tax incentive in 2017 to help drive revenue to underserved communities. But more is needed. The key is to help but entrepreneurs and investors realize that market potential, as well as building resources and attractions to make them want to live there.
Such partnerships can benefit everyone. Cities are used to getting money from the public, said City of Salinas Mayor Joe Gunter. But attracting investment from private investors – who also want to make money — changes the thought process for cities. “It makes us more responsible, and I think for cities, it gives them an opportunity to improve an area, build better buildings and have partners that will be long-term,” Gunter says.
These people that are entering the agtech industry are a new kind of worker, who have higher skills and expect higher wages, said Dennis Donohue, director of the Center for Innovation and Technology at Western Growers. There have to be resources to attract them away from big cities, where young people tend to assume have the opportunities, housing and entertainment.