Canadian agriculture has the potential to forge a powerful new path in food production. By harnessing sustainability, resilience and farmer prosperity, we can feed more people while restoring and strengthening the environment.
To get there, we need swift and targeted action that is rooted in science and informed by experience.
Arrell Food Institute’s (AFI) new national initiative, called Growing Tomorrow, will help identify the opportunities – big and small – that can have meaningful impact on advancing sustainable agriculture in Canada.
Each year, Growing Tomorrow will dig into one significant and timely issue in production agriculture. Informed by data, experience and expertise from across the country, the initiative will critically assess the current situation and identify key opportunities in both policy and practice. It will also highlight areas where Canada is falling behind or where data collection needs to be prioritized.
Findings will be published in thematic reports that will form a springboard for important policy dialogue, producer engagement and increased public awareness aimed at sparking real and lasting improvements in sustainable agriculture. The first year’s focus is on healthy soils.
“This is science-based and people-focused,” says AFI Director Evan Fraser, who will be the lead editor on the annual reports. “Each report will be the start of a process aiming to drive ambitious yet practical paths forward.”
The initiative is funded by a group of foundations, including Ivey Foundation, McCall MacBain Foundation, Echo Foundation, the Brian and Joannah Lawson Family Foundation and the Clean Economy Fund, which are all invested in helping Canada achieve sustainable food production.
The initiative will be led by a national steering committee that includes representatives from Indigenous organizations, policymakers, the agriculture industry, youth and academia. The first report is expected to be released in the first half of 2027.
For more information, please contact project manager Janice LeBoeuf at jleboeuf@uoguelph.ca.
