Opinion: Growing the agriculture sector means growing the conversation about food

Opinion from Jay Bradshaw, president of Syngenta Canada Inc.

Agriculture and agri-food industries should have a seat at the table as new policies are developed around trade regulation, (rural) infrastructure, and R&D.

Food drives many of our conversations at home, on social media, and just about everywhere else. When we gather together, food is often the most anticipated guest of honour. And yet, despite how often most of us are thinking or speaking about food, those discussions don’t always spill over into our country’s vital political and economic conversations.
 
But if Canada wants to seize one of its most promising opportunities to generate economic success and build its middle class, many more of us should be doing our part to lead a renewed, dynamic conversation on how agriculture can drive prosperity from coast to coast to coast.
 
Happily, Canadians from across our cities, towns, and rural regions will have the chance to come together for just these types of conversations on Canada’s first Agriculture Day on Feb. 16. 
 
Even a glance at the importance of this industry for our country presents a compelling case for a sector that is poised to build on its proud legacy. Agriculture contributes over $100 billion to our Gross Domestic Product (GDP) annually – more than the national GDP of two-thirds of countries around the world. Indeed, we are the fifth largest agricultural exporter in the world. More than 2.2 million Canadians work in agriculture and agri-food production – that’s one in eight jobs nationally. Agriculture is integral to our country’s well-being, economic and otherwise, and the policies that we adopt as a country need to reflect this fact.
 
It is no coincidence or surprise then, that Dominic Barton, chair of the finance minister’s Advisory Council on Economic Growth, recently highlighted the opportunities for growth and competitiveness in the sector: “Food demand is going to go up by at least 50 to 70 percent in the next 30 years. The Canadian brand on food is good – we’re well positioned.”
 
Canadian agriculture and agri-food has pioneered or led the development of many “firsts”.  Canola was invented in Canada. Canada is the leading exporter of pulse crops globally. Corn and soybean production is expanding into western Canada. We’re using drones, satellites, and other technologies to monitor soil and inform planting and production practices, and we’re currently developing smart machinery and transportation networks to improve production and distribution of food products.
 
More specific to the work we do at Syngenta, our spirit of innovation has spurred a remarkable period of advancement in plant science that will help ensure we continue to make great strides in crop production for years to come.
 
That said, if we truly want to seize the opportunities for Canadian agriculture and food, as identified by Barton and others, we need to have the conversations about transforming our vision for agriculture and food production in this country, inclusive of support for a research-and innovation-driven sector that has similarly allowed Canada to carve out positions of global leadership in other parts of our economy and society.
 
 
It is in this spirit that we want to work with the government to ensure that the agriculture and agri-food industries are not only taken into account, but have an appropriate seat at the table as new policies are developed around trade, regulation, (rural) infrastructure, and research and development. This will help us continue to support Canadian farmers and many others in the work they do so well.
 
In the case of rural infrastructure, for example, we recently supported a report by the Economist Intelligence Unit (EIU) that estimated that promoting rural development has the potential to unlock $2 trillion of annual economic output globally by 2030. Canada should be a significant part of that.
 
Our work, while driven by our passion for achieving excellence in support of improved productivity and resource efficiency, is only a small part of a much bigger and more important story, one that begins on farm and ends at dinner tables here in Canada and wherever people gather across the world – one that we each have a stake in telling.