DURING his time at Agmardt, Malcolm Nitschke has seen plenty of change, both in the organisation itself and the food and fibre sector it serves.
Nitschke says when he was appointed he was asked to drive the independent, not-for-profit organisation into the public eye.
“It was a small funder that sat in the background, not very well-known,” Nitschke said.
“The board at the time was looking for someone to take hold of it, grow the network and the brand – I think I’ve achieved that.
“Even though we’re still a small niche player in the whole field of funding, there’re not many places that we’re not known. Agmardt has a huge network nowadays.”
The fund itself originates from levies paid by farmers when they used to purchase fertiliser.
In 1987 the Government wound up the then New Zealand and British Phosphate Commission and out of that came $32 million, which it wanted to return to farmers.
As it couldn’t identify individuals through fertiliser purchases it created the Agmardt Trust, set up to provide seed funding for a range of initiatives, innovations and research, as well as helping develop the capabilities of people in the primary sector.
It’s governed by an independent board of four trustees.
Nitschke says that independence, which includes controlling its own funding destiny, is important.
“Because we’re a very early seed stage funder – whether it be a project, an innovation or an agritech development – there’s always risks that they may fail, but that’s okay,” he said.
“It’s all about the idea, the project. Do we like it? Is it going to have a significant impact on agriculture? Is it going to benefit the primary sector? That’s how we look at it.”
As an early-stage funder, Nitschke says Agmardt has invested in a wide range of initiatives during his time with the organisation, so it’s difficult to pick out particular highlights.
However, he has always been interested in agritech and he says NZ designers and developers in the field are up there with the best in the world, but it is important to clearly define the problem you are trying to solve to ensure farmer or industry uptake. They are often hampered by a lack of funding and capital, which makes it harder to scale to the next level commercially.
He’s also proud of the work done helping people within the sector develop.
“One of the most rewarding things is supporting Kellogg (Kellogg Rural Leadership programme) or escalator courses for the Agri-Women’s Development Trust and meeting the people who start on those courses and seeing how they’ve developed after the course,” he said.
“Some of them go from being farmers to becoming future leader overnight. It’s very rewarding.”
He’s also pleased with some of the in-market approaches that Agmardt has supported in the past.
“I’ve always been very focused on our overseas markets, so in the early days we provided a lot of funding for in-market grants to help NZ companies develop products and markets overseas, principally because there’s a lack of significant funding for small to medium-sized businesses. The focus now is very much on understanding our customers in the marketplace, creating products the customer wants, not just expecting them to buy what we produce,” he said.
Being independent means managing the Agmardt fund to provide revenue from the initial government investment.
Today that has grown to a fund of $90m, but Nitschke says the organisation has to live within its means and the current investment market, just like a Kiwisaver account, goes up and down with the market returns.
“In saying that, for an outstanding idea or proposal that was likely to have a huge impact, we will dip into capital if we have to,” he said.
As a small-scale seed funder, it is important for Agmardt to maintain its relevance in that space.
He says the organisation has just been through a strategic review and it is very focused on the future and looking to accelerate change by working at the “edges”, investing in initiatives that other funding sources may not support.
“But we have to be adaptable. We must ensure Agmardt either sits in front of or is right up there with new innovations, new technology and new thinking going forward, because that’s the only way we will maintain our relevance,” he said.
That means over time there will be changes to what it will invest in.
He says for Agmardt to grow, even though it’s got a $90m fund, it needs to find new and innovative ways to increase its influence so it can add more value.
“How do we get alternative income streams to be able to provide additional funding in different forms?” he asked.
“There are many options – accelerator loans, taking equity in companies we have helped kickstart, and partnering with other funders and agencies. That’s something for the trustees going forward.”
He says anyone considering taking on his role after he steps down in August will need to have a passion for agriculture and the primary sector, and an appetite to make change.
“I have the fortune of having a background in the ag sector and I like to bring a lot of that to the table,” he said.
“The GM is the first ruler over everything, so having a strong understanding of the food and fibre sector provides the ability to sense-test proposals.”
Questions he asks himself about applications include: is this innovative, will it transform how we do things, and will this have an impact on the food and fibre sector?
A passion and desire to get out and help the sector grow, a level of financial awareness and strong people skills are important skills for anyone wanting to succeed him.
As for himself, Nitschke says after eight-and-a-half years in the role, it’s time for him to step aside.
That will allow him to pursue other interests, including his Marton farm and a grain trading business that he’s been developing with his son, plus finding some time for a bit of fishing.
“But I’m still interested in remaining part of the industry and looking for governance roles or project work, those sorts of things, going back to potentially being a part-time consultant,” he said.
He is confident that he will leave the organisation in a good place and thanks the trustees and office team for their support, which he says has been invaluable.
However, it’s time for someone else to drive it.
“There are people out there with different skills than I have who can take Agmardt a lot further, ensuring Agmardt can continue to have a significant impact going forward,” he said.
“It’s a fantastic job and I’m going to be quite sad to leave it. I looked at the job description we wrote the other day and I thought ‘that looks a pretty exciting role’.”
