Sydney Institute of Agriculture's Annual RD Watt Lecture

The Promise of Digital AgTech

Digital AgTech is emerging everywhere—on conference stages, in glossy strategy documents, and in the daily routines of farms preparing for a more volatile future. We are told that better data, smarter sensors, and faster algorithms can help agriculture meet its biggest challenges. That the promise is real: fewer wasted inputs, earlier pest and disease warnings, tighter water and nitrogen management, and clearer evidence for markets and policy. The question is not whether technology matters; it is whether we design it to deliver outcomes that matter. Digital tools will be judged by what they change, not how impressive they look. In an era of climate instability, ecological decline, and nutritional insecurity, the future of farming depends on a higher standard: When AgTech meets these challenges and more, it has the potential to become the platform for progress at scale.

So we have brought together a panel to tell us ‘the promise of digital agtech’. Come and join us.

Our Host

Professor Damien Field, Director, Sydney Institute of Agriculture, University of Sydney

Professor Damien Field is the Director of the Sydney Institute of Agriculture and a Professor in Global Soil Security and Soil Education. Damien's research is focused on developing concepts and frameworks to secure soil from the existential global challenges, assessing its functionality, and understanding the fundamental processes that drive this. He has an equally developed program of research in developing education strategies in soil science and agriculture. In addition to Australia his research has involved work in South-East Asia and the pacific.

Our Speakers

Dr Nicola Cottee, Innovation Broker, Cotton Research and Development Corporation

Beyond the Hype: Digital AgTech Through an Industry Lens

Dr Nicola Cottee is a Senior Innovation Broker with the Cotton Research and Development Corporation (CRDC), where she oversees a portfolio of strategic research investments that support the sustainability, resilience and competitiveness of the Australian cotton industry. Nicola brings experience across research, stewardship, regulation and policy, positioning her to drive coordinated, industry‑wide action on greenhouse gas emissions reduction and water quality improvement. Her work focuses on translating complex science into credible, defensible and practical outcomes that support industry decision‑making in an increasingly challenging environmental and policy landscape.

Nicola’s early‑career research on heat stress tolerance in cotton sparked a long‑standing interest in how changing environments influence agricultural systems. This foundation continues to shape her work today, guided by a firm belief that collective action is critical to achieving meaningful, long‑term outcomes for the cotton growers and their communities.

Dr Michelle Demers, Chief Science Officer, BioScout

From Research to Reality: Building AgTech That Actually Gets Adopted

Dr Michelle Demers is the Head of Science at BioScout, where she leads the integration of scientific research with technical and commercial innovation to deliver real-world solutions for Australian agriculture, human health, and biosecurity. Dr Demers spearheaded the creation of Australia’s first national broadacre disease surveillance network—a world-first initiative combining pathology, robotics, and AI to provide actionable field intelligence, now being replicated internationally. Her career spans plant breeding and pathology research across Canada and Australia, with a strong focus on commercialisation and advancing food security. She earned her PhD in plant pathology and bioinformatics from the University of Sydney, where she also co-founded the AgTech startup Carapac during her doctoral studies. She has completed the Australian Institute of Company Directors program and remains a passionate advocate for translating academic research into industry impact.

Dr Wartini Ng, Research Fellow, University of Sydney

Bridging Research into Commercialisation: My Story

Dr Wartini Ng is a Research Fellow at the University of Sydney, developing digital soil carbon measurement technology for Australian agriculture. Her work integrates field sensors, satellite data, and machine learning to make soil carbon assessment more accessible and cost-effective for land owners. By reducing barriers to measurement and verification, her technology aims to enable broader participation in carbon markets and scale nature-based climate solutions. Wartini has completed commercialisation training through the PERIscope and Agtech Foundations programs and is working toward commercial deployment to support climate-smart agriculture.

Image credit: Guy Roth