Meeting Farm Labour Challenges will
Benefit all Ontarians
The labour woes of farmers may seem pretty distant to some Ontarians, but they directly affect agriculture’s ability to preserve the province’s endangered green spaces and meet consumer demand for fresher and more local food.
“We are the stewards of 90 per cent of the (arable) land in Ontario,” said Mark Wales, a director of the Ontario Federation of Agriculture, and a vegetable farmer from Aylmer.
“But to have a viable agricultural community, we need to have good people and we need to train those people to help us seize new opportunities that are coming our way.”
Circumstances have made Wales an expert on the changing face in agriculture. The failing fortunes of tobacco-growing prompted a switch into fresh produce. He now grows a variety of vegetables, fruits and herbs on his farm, which is an hour’s drive south of London.
Consumers are increasingly looking for fresher and healthier local alternatives to food being shipped – even in peak growing season – from thousands of kilometres away. Meeting that need requires attracting and training a new type of farm worker said Wales.
“You’re always going to need people to pick crops, hoe fields, and that sort of thing,” said Wales. “But agriculture is increasingly technical. We need to develop more apprenticeship programs and we need get the word out that there are good careers in agriculture.”
Assuring food safety, getting the most out of new production technology, meeting ever-changing consumer demands, and developing sophisticated marketing and delivery systems are all essential in modern agriculture – and farmers need trained and bright people to achieve those things, said Wales.
That’s one of the reasons why he’s heavily involved with the newly launched Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council. It’s known as a “sector council” – one of 32 federally funded, industry-driven organizations that work with employers, employees, educational institutions and governments to help address the human resource challenges facing Canada’s businesses.
“Addressing the diverse training needs of agriculture employers and employees is an important part of the Council’s current activities,” said Danielle Vinette, executive director (www.cahrc-ccrha.ca). “We’re building a comprehensive inventory of skills development programs, and developing modular training programs and materials.”
“But that’s not all the Council is doing to address agriculture’s training needs,” continued Vinette. “We’re also ensuring that these training programs are accessible to producers and agriculture employees across Canada.”
“There are great opportunities in agriculture – both in traditional farming and in emerging sectors such as organics, and the whole area of functional foods and nutraceuticals. Skills training for today’s farmer must keep up with these trends – and be easily accessible.”
Wales said he hopes Ontarians will put aside old stereotypes about farm jobs and recognize that not only is agriculture changing – it’s in everyone’s interests to see it succeed.
“No offence, but a lot of urban residents seem to think that rural Ontario is just something you drive through on the way to a ski hill or on the way to the beach,” said Wales.
“We don’t get recognition for it, but we’re actually providing ecological goods and services. We’re keeping the land green and we’re heavily involved in things such as preserving wildlife habitat.
“That alone is reason enough to want a strong farm sector, and bringing in bright young people and giving them training and career opportunities is essential to doing that.”
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