Reflections from #GrowCanada15

Another successful GrowCanada conference is behind us.

GrowCanada was back in Calgary this year and the weather was almost 30 degrees warmer than the last time we were in Calgary in 2013. Over 550 registered for the conference this year to set another record.

Side events included the Soil Summit wrapping up the UN “Year of the Soils”, Ag in the Classroom and many related board meetings.

The conference kicked off with a compelling question from LGen Roméo Dallaire to challenge us; “Will society survive or thrive?” He talked about the savageries he was witness to during his military career and reminded us that all humans are just that, human. And following our theme of “Agriculture beyond borders”, LGen Dallaire reminded us that we all have a responsibility beyond our borders. Another piece of advice he offered was, in agriculture as in life, you can’t move the yardstick if you aren’t willing to take a risk.

Jim Carroll took us on a guided tour of the future by reminding us that much of what we saw on the 1960s Jetsons TV series, we now experience. He noted that 65 per cent of kids in school now will work in jobs that don’t even exist today. His message: think big, start small, and scale fast. Innovation moves faster all the time.

Trade is so very critical for the agriculture sector and Laura Dawson reminded us of this as she took us through world trade dynamics that will surely impact us here in Canada. Her emphasis was on the Trans-Pacific Partnership and European Free Trade Association trade deals. China and India still remain the largest future potential players as their populations and median incomes continue to grow. Her plea to our industry was to be very engaged. It’s critical that we encourage the ratification of existing trade deals and look for new opportunities.

Dr. Maurice Moloney of the Global Institute for Food Security spoke about the potential of the next generation of agricultural technologies and how they will be perceived. He spoke of the tremendous potential of enhanced photosynthesis capabilities and how close we are to seeing this. He reminded us once again of the benefits of biotech crops while whetting our appetites for new technologies that will change the way we feed the world. Dr. Moloney reminded us once again that regulators must regulate the product not the process.

The social impact of new technologies continues to challenge our industry. Jan Staman gave us some insight into getting the discussion started. His main message was to recognise that these new technologies create value challenges in people’s minds and we must work hard to answer their questions. He noted that we must include NGOs and civil society in our conversations.

Farbod Youssefi from The World Bank Group talked about enabling the business of agriculture. He focused on the need to help adapt and share technologies that are developed here with developing countries to help them feed themselves and their neighbors.

J.P. Gervais, chief agricultural economist at Farm Credit Canada (FCC), focused on how we can keep Canada competitive. The future looks fair, to improving somewhat in grain commodities. Canada still remains number one in the world in agri-food trade on a per capita basis. And Gervais noted that Canada ranks number one in food safety in the world, something we should be very proud of as an industry.

Vikram Vij delighted the banquet audience with a history of his journey from India to Canada and his passion for food. His love of cooking and his compassion and care for those around him became very evident. He repeated often the fact that Canada grows some of the best pulse crops for the world. And conference attendees got to enjoy first hand Vikram’s Chana Masala recipe made with Saskatchewan chickpeas, which made for a superb meal.

Thursday morning started off with a very topical panel on water. Water availability and competition for water will be challenges for food producers as witnessed in California. Farmers will be judged on our protection and preservation of watersheds and aquafers combined with our responsibility to help feed the world.

Our wrap up speaker was a dynamic and passionate six-time Olympic medalist, Clara Hughes. Hughes spoke about her life of successes as seen by others but more importantly her life of unseen challenges with mental illness. She spoke about the mental health struggle of being human, the demons she has overcome and the people she has been able to help along the way. Her advice to us was to work on two weaknesses and one strength to get better every day. What an amazing hero she continues to be in her new passion and work with Right to Play. Through a book signing after the conference we were able to raise $5,250 for Right to Play to empower and teach children in developing countries through the power of play.

After each session we heard high school students Autumn Lawson and Emma Gray, who attended as future influencers, give a summary of what impacted them the most in each presentation. This provides a great opportunity for young people to hear about the future of this exciting business of agriculture.

The GrowCanada partnership of 16 agriculture organizations from across Canada continues to shine as we all come together to work towards a prosperous agriculture industry for the future.

I am already looking forward to GrowCanada 2016 in Ottawa next December 6-8.

See you there.

Ted Menzies,
President of CropLife Canada