Issue

To feed the world, we have to grow 10,000 years' worth of food in the next thirty years, which means agriculture producers worldwide must increase food production by 60 to 70 percent¹. This demand is met with finite resources in agriculture including land, people, and investment coupled with the high costs of technological adoption and implementation, environmental and regulatory burdens and a lag in specialized education and skill development. The convergence of skills development, new technologies, regulatory and cost controls must all be coordinated to deliver an effective agriculture and agri-food strategy in order to develop the farms of the future. 

Background

In March 2016, the Federal Government’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth (ACEG) was tasked by the Minister of Finance to provide policy directions for conditions needed for strong and sustained long-term economic growth. ACEG identified the agriculture and agri-food sector as one of the strategic sectors² with a strong endowment and untapped and significant growth potential.³ However, to be a key economic player in our growth, we must tap into our financial, social, human, natural and built capital resources to build and implement sustainable practices and increase public trust and awareness to achieve food security for the future.

Environmental Considerations

Science and innovation have been key to the progress and growth in Canadian agriculture and agri-food. Innovations such as crop varieties, livestock breeds and farm management practices have delivered health, environmental and economic benefits with significant improvements to agricultural practices. Crop production to zero-till techniques and equipment have improved soil health and enhanced carbon sequestration globally. Improvements in animal genetics and feeding efficiency have reduced GHG intensity in animal protein production. In addition, many scientists are confident that farming can be adapted to build carbon into soils⁴. Soil carbon building practices, loosely gathered under the term “regenerative agriculture,” have been practiced for decades, or centuries in some places. However, there are barriers that keep more farmers from adopting these strategies, including higher costs for specialized equipment, and reduced return as these practices don’t necessarily provide higher yields or demand premium prices in a global market where producers are price-takers.

Science continues to unveil the complex relationships between soil-human-animal health and offer opportunities for lower risk, higher return, and quality food systems.⁵ At the same time the Government of Canada continues to see value in agriculture and agri-food investments and finding solutions through initiatives such as the Agricultural Climate Solutions Program⁶. Finding solutions to complex challenges by consulting with industry experts and researchers, while directing funding towards the highest and best outcomes can provide solutions for the future.

Human Capital: Education and Skills Development 

Through the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council Employer Survey in 2023, 44% of employers were unable to find needed workers⁷. Further, according to an RBC report, 600 fewer young people are pursuing agricultural careers each year, and the number of unfilled agricultural jobs is expected to increase from 63,000 in 2017 to 123,000 by 2029⁸. Most of those empty jobs are in manual, unskilled labour, and are often filled by temporary foreign workers. Barriers to working and investing in the industry need to be addressed by focusing on skill development and redevelopment for career transitions as well as early career development and awareness of the opportunities in agriculture, agri-food and agri-tech. 

Additionally, there is an untapped opportunity to create agriculture programs, similar to trades, apprenticeship and health-related programs. Such programs can provide theory, safety and science-based training and education through course curriculum, while integrating applied program training and specialization through immersive work experience programs. By modelling programs and creating incentives to target this specialized sector, industry and education can work together to create a suite of employable skills that enable students to gain insight and experience to gainfully contribute to the agricultural industry and our economy into the future.

Technology and Innovation Cost Controls and Incentives 

Science and digitization are turning Canada’s farms into high-tech businesses supported by some of the world’s most advanced technology companies and equipment manufacturers⁹. Around the world, modern farming is beginning to utilize technologies such as advanced sensors, imaging, remote monitoring, automation, robotics, artificial intelligence and blockchain.¹⁰ Alberta Innovates describes self-driving tractors, automated cultivators and robotic harvesters as current technology under development. Agricultural producers could substantially increase yields while minimizing environmental impact by utilizing intelligent, automated systems.

However, Canada’s agri-food sector has low rates of technology adoption compared to other countries.¹¹ Canada will need to increase its competitive advantage and bridge the gap between emerging technology and traditional farming methods, to increase its share of global funding in key technologies.¹² According to an RBC Report, if Canada works to close the agriculture labour gap and accelerate investment in technology, it could gain $11 billion in annual GDP by 2030. 

More than 80% of producers under the age of 40 report using technology; with that percentage decreasing to 57% for those over 60.¹³ This is likely because it is largely felt that the current cost of technology adoption does not lead to the financial returns that would justify investment. Agriculture continues to be a capital-intensive business, making it tough to compete in a new economy where investments in technology are needed for future growth. Farmers’ access to credit is also surprisingly low, as Canadian agriculture has a 1.9% share of national commercial lending. The global average is 2.9%; in New Zealand, it’s 14.1%. Capital intensity is one of the reasons so many operations stay family-owned and operated and stands as a barrier to those seeking careers in agriculture.

Regulatory Obstacles 

Internal regulatory barriers hinder innovation and competitiveness¹⁴, and Agri-food products have a long and multi-stage journey to market and agri-food issues naturally span across different departments within the government, which results in regulatory obstacles. Cross-departmental communication and collaboration are essential to triage and resolve these regulatory obstacles.¹⁵ Alignment between all levels of government can contribute to efficiency by eliminating or reducing the duplication of regulations. In addition, many regulations for the agri-food sector are out of date, impeding investment, trade, innovation and competitiveness. Modernization of regulations should focus on an appropriate balance of science and risk without unnecessarily impeding innovation. Our regulatory process must demonstrate that Canada’s food is the safest, most sustainable and most nutritious in the world.

Recommendations

The Southeast Alberta Chamber of Commerce, along with the Canadian Chamber of Commerce, recommends that the Government of Canada:

1. Ensure that the Sustainable Agriculture Strategy is cohesive and does not include prescriptive targets that are unachievable or compromise producers' economic viability. The strategy must be science based by evaluating emissions intensity alongside carbon sequestration and soil health and increasing opportunities for carbon offsets, as well as facilitating the adoption of on-farm climate change adaptation measures to help farmers increase their resilience to climate change.
2. Through Employment and Social Development Canada's Sectoral Initiatives Program, invest in employment placement programs, training and programs that encourage interest in agriculture careers at an early age to ensure the agri-food sector is supplied with the next generation of talent.
3. Direct additional funding through the Sustainable Agricultural Partnership to the AgriInovate Program to stimulate innovation, commercialization, and investment in agri-tech developments and their adoption and implementation by producers.
4. Consult with the agriculture industry associations to modernize and synchronize regulations and frameworks to speed up approval times and to be nimble and responsive to dynamic local and global demands.

Resources

1. Rob Saik (2019), Food 5.0: https://www.robertsaik.com/presentations.html 
2. Advisory Council on Economic Growth: Unleash the growth potencial of key sectors: 
3. The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (2018), Barton Forward: optimizing Growth in the Canadian Agri-Food Sector: https://capi-icpa.ca/wpcontent/uploads/2018/06/CAPI_Barton_WhatWeHeardReport_Eng.pdf 
4. Washington Post ‘Planting Crops and Carbon, too’: https://www.washingtonpost.com/graphics/2021/climate-solutions/climate-regenerative-agriculture 
5. The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute(2018) Barton Forward: Optimizing Growth in the Canadian Agri-Food Sector: https://capi-icpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/CAPI_Barton_WhatWeHeardReport_Eng.pdf 
6. Government of Canada: Accelerating the adoption of climate-smart best practices in agriculture: https://www.canada.ca/en/agriculture-agri-food/news/2021/03/accelerating-the-adoption-of-climate-smart-best-practices-in-agriculture.html 
7. Canadian Agriculture Human Resource Council Labour Market Dashboard: https://app.powerbi.com/view?r=eyJrIjoiNDg1NDhmNWMtOThmNy00ZDJlLTlmNTMtODdjZTFiNTFiZTY1IiwidCI6ImM2OTdmYTEzLTY4OGQtNDEzNS1hMzgxLWFkNDEyMDY2ZWQ3YSIsImMiOjZ9
8. RBC Thought Leadership (2019), Farmer 4.0: How the coming skills revolution can transform agriculture: http://www.rbc.com/economics/economic-reports/pdf/other-reports/Farmer4_aug2019.pdf   
9. Globe & Mail: Precision agricultureis a game-changer for Canada's farmers: https://www.theglobeandmail.com/business/adv/article-precision-agriculture-is-a-game-changer-for-canadas-farmers/
10. Alberta Innovates, The Future of Farming: https://albertainnovates.ca/impact/newsroom/the-future-offarming/  
11. Canada’s Economic Strategy Tables, Agri-Food – The sector today and opportunities for tomorrow (Interim Report) (Spring 2018). 
12. RBC Thought Leadership (2019), Farmer 4.0: How the coming skills revolution can transform agriculture: http://www.rbc.com/economics/economic-reports/pdf/other-reports/Farmer4_aug2019.pdf  
13. RBC Thought Leadership (2019), Farmer 4.0: How the coming skills revolution can transform agriculture: http://www.rbc.com/economics/economic-reports/pdf/other-reports/Farmer4_aug2019.pdf 
14. Government of Canada: Report of Canada’s Economic Strategy Tables: Agri-food: https://ised-isde.canada.ca/site/economic-strategy-tables/en/report-2018/report-canadas-economic-strategy-tables-agri-food
15. The Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute, Canada As An Agri-Food Powerhouse Strengthening our Competitiveness and Leveraging our Potential: Roundtable Synthesis Report: https://capi-icpa.ca/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/Canada-as-an-Agri-Food-Powerhouse-Strengthening-our-Competitiveness-and-Leveraging-our-Potential-2017.pdf

Date Approved: June 1, 2021
Date Renewed: June 19, 2024
Date Updated and Approved by the CCC: October 18, 2024