Farmers Voice Spring 2022- Agriculture’s Value

by Brenna Mahoney

The commentary surrounding the ‘great resignation’ throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has brought enormous attention to the topic of labour. Agriculture is one of the many industries that has not escaped this trend, nor are labour challenges new for the sector. The availability of a sustainable workforce is a critical factor in determining the long-term growth and profitability of Canadian agriculture.

So, what can KAP do to support the resolution of this crisis? One of our first steps, along with our commodity members, has been to form a labour task force to examine how we can effectively contribute to solutions regarding building a sustainable workforce for the sector. There is also a representative from the department of agriculture as the co-chair for this group.

The key areas of focus are to build alignment on labour priorities across the diverse commodity landscape, focusing on the reduction of duplication, and to increase collaboration with key stakeholders. When we accomplish this goal, we can speak to policy makers with a single unified voice from across Manitoba’s agriculture community. Delivering this common message is a critical part of the value proposition of KAP.

What do we do after the task group has delivered a unified message on labour policy reform? A key next step in the process will be to bring all the findings forward to provincial and federal policy makers; both within the civil service as well as our elected politicians. There is significant political will to address workforce shortages at both levels of government.

In addition to outlining the labour shortfalls in agriculture, and why increased access to a diverse workforce is critical to the growth and development of our industry, we need to directly engage in broad workforce strategy development, with a focus on pillars like engagement, awareness and education.

An example of the workforce strategy development in the province is the Manitoba Protein Advantage Strategy and its project ASPIRE. This initiative includes a sustainable workforce as a target within the 10 pillars of sustainable protein.

At the federal level, Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau’s mandate letter states that developing a labour strategy is a top focus. The Minister has stated that temporary foreign workers aren’t the only solution to labour shortages. There are options for increasing the number of future Canadians entering agriculture fulltime.

We must look for ways to recognize and communicate the value of agricultural work to attract more domestic workers. We need to work together on initiatives that increase investment in youth in a way that exposes them to the exciting career opportunities in our sector. This is why KAP sees synergies with groups like Agriculture in the Classroom-Manitoba who have the trust and engagement with key target groups like educators and school-aged children.

Minister Bibeau’s mandate letter also noted that research, innovation and automation are going to be part of the solution to our current labour shortfalls. The last 100 years of agriculture development have seen new technologies allowing for fewer people to produce more in a more environmentally sustainable way. This trend is only going to accelerate in the future.

In addition to our work in Manitoba, KAP is also participating in a joint effort by Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) and Food and Beverage Canada focused on building greater national alignment on solutions to workforce challenges in agriculture. CAHRC research shows that over 40 per cent of farm operations indicated they did not have sufficient staff in 2020. By 2029 it is projected that the industry will be short 123,000 people. The same reports estimate that in 2017, labour shortages cost agriculture $2.9 billion in lost revenues.

The cause of the labour shortages are broad. Our current shortfalls have been developing over many years. We will not solve this problem overnight or alone. This is why we need to work together on finding solutions that directly impact the growth and prosperity of farmers and the entire agricultural sector.