Sustainability projects need more private investors

Canada has an enriching opportunity to become one of the winners of the global race to develop sustainable agriculture, says The Next Green Revolution report.

But that opportunity is unlikely to be seized if Canada doesn’t invest a lot more money in agricultural sustainability research and development.

“Canada’s heft in global agricultural markets, its longstanding expertise in crop science and its newfound strength in artificial intelligence and data science, position us well to lead in some areas of this race,” says the report, authored by Royal Bank of Canada, the University of Guelph’s Arrell Food Institute and Boston Consulting Group.

“Yet when it comes to drawing private investment to homegrown innovation, we’re falling behind. Of roughly US$36 billion in global venture capital and private equity investments in ag-tech since 2017, Canada received just three percent, or $1 billion. The U.S. captured $20 billion.”