This fall at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont., visitors were treated to a tour de force of agriculture and food innovation. Self-driving tractors and drone crop sprayers increase productivity and reduce pesticide and fertilizer use, shrinking the environmental impact of farming while boosting profitability. Advanced genomics create healthier, more resilient crops and livestock. Data management systems bring the power of big data and artificial intelligence onto our farms and our ranches.
Yet despite all this innovation, we face an uncomfortable truth. Few of the technologies on display were developed in Canada and in many ways, agriculture in this country is lagging.
Consider the Netherlands. Its land mass would fit comfortably in Eastern Ontario, yet it vastly outcompetes Canada in its contribution to the global food system. In 2023, the value of its agricultural exports was about twice that of ours – this in a country that has been reducing its total agricultural emissions over the past 30 years. They have achieved this by investing in technological innovation and bringing government, the corporate sector and researchers together in a model they call the “triple helix.”
The Netherlands’ success stands in stark contrast to Canada’s lagging performance. If there’s any sector of the economy where we should be a global leader, it should be agriculture. We have the fertile land, the fresh water and a community of sophisticated producers. Canadian food products are amongst the safest and most sustainable in the world and we have a network of public agrifood research facilities and smart farms. Most regions in the world can only look with envy at what we have.
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