He highlights the contribution of multinationals like Bayer saying he wants to encourage more of them to do R&D here.
NZ's agritechnology companies are bringing in about $1.2 billion in export receipts annually; a considerable increase on the $989 million recorded in 2009 after the Global Financial Crisis impacted. Since then the entire sector has grown at 4 per cent per annum over the past five years.
The Coriolis report, commissioned by NZ Trade and Enterprise (NZTE), says that is well within the potential range of $653 million-$1.8 billion..
Joyce says: "The agriculture sector plays a significant role in our economy.
"This research shows that our innovative agritechnology systems generate significant exports in their own right, and provide the opportunity to deliver much more for New Zealand in the years ahead."
The report highlights PGG Wrightson's new perennial ryegrass available with the AgResearch endophyte for insect resistance, thereby preventing grass staggers in sheep.
Another example is Gallagher's ring top post that reduces tangling and therefore time spent moving stock.
With farmers' continued willingness to spend money solving fundamental problems, the investment in R&D is likely to continue.
Digging down into the report it is clear that New Zealand - which does have a strong internal market for agritech products - lags the performance of other small nations like Israel on the export front.
Latest annual figures show NZ agritech companies exported $488 million of products to Australia (28 per cent of total agritech exports), followed by the United States ($260 million).
China accounts for just 5 per cent of NZ's agritech exports with the Netherlands hard on the heels of the US (it is the major NZ entry point to Europe).
Joyce acknowledges New Zealand has historically under-performed in agritech exports compared with other advanced agricultural nations.
"However our exports are now growing more quickly than our competitors, and opportunities for more growth exist across a wide range of markets. Europe, China and South America stand out as the biggest areas of potential growth."
New Zealand's agritech sector is made up of a diverse range of products and services, including animal and seed genetics, fertiliser and agri-chemicals, fencing supplies, farm tools, machinery and systems, and pumping and irrigation industries.
The report notes that New Zealand supports a broad range of agritech companies with varying degrees of export sales and markets.
New Zealand specialist seed companies AgriSeed and Carr Group grow and export seeds globally. Gallagher and Tru-Test export a broad range of fencing and monitoring systems. Simcro specialises in drench guns and injectors working closely with animal health companies and Waikato Milking Systems export milking systems, to name a few.
Animal health products, medicines and preventative treatments for on-farm use were the largest export earners at $311 million in 2013.
This category was closely followed by fencing supplies and equipment, and machinery and systems, each with $307 million in export sales.
The agricultural sector contributes more than 50 per cent of New Zealand's total exports, or some $30 billion in 2013.
