How foodie skills can forge the future of farming

Agriculture may be one of Canada’s oldest sectors, but a new generation is keen to make it young again.

From more farm-friendly restaurants to tech-savvy farms, a growing movement of millennials are aiming to make the 2020s a decade of transformation in Canadian agriculture.

I led a discussion with three of them at the Arrell Food Summit in Toronto, which was designed to explore ways Canada can lead a more sustainable approach to food production in the 2020s, as part of a bigger mission to feed a world of 9 billion people. It was organized by Guelph University’s Arrell Food Institute.

We studied many of the challenges facing future farmers in our recent RBC report, Farmer 4.0, which explored the impact of advanced technologies on Canadian farming. It’s a critical time of transition, with record numbers of retirements hitting farms and fewer millennials than ever going into the sector. The average age of a farmer is about 55; in construction, the average age of workers is 42.

We’ll need new technologies, and farmers and food workers with new skills, to make the sector more attractive — and to help Canada help feed the world. According to our own research at RBC, the economy could gain $11 billion with a 4.0 approach to agriculture.

Here’s how our panel of Next Gen agriculture leaders think we can get there:

1. Invest in advanced technology

Ashley Knapton, a 29-year-old dairy farmer from Almonte, Ontario, is working with her parents on their operation, and sees nothing but opportunity through technology. She finds “when I see technology, I see more efficient machinery. Plant chemicals and digital is going to be huge.”

In her mind, her smart phone will power tomorrow’s farm. But it goes beyond mobile devices and cloud computing. Satellite imagery will be essential to every producer. “How can we use data to help that flow of decision-making is a big hurdle,” she noted.

2. Promote social awareness

Sughanda Raj, a 28-year-old scientist from northern India, moved to Guelph to pursue her PhD in agriculture — and to take it beyond the scientific focus of the 20th century. “I want to relate scientific knowledge to social meaning,” she says.

Her research focusses on ways to prevent the spread of viruses in poultry, and she thinks the answer will involve more than vaccines and operating environments. She believes the way we interact with agriculture, food and each other will be critical to our ability to feed ourselves sustainably, which was one of the reasons she chose Canada.

Social awareness — one of the increasingly important skills cited in RBC’s study Humans Wanted — is something Canadians understand, and could be a powerful force in global agriculture. In India, women are responsible for 70% of agriculture work but lack the tools, capital, education and social empowerment to make the most of their efforts. The entire country loses as a result.

3. Tell our story to the world (and each other)

Daniel Hadida, a 31-year-old chef and restaurant operator, believes agriculture’s success will depend on a new narrative. It’s why he spends so much time with guests at the Pearl Morissette winery in the Niagara region telling diners about the story — and quality — behind their food. “We pay a higher price because we want a better product,” he notes.

Canada needs to do the same globally.

As an example, he suggests Canadian grain farmers take a page from Colombian coffee growers, to learn how they were able to convince the world of the quality of their product and command a premium price.He likes to point to a surge in American restaurants promoting sustainably produced food, and even levying a surcharge to help finance it.

California has introduced a voluntary 1% surcharge for diners who want to contribute to a Renewable Restaurant program. In Denmark, restaurants have formed a Nordic Cuisine movement to promote local and organic ingredients.

The same blend of storytelling, social awareness, science and technology may be all the next generation needs to power Canada’s next agriculture revolution.

For more from RBC’s Economics and Thought Leadership team, visit www.rbc.com/thoughtleadership and follow me on Linked In and Twitter john stackhouse