AGMARDT (The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust)

What AGMARDT (The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust) does

AGMARDT (The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust) is an independent New Zealand charitable trust established in 1988 that strategically invests funds into the country's food and fibres sector. The trust distributes grants across multiple programmes, with the core categories being Agribusiness Innovation Grants and Capability Development Grants, complemented by Doctoral and Post Doctoral Fellowships, Leadership Scholarships, Visiting Fellowships, Conference Grants, In-Market Grants, Market Insight Grants, and Thought Leadership initiatives. Its mandate is to encourage innovative thinking, research capability, collaboration, and emerging leadership in New Zealand's primary sector, rather than to commercialise technology.

Over 38 years, AGMARDT has awarded more than 1,700 grants totaling in excess of NZD $111 million, with annual grant rounds typically ranging between NZD $1 million and NZD $4 million. The trust's GTM is structured as periodic grant rounds with Expression of Interest processes; the 2026 Agribusiness Innovation Grant Round is described as transitional, signalling a redesign toward easier and more targeted future rounds. Beneficiary communication occurs through the AGMARDT website, newsletter, and LinkedIn presence. The organisation is headquartered in Wellington (PO Box 10232), is advised by AGRARIAN, and uses CADDIE for web services. AGMARDT does not generate commercial revenue and is not a vendor of products or services; its sole economic activity is grant distribution from its trust corpus.

Name

AGMARDT (The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust)

Legal name

The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust

Website

https://agmardt.org.nz

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

AGMARDT is an independent New Zealand charitable trust, founded in 1988, that distributes grants to accelerate innovation, research capability, and leadership in Aotearoa New Zealand's food and fibres sector.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Agricultural Grant Funding

NAICS

Grantmaking Foundations (813211), Grantmaking and Giving Services (8132)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Education Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAK), Public Charities & Grantmaking Intermediaries (BPAGAKAE)

Keywords

• Agricultural research grants
• Agribusiness innovation funding
• Leadership development grants
• Primary sector scholarships
• Food and fibres sector investment

Headquarters

HQ city

Wellington

HQ country

New Zealand

HQ region

Oceania

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Grant Funding Distribution: AGMARDT strategically invests funds into agribusiness innovation, research capability, collaboration initiatives, and leadership development for New Zealand's primary sector. The trust does not generate commercial revenue but distributes funds through various grant programmes including Agribusiness Innovation Grants, Capability Development Grants, Leadership Scholarships, Conference Grants, and Visiting Fellowships.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

AGMARDT is an independent charitable trust that strategically invests funds through grant programmes to encourage innovative thinking, build research capability, foster collaboration, and develop emerging leaders in New Zealand's primary sector. It runs periodic grant rounds including the 2026 Agribusiness Innovation Grant Round and distributes funds via Agribusiness Innovation Grants, Capability Development Grants, Doctoral Scholarships, Post Doctoral Fellowships, Leadership Scholarships, Visiting Fellowships, Conference Grants, In-Market Grants, Market Insight Grants, and Thought Leadership initiatives.

Product overview

AGMARDT is a grant funding organization that provides various funding programmes to accelerate innovation and development in New Zealand's food and fibres sector. The organization operates a unified grant programme structure consisting of two primary grant categories: Agribusiness Innovation Grants (early-stage innovation funding for bold food and fibre ideas) and Capability Development Grants (leadership and professional development support). Additional programme types include Doctoral Scholarships, Post Doctoral Fellowships, Leadership Scholarships, Visiting Fellowship Grants, Conference Grants, In-Market Grants, Market Insight Grants, Thought Leadership initiatives, and Executive Management Development Scholarships. The 2026 Agribusiness Innovation Grant Round represents their current transitional grant initiative providing early-stage innovation funding.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• 2026 Agribusiness Innovation Grant Round Provides early-stage innovation funding for bold food and fibre ideas; targeted at New Zealand agribusinesses, innovators, researchers, and primary sector participants seeking capital for transformational innovation projects.
• Agribusiness Innovation Grants Strategic grants for agribusiness innovation projects supporting New Zealand's food and fibres sector; recipients include agribusinesses, research organisations, and industry bodies.
• Capability Development Grants Grants that fund leadership and professional development for individuals and organisations in New Zealand's food and fibres sector, building skills and emerging leader capability.
• Doctoral Scholarships PhD-level scholarships supporting doctoral research in fields relevant to New Zealand's primary sector; awarded to individual students conducting agricultural, food, or fibre-related research.
• Post Doctoral Fellowship Grants Postdoctoral fellowships funding early-career researchers to undertake research projects of strategic importance to New Zealand's food and fibres sector.
• Leadership Scholarships Scholarships supporting the development of emerging leaders in New Zealand's primary sector, including programmes for industry leaders and young farmers.
• Visiting Fellowship Grants Grants enabling visiting experts and researchers to contribute to New Zealand's food and fibres sector through short-term fellowships.
• Conference Grants Grants supporting industry conferences and events that foster collaboration and information dissemination across New Zealand's primary sector.
• In-Market Grants Grants supporting in-market activities and export development initiatives to help New Zealand agribusinesses enter and expand in international markets.
• Market Insight Grants

Quantifiable outcome

• Over NZD $111 million invested over 38 years across more than 1700 grants

Named customers4 records

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• AGRARIAN (Advisory)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerAGMARDT is advised by AGRARIAN, which provides advisory services for the trust's operations.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Regional players

• DairyNZ: DairyNZ is a New Zealand farmer-funded industry body that invests levy income into dairy-sector research, innovation, and capability development. It is comparable to AGMARDT as a parallel NZ primary-sector funding institution with similar research-and-innovation mandates, though more focused on a single commodity (dairy).
• Australian Rural Leadership Foundation: The Australian Rural Leadership Foundation delivers leadership development programs for rural Australia, including the prestigious Australian Rural Leadership Program. It is comparable to AGMARDT as a rural-sector leadership scholarship and capability-building organization, though operating across the Tasman rather than in NZ.
• Beef + Lamb New Zealand: Beef + Lamb New Zealand is a farmer levy organization that funds research, development, and market programs for the sheep and beef sector. It is comparable to AGMARDT as a sectoral grantmaking and research-funding body operating in the NZ primary industries space.
• Foundation for Arable Research (FAR): FAR is a New Zealand arable-crop grower-funded applied research and information organization. It is comparable to AGMARDT as a producer-led research investment body funding sector-specific innovation and capability in NZ.
• Horticulture New Zealand: Horticulture New Zealand represents NZ fruit and vegetable growers and invests levy funds into research, innovation, and biosecurity. It is comparable to AGMARDT as a domestic NZ food-and-fibres sector funding and policy organization.

Broad incumbents

• Ministry for Primary Industries (MPI) - NZ: MPI is the New Zealand government ministry responsible for the primary sector, including administering the Sustainable Food & Fibre Futures (SFF Futures) co-investment fund. It is comparable to AGMARDT as a major source of grants and innovation funding for NZ food and fibre, though as a government body rather than an independent trust.

Emerging players

• Our Land and Water (NZ): Our Land and Water is a New Zealand National Science Challenge investing in research on land-use sustainability and primary-sector futures. It is comparable to AGMARDT as a publicly funded research-investment vehicle targeting NZ food and fibre innovation, though more theme-focused.
• Sprout Agritech Limited: Sprout Agritech is a New Zealand agritech accelerator and investor backing early-stage food and fibre startups. It is comparable to AGMARDT as a recipient/partner and as a complementary NZ agribusiness innovation funder; AGMARDT's 2020 three-year partnership ($517,500) makes it a direct counterparty.

Direct peers

• AgriFutures Australia: AgriFutures Australia is an RDC that invests levies and government funds into research, innovation, and emerging-leader development for Australian rural industries. It is directly comparable to AGMARDT as a rural-industry research and leadership investment trust, with a structurally similar mix of innovation grants, scholarships, and capability programs.
• New Zealand Rural Leadership Trust: The NZ Rural Leadership Trust operates the prestigious Nuffield NZ Farming Scholarship and Kellogg Programme, which AGMARDT has co-funded (e.g., $345K in 2015). It is directly comparable as a trust-funded NZ leadership development body operating in the same primary-sector space, and a long-standing AGMARDT partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/agmardt-the-agricultural-and-marketing-research-and-development-trust-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about AGMARDT (The Agricultural and Marketing Research and Development Trust)