Canada has the potential to feed the world.
Let the power of that statement hang in the air for just a moment.
There is more farmland in this country than any other place on the planet. With innovation and
investment in the agriculture sector, our potential to feed the world may be realized.
But it’s going to take an investment in the next generation, the continued adoption of best
practices in sustainable agriculture and new solutions in a continuously evolving world and
marketplace.
The farmer of today is plugged into the world around them. They are economists, chemists,
meteorologists, mechanics, educators, negotiators, community builders as well as being both
politically and technologically savvy.
To support this multi-talented workforce, we need to address challenges of productivity, costs,
trade and succession planning.
To help Canada get there, RBC is putting its money where your mouths are.
In October in Winnipeg, RBC announced a $5-million investment in a new initiative – a national
movement to strengthen Canada’s agriculture sector by working with farmers to build tools,
skills, resources as well as finance solutions that invest in the future.
“Canadian soil is one of our greatest strengths and farmers have managed these soils to feed
Canadians and the world for generations,” says Dave McKay, president & CEO of RBC. “The
next generation is primed to do even more – feeding more people, more sustainably than ever
before. That’s why RBC is committed to work together with the best and brightest from all over
the country to create innovations that help agriculture drive growth for Canada.”
The initiative was introduced, alongside Manitoba Premier Wab Kinew and Dr. Michael Benarroch, president of the University of Manitoba, through programming delivered as part of a national movement with farmers, The Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food (CANZA) Nature United, Sustainable Food Systems for Canada (SF4C) and Indigenous sustainable farming initiatives.
“This initiative is designed to bring together the best and brightest from across agriculture, business, industry, education and government,” says Jessica Gerrits, regional vice-president of commercial banking for RBC. “It will help cultivate a world-leading sector that can feed Canadians more affordably and sell high-quality products to consumers around the globe.”
Kim Ulmer, RBC’s regional president, says this investment seeks to help fuel Canada’s potential.
“RBC is coming to the table with partners and we’re making the investment in next-generation
farmers to help cultivate that future for Canada and the world. It’s about looking at the
investments we need to make through strategic partnering in areas of markets, skills and
finance. Canada is well-positioned from an economic perspective to play a leading role.
Capitalizing on the global opportunity won’t be easy, though. According to a recent RBC
Thought Leadership report, even though Canada is home to some of the world’s most
productive soils and innovative farmers, the sector has struggled to attract the right mix of talent
and maintain the level of investment in research and development that’s required to be a global
leader.
“Canadian agriculture has immense potential but the innovation curve may be slowing down,”
says Lisa Ashton, director of agriculture policy at RBC. “Agriculture’s annual growth in
productivity has declined to about one per cent over the past decade from two per cent the
previous decade, suggesting that fewer breakthrough innovations are making it to farms.”
Compounding the challenge is agriculture simply isn’t attracting enough talent. Job vacancy
rates in the sector, for example, are 1.5 per cent above the national average, while less than
one per cent of business school graduates, who play an increasingly important role on the
modern farm, are choosing to work in agriculture.
There are other hurdles, too. For example, other countries, including Australia, the U.S., Japan
and Brazil, have passed Canada in public investment in generating agriculture knowledge.
At the same time, the commercialization of agriculture solutions is waning. U.S. investment in
agri-food technology start-ups is 22 times larger than Canada’s over the past five years. This
outsized market for investment south of the border is pulling Canadian innovation for capital,
mentorship and market application to the U.S.
There is work to be done. We have the landscape, soil, talent and potential – all we need now
is to bring it altogether through investment and innovation with a shared purpose to feed the
world. And RBC is helping Canada take those steps.
RBC at the table
Through strategic partnerships, RBC will support organizations that work collaboratively with
industry, governments, education and business in three key areas — markets, skills and finance. This initiative will:
- Invest in stronger markets for sustainable agriculture by connecting farmers to global demand.
- Help equip Canadian agriculture with applied learning opportunities and training with a portion of RBC’s $2-billion community investment commitment by 2035
- Collaborate with universities and colleges with the goal of connecting more than 10,000 students to agri-innovation skills and training opportunities.
- Invest in new financial tools, products and understanding to help the industry bridge the risks to
transformative growth. - Upskill RBC’s advisors to better serve Canada’s farmers and the agriculture industry, including delivering tailored events for farmers to offer skills, training and networking opportunities as well as strengthening farm succession with holistic wealth, estate and business planning.
