b"PARTNER CONTENTAg Innovation: Were in it TogetherBy: Sam Cloete, CEO - Kannar Earth Science, Ltd.F armers today are faced with in- industry-improving and world-betteringpest and disease resistance issues appear, credible pressure: not only do theyideas. Impactful changes often come inand the crop demands shift, we as ag-tech need to provide food, feed, fibre,small, incremental, and positive steps. companies serve the growers best when and fuel for a growing world population,At Kannar, innovating is not a thing towe are humble, proactive, and as such they need to produce more with less anddo or a checklist; its a true way of being.ready to respond quickly. For example, alongside increasing climate uncertainty.Our team plays off each other and espe- while the US hasnt yet fully adopted mi-Innovation has always been a vital part ofcially off external alliances, building ideascro-plastic free agriculture, were already agriculture. Today, its downright critical.and possibilities from brave questions andmoving towards a broad spectrum of Our industry needs big ideas and com- a what if brainstorming mindset. As CEO,micro-plastic free formulations, not only mitted team players to imagine, improve,I am inspired by the creativity and persis- because its better for the environment optimize, and educate.tence our team exemplifies every day, andand the crop, but also so that growers are We at Kannar Earth Sciences, Ltd.the vision we all embrace that agricultureempowered to choose the technology that applaud innovators who are humble andas a whole truly can be positive for both theserves them best. brave, who are curious and persistent, andgrowers bottom line and our environment.We as ag-tech companies serve the who refrain from the trap of their ownIn agriculture, whats most needed cangrowers best when we are humble, proac-product biases. We understand that theunpredictable: as the climate changes,tive, and ready to respond.biggest threat to continual innovation is the false belief that your most recent in-novation will be the only solution without an expiration date; and even worse that theres no other innovation like yours or that can compli-ment what you have. Even esteemed companies with pro-found innovations are at risk of becoming irrelevant when hubris emerges that results in, We're not collaborating any lon-ger because we figured it all out by ourselves. The fact is, were never going to keep pace with in-novation demands as islands. We commend those who are brave enough to have a clear un-derstanding of their value proposi-tion and who work with others to find the necessary skill sets and core competencies to complement in-novations with what's needed for successful commercialization. We know that fierce competi-tion calls for fierce protec-tion of intellectual property. However, we canand we need to - keep pushing forward towards FEBRUARY 2023 SEEDWORLD.COM /39"