for the soul (e.g. youth innovation; art)

While the 2019 Boma NZ Agri Summit focused on next-generation farming, the primary sector has since been faced with exponential change and challenges as the impact of the pandemic sets in.

Kaila Colbin, organiser of E Tipu and Founder/CEO of Boma New Zealand, says,

“The coronavirus has accelerated an array of changes that were already underway, making it all the more essential to keep ourselves ahead of the curve. The amazing speakers and workshops we’ll be enjoying at E Tipu are designed to let us lift our gaze and look to what the future of food and fibre might hold—and how Aotearoa New Zealand can lead the way.”

E Tipu provides a platform for those who want to understand more profitable, sustainable and innovative practices in order to work better together in times of adversity. The summit will tackle critical questions such as how the market is changing, how Covid affects operations, which new business models we should be exploring, how we can infuse Māori wisdom in cultivation, how we can leverage local and global collaboration, and much more.

This is Aotearoa’s ultimate agricultural summit, getting to the heart of all things food and fibre and the people who make it happen.

General Admission and Virtual Experience tickets will be released Monday March 22, with exclusive Canterbury experience packages also available.

Secure tickets and find more information at ETipu.boma.global

E Tipu 2021 is powered by Boma New Zealand, with the support of Foundation Partner Agritech Industry Transformation Plan (ITP) taskforce (a coalition including Callaghan Innovation, New Zealand Trade and Enterprise and Ministry for Primary Industries) and Host City Partner ChristchurchNZ.

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