UFA is proud to be a sponsoring partner of Canada's Foodlink campaign and will be participating in developing areas for advocacy.
Canadians don't often think of farmers as high tech or climate savvy, but the facts are the agricultural sector is at the forefront of big data and green suitability.
On a global average, about 23% of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions come from agriculture. Here in Canada, agriculture accounts just over 8% of our overall GHG. Canadians food producers are among the most green in the world.
Many of the foods you eat today may have been grown using drone and earth sensors, or reaped using autonomous tractors are using GPS and radar technologies on farm fields. These are highly innovative and complex operations requiring not only knowledge of land use and best environmental practices, but also significant skill in operating these new tools.
"After the early days of the pandemic, Canadians came to appreciate just how secure our food supply chain is. For a brief moment, Canadians and politicians didn't take farmers for granted. It shouldn't take another crisis like COVID-19 for us to help all of the small businesses in our national agriculture sector supply chain continue to deliver food to our tables," said Perrin Beatty, President and CEO, Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
Businesses in this sector face some of the highest costs compared to their G7 counterparts, thanks in large part to endlessly overlapping federal, provincial and regional regulations. In the recent Canadian Survey on Business Conditions, 26.6% of agricultural business owners reported government regulations as a key obstacle to their survival.
"Canada must modernize its approach to regulations or risk killing off the agricultural sector, one of its shining examples of business innovation. If Canada wants a blueprint of what climate change mitigation and big data looks like in the real world, they need look no further than sustainable and smart farms. Imagine what they could do if they weren't taxed and regulated to near extinction," added Beatty.
Canada's agricultural sector has tremendous impact on the lives of everyday Canadians, accounting for one in eight jobs (2.3 million people) and contributing $143 billion per year to our economy (7.4% of GDP). That's why the Canadian Chamber has launched Canada's Foodlink campaign and why UFA is proud to be a sponsoring partner.
"The Foodlink Canada campaign is about supporting small businesses all along the food chain in Canada, who want to build a more secure, environmentally-friendly food supply system for Canadians. We have to make it easier for them to do just that, or we risk fewer food choices and security, imported from countries that might not share our values," concluded Beatty.
For more information about the Canada's Foodlink campaign, visit Canada's FoodLink - Canadian Chamber of Commerce.
