What do you do when you have a great idea for a solution that would benefit your sector, but are living on a remote farm and have no idea where to start?
That’s the situation Central Queensland producer Sarah Donovan was in before she joined the GRDC GroundUp accelerator program.
Now, a little more than a year after completing the program, she’s about to trial her solution.
Cirquitive, an agrichemical traceability platform, was in the initial stages of development when Sarah joined GroundUp, which aims to accelerate technology to benefit the grains sector.
Her goal was to help primary producers attain the “highest level of agrichemical compliance” and make record keeping easier, while also improving sustainability.
Through the accelerator program, Sarah learned important lessons and made vital connections to take her tech to the next level.
“There are certainly times throughout the journey of product development when you feel very overwhelmed,” she explained.
“But the beauty of these programs is you have people who are willing to give you guidance.
“Being part of GroundUp was so great because it was more than just learning through the process. It was also about the connections I made with the other participants and with industry, which helped advance my platform.”
Cirquitive is a QR code-based platform that allows the traceability of agricultural and agvet chemicals, fertilisers and other farm inputs throughout the supply chain.
It enables farmers to better manage and maintain their agrichemical usage, inventory, compliance, audit, and the disposal of expired chemicals and empty containers.
The platform has a strong sustainability focus, tracing the containers through the supply chain from production through to recycling companies.
The Agtech and Logistics Hub (Powered by AgriBusiness Connect) is now introducing Sarah to agrichemical companies to discuss putting the QR codes on their containers and potential investment in the platform to improve sustainability in their industry.
She said the GroundUp program was suited to founders from all walks of life, including primary producers like herself who were quite isolated – both geographically and in terms of access to expertise and support.
“I would have been the least experienced founder in our GroundUp cohort, who were all so willing to share their experiences and knowledge with me,” she said.
“I would like to think that people who are interested in this program, but are nervous about doing it, can look at me and go, ‘if she can do it, then I can’.
“I’m an introvert and I don’t like public speaking. So the biggest thing for me was to get up and do a presentation at the GroundUp demo day and give a pitch – it was terrifying but was a great opportunity to get my solution in front of potential investors.
“Once you do it, something shifts inside of you. For me, it wasn’t even about getting funding that day, but the opportunity to pitch for the first time, and in an environment that was so warm and welcoming.
“To people in my position, particularly primary producers, who are not used to speaking in front of people, I just, I couldn’t recommend GroundUp more, because of the people involved and how comfortable they made me feel.”