The world is facing many wicked problems – including a rapidly changing climate, political instability, biodiversity loss, and an increasing population, predicted to reach 9 billion by 2050 or earlier. All of these challenges will impact our ability to produce enough food for the world.
Food systems are at a crossroads, with all eyes turning to the sector to address these emerging challenges. The agri-food sector is an economic engine for the Canadian economy – employing 2.3 million Canadians (1 in 9 jobs, from farmers to chefs to engineers to tech entrepreneurs) and generating almost $150B in growth.
Despite its importance to the economy, the sector is in a labour crisis. Canada has one of the highest skills shortages in food production in the world, with 40% of farmers set to retire over the next decade – behind only the US and the Netherlands.
As we face this upcoming wave of labour shortages, we’ll also need to ramp up our food production capacity – we’ll need to produce as much food in the next forty years as we did in the last 10,000 years combined.
To help us produce this much food while dealing with labour shortages, RBC pointed to the need for a skills revolution in agriculture in their 2019 report, Farmer 4.0. They believe the ‘farmer of the future’ will need to be highly innovative, skilled in communications and global skills, able to collaborate with diverse groups, and will need to make decisions informed by data.
RBC calls on educators to fill the talent pipeline, to train students in innovation and entrepreneurship, and to make connections between traditional agricultural studies and other disciplines so that agriculture can learn from – and attract – innovators from other sectors. These messages are echoed in the 2023 report A New Ag Deal: A 9-point plan for climate-smart agriculture, by RBC, BCG and AFI.
Arrell Food Institute, and other collaborators at the University of Guelph, are providing a variety of new ways for students to collaborate across disciplines, to gain new entrepreneurship and communication skills, and to put these skills into practice by tackling real-world problems. We strongly believe that an experiential learning approach that prioritizes teamwork, innovation, and builds essential communication and strategic thinking skills is how universities will train the next generation of leaders and prepare them for an ever-shifting agricultural landscape
AFI designs and delivers the following educational programs:
Graduate course UNIV*6050: Innovation and Entrepreneurship in Agri-Food Systems, which is open to students of all disciplines. This course provides foundational training in communication and knowledge mobilization, teamwork, social innovation, project management and entrepreneurship; it also provides an experiential learning opportunity for students to work on interdisciplinary teams with a community partner from the agri-food sector (government, industry or NGO) to solve a challenge the partner is experiencing.
The Net Zero Food Systems Challenge brings together graduate students from across Canada to try and understand how food retailers can encourage agricultural and consumer practices that reduce or reverse climate impacts. Students learn from industry experts about consumer behaviour and climate-smart agriculture and conduct independent research and knowledge synthesis, culminating in a series of recommendations to food retailers. This program is funded by Loblaw Companies Inc.
The Improve Life Challenge: Hack the Farm – is a one-day immersive program and an opportunity for students to engage with an industry partner, analyze their challenges, engage in design thinking, and develop a pitch for their solution. This program was designed by faculty in collaboration with innovation units across campus.
Arrell Scholars participate in these opportunities and engage further with key industry, government and community leaders through targeted tours, events, and meetings that create connections between these young leaders and decision-makers across Canada.
This approach to education doesn’t just benefit students; it’s good for society as a whole. When students learn to think entrepreneurially and innovate, they’re better equipped to create solutions for the big issues we’re all facing, like climate change, sustainability, and economic inequality. They become not just job seekers, but job creators, innovators, and leaders who can help drive positive change in the world.
Get in touch with us if you’d like to work with us on one of our educational initiatives!