FRDC staff and directors attended evokeAG. 2025, the Asia-Pacific region’s premier agrifood tech event, held in Brisbane.
evokeAG. 2025, delivered by Agrifutures Australia, brings the community together to explore how global agrifood innovation and technology intersect to drive change for our food, farmers and the natural resources that sustain them.
This year’s theme, Common Ground, invited the agrifood tech and innovation community to unite—bringing together founders, funders, and most importantly, adopters: the producers, processors and supply chain partners who turn innovation into action and deliver real impact.
FRDC joined forces with AgriFutures, Grains Research and Development Corporation, Cotton Research and Development Corporation, Wine Australia, Australian Eggs, LiveCorp, Australian Meat Processor Corporation, Australian Pork, Dairy Australia, Forest and Wood Products Australia, Hort Innovation, Meat & Livestock Australia, Australian Wool Innovation and Sugar Research Australia to share a dedicated space focused on research and development.
This collaboration created opportunities for delegates to engage on government priorities, gain deeper insights into the impact of each R&D corporation and strengthen dialogue and partnerships across industries.
Supporting Innovation: FishNett at Startup Alley
As part of FRDC’s commitment to fostering innovation, building capability and capacity, Cait Hopper, Product Manager of FishNett, was sponsored to attend evokeAG. and present on the Demo Stage in Startup Alley.
FishNett is a digital transformation startup modernising the seafood sector, much like agtech did for agriculture years ago. Many fishers still rely on paper-based systems, so FishNett provides a rugged, intuitive solution for catch recording, compliance, consignment tracking, export labelling and invoicing. By helping small, sustainable operators embrace Industry 4.0 without disrupting traditional practices, it enhances efficiency while meeting the growing demand for transparency in the Blue Economy. Despite being fully bootstrapped, FishNett has already digitised over four per cent of Australia's wild-caught seafood.
Cait highlighted the importance of end-user-driven innovation and the role of RDC partnerships in ensuring that startup products are not only viable but also effectively adopted across the industry. She emphasised how collaboration with the broader agrifood ecosystem is crucial for developing solutions that are economically viable, practical and impactful.
Other presenters include Bryan van Wyck from Austral Fisheries discussing risk and innovation and Bren Smith, Co-Executive Director, GreenWave and Owner of Thimble Island Ocean Farm, talking about creating the first 3D ocean farm in the United States, transforming the way we think about food and the environment.
Reflections on the Future of AgTech
Reflecting on the event, Cait described evokeAG. 2025 as an eye-opening experience.
“evokeAG. 2025 really pushed a future-focused lens, particularly in the session The Future of Food: Innovate or Fall Behind. I enjoyed this provocative, hands-on workshop, which challenged participants to envision an agricultural production system for a possible 2050 future.”
She hopes to bring similar speculative design workshops to the seafood sector in the future.
While the event showcased exciting opportunities, it also highlighted some tough realities for startups.
“There is very little in the way of venture capitalist funding or access to capital for startups in the agtech and seafood space.”
However, she found valuable perspective in this challenge:
“This experience helped me realise that the difficulties we’ve faced in securing financial support aren’t a failure on our part as a startup. Instead, they reflect the broader need for greater investment in this space to ensure innovative solutions can reach commercial viability.”
Looking Ahead
evokeAG. 2025 reinforced the importance of collaboration, investment, and future-focused thinking in driving innovation across agrifood sectors. As FRDC continues to support research, development and startups like FishNett, the goal remains clear: to help industry adopt new technologies, strengthen sustainability and build a thriving Blue Economy.
