This year’s data show clear progress in automation solu- tions for the fresh produce industry, which comes as a relief for growers struggling with increasing labor costs and sustained lack of labor availability. While there is still considerable scope for further advancement across all activities, the progress shows that the agriculture
industry is open and eager to adapt new technologies. Industry associations, such as Western Growers and the Washington Tree Fruit Research Commission (WTFRC), can play a pivotal role in further advancing the commercialization of these technologies, as elaborated in the next section.
6.8 ENABLERS TO ACCELERATE TECHNOLOGY AND MARKET DEVELOPMENTS
There are five key ways in which Western Growers and similar industry organizations can accelerate the adoption of technology and facilitate market deployments, including providing access to growers, facilitating access
to funding, giving access to supplementing technology and increasing regulatory transparency and data transparency. Over the past year, Western Growers has expanded its efforts in each, as shown in Figure 55.
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