New research by the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) 2033, finds that 40% of Canadian farm operators will retire, placing agriculture on the cusp of one of the biggest labour and leadership transitions in the country’s history. Over the same period, a shortfall of 24,000 general farm, nursery and greenhouse workers is expected to emerge. At the same time, 66% of producers do not have a succession plan in place, leaving the future of farmland in doubt.
These gaps loom at a time when Canada’s agricultural workforce needs to evolve to include skills like data analytics and climate-smart practices that enable us to grow more food with fewer emissions. Through short-, medium-, and long-term policies, Canada can establish the digitally-savvy agricultural workforce needed to make our country a global leader in low carbon, sustainable food production.
“To offset a short-term skills crisis, we’ll need to accept 30,000 permanent immigrants over the next decade to establish their own farms and greenhouses or take over existing ones. To meet our medium and long-term goals, we’ll need to build a new pipeline of domestic operators and workers by bolstering education and increasing the R&D spending behind productivity-enhancing automation,” the report states.
Other nations, like Japan and New Zealand are rapidly deploying national strategies to tackle similar challenges. They are offering incentives to farm operators who become more autonomous or unlocking pathways for foreign skilled workers and new farmers to enter their industries. Canada needs to act fast.
The agriculture sector is facing a transformational skills and labour crisis. However, with the right approach, this acute disadvantage can become a generational advantage. By increasing the immigration of skilled farmers, encouraging colleges and universities to bring students of all backgrounds into the sector, and investing in innovative solutions to automate and reduce on-farm labour, Canada can lead the world into a new era of low carbon farming.
