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Community Comment: Food, finance education is vital to move us forward

In Delta, one of the provinces’ most well-known farming communities, only 19 per cent of framers have succession plans for their operations. Think about that carefully.
Mike Schneider/Community Columnist
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Getting more students and young leaders involved in food education is vital to our future.Delta School District

Inflation, climate change, a global pandemic and various geo-political events have caused food to be a top of mind issue for many. Despite the importance of understanding the agri-food economy, little is being done to address this topic from an educational perspective.

A couple of weeks back, the Royal Bank of Canada released a report entitled “Farmers Wanted: The renewal Canada needs to build the Next Green Revolution.”

Key findings in the RBC report include: By 2033, 40 per cent of Canadian farm operators will retire, placing agriculture on the cusp of one of the biggest labour and leadership transitions in the country’s history. Over the same period, a shortfall of 24,000 general farm, nursery and greenhouse workers is expected to emerge. And, to meet our medium and long-term goal we will need to build a new pipeline of domestic operators and workers by bolstering education and increasing the R&D spending behind productivity-enhancing automation.

To turn a blind eye to this looming scenario is fool hardy and will it will be certainly difficult to play catch up when the food system shows signs of peril.

This is where the unfortunate disconnect exists. There is no continuum for students to be made aware of food systems and high school students are generally ignorant as to the nature of the food economy and the career opportunities that abound within it.

Although there are many post-secondary institutions that teach about career opportunities in the agri-food and agri-tech economies, there is little in the way of specific curricula that is taught in our high schools. Enrollment in agri-food post-secondary institutions is low because kids aren’t taught about the sector in high school. This needs to change.

School districts and boards of education need to do a better job in strategic planning to ensure that food and farming are woven within the Ministry of Educations’ curriculum. There are many obvious ways to do so.

In Delta, one of the provinces’ most well-known farming communities, only 19 per cent of framers have succession plans for their operations. Think about that carefully.