NOVEMBER 2019 • COUNTRY LIFE IN BC
New skills needed for technology-
driven agriculture RBC says Canada’s agricultural revenues could top $11 billion
by DAVID SCHMIDT ABBOTSFORD – Canadian
agriculture has the potential to generate $11 billion in revenue, Royal Bank of Canada senior vice-president John Stackhouse told a select group of industry leaders at an RBC Farmer 4.0 luncheon in Abbotsford, October 10. “The world will have to
produce more food than ever before to feed people in the next 40 years,” he said. “To feed the world more sustainably is a calling for Canada.” Stackhouse was reporting
on RBC’s release of Farmer 4.0, a new report detailing the potential of Canadian agriculture and what it will take to realize it. It was deliberately titled
Farmer 4.0 as RBC believes we are now in the fourth iteration of farming. Farmer 1.0 represented the shift from subsistence agriculture to specialization; Farmer 2.0 occurred with the development of advanced machinery for agriculture and Farmer 3.0 took place as a result of the scientific revolution. Farmer 4.0 represents a technological and data revolution, with the development of supercomputers as small as an iPhone and such smart machines as robotic milkers, robotic picking machines and
autonomous tractors. Although this will reduce
agriculture’s manual labour requirements, Stackhouse insisted agriculture will need more people, not less. It’s just that those people will need different skills, in particular the ability to analyze and manage the massive amount of data being generated. “We need to change the
way we educate people,” Stackhouse said. “The federal government needs to stand up and deliver a national agricultural skills strategy. We need to connect research and development to skills development.” Stackhouse said Canada
lags well behind the Netherlands, Norway, Israel and Australia in using data and technology to increase production. The Netherlands, for example, has three times the agricultural exports Canada does despite having just 3% of the arable land of farmers in Canada. Providing their insights
into how to get agriculture to reach the potential Stackhouse identified were Rickey Yada, dean of the UBC Faculty of Land & Food Systems, Lisa Powell, associate director for research at the University of the Fraser Valley Food & Agriculture Institute and Ian Paton, agriculture co-critic for the BC Liberals. “The key is to take an
SHORT COURSE HORTICULTURE GROWERS’ 2020 THURSDAY Raspberries t Agro-Forestry t
Strawberries Vegetables Greenhouse Floriculture Opening Reception
t t t FRIDAY All Berries Direct Farm Markets Cannabis t Blueberries t t t
Farm Business Management Keynote Address Potatoes
t t
Agricultural Water Management SATURDAY
Organic Hops Mushrooms
REGISTER ONLINE AT
WWW.AGRICULTURESHOW.NET Registration includes Trade Show entry and all Growers’ Short Course Sessions
Ph: 604-857-0318 |
growers@agricultureshow.net Innovate. Grow. Prosper.
Jan 30 - Feb 1 Tradex, Abbotsford
In partnership with the Pacific Agriculture Show
t Hazelnuts t
13
Speakers at the RBC Farmer 4.0 presentation in Abbotsford, October 10, included (left to right) RBC senior vice-president John Stackhouse, RBC BC agriculture and agribusiness vice-president Melanie Lantz, BC Liberal agriculture co-critic Ian Paton, BC regional president Martin Thibodeau and UBC Faculty of Land & Food Systems dean Rickey Yada. DAVID SCHMIDT PHOTO
interdisciplinary approach,” Powell said. “We need to confront the challenges facing new and young producers, such as land affordability, access to capital and skilled labour.” Yada said getting new technology into production more quickly is key. “We need to reinforce nimbleness and change,” he said. Paton called for more
support for “big commercial
WEEKLY FARM
NEWS UPDATES
FARM NEWS
Sign up for FREE online.
farms,” saying they have the scale to feed the world. At the same time, he demanded more opportunities for on-farm markets, pumpkin patches, corn mazes and other agritourism initiatives. Despite their small size, he said they are critical to getting people onto farms and “more excited about farming.”
Once they are excited about it, Paton said, more people will be interested in
becoming involved in agriculture. Powell asked for more
support for public research, noting much of today’s research is conducted by private companies which then limit access to it. “We need access to publicly accessible research data,” she said, asking, “How do we increase dialogue between knowledge- producers and knowledge users?”
YOUR Helping You
Lower Mainland Horticultural Improvement Association
The Centre for Organizational Governance in Agriculture
Join us for an exciting season of COGA programming sponsored by the BC Council of Marketing Boards.
November 13 Strategic Planning & Achieving Goals
January 23 Governance: Managing Conflict
February 13 Emerging Issues: Activism and Influences in Agriculture
Quality Hotel & Conference Centre 36035 North Parallel Road, Abbotsford, BC
Registration: 9am Program: 9:30am - 3pm Registration fee per session: $157.50 per person (includes break, lunch and materials)
Advance Registration is required and is available at
www.bccoga.ca or via email to:
office@bccoga.ca
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44