NZ rural businesses slow to adapt to new technology - MYOB

MYOB New Zealand general manager Carolyn Luey. Picture/Supplied,

Rural businesses are showing strong signs of economic improvement but they have been slow to take on board new technologies, according to a survey commissioned by accounting software provider MYOB.

The MYOB Business Monitor survey showed that the prospect of improvements in international commodity markets and increases in schedule prices have injected a measure of confidence into the farming and rural sector.

General manager Carolyn Luey said the last few years had proven to be testing, with a challenging international environment depressing farmgate incomes. However, conditions had improved over the last year.

"Revenues are up from 12 months ago, and business operators are confident that this growth will extend into next year," she said.

"While managing increased debt levels, the sector also continued to invest in machinery, equipment and technology, which will undoubtedly be good news to the wider rural business community," she said.

Returns to rural businesses are improving, with 32 per cent confirming an increase in revenue from the previous year, and only one fifth saying their revenue has decreased, while 40 per cent expect to make more sales than average in the coming quarter.

Looking ahead, the sector's predictions for 2018 show promise, with one third expecting revenue to grow over the next year, while only 14 per cent expect their revenue to decrease.

MYOB also asked rural businesses how significantly they expected their industry to be changed by technology over the coming decade.

Luey said just one in five expected no change from technology, with 45 per cent expecting only slight change and 35 per cent expecting significant change.

She said it was time for some in New Zealand's rural sector to reconsider their approach to technological developments and embrace the opportunities of the future.

"For more than 150 years, New Zealand farmers have been innovators. New Zealand's reputation for 'No. 8' wire ingenuity came from our farming communities who had to make do with what was available to build an internationally successful industry.

"However, according to our latest Business Monitor data, far fewer rural-based businesses are preparing for their industry to significantly change due to technology and most are embracing new technologies far more slowly than their city counterparts," she said.

Rural operators are the least likely to adopt new technologies, with close to half (43 per cent) saying they are reluctant to embrace tech advancements, in stark contrast to the 28 per cent of their metropolitan counterparts who say the same.

-- Jamie Gray