Four-in-five Canadians remain confident in the domestic agricultural industry's ability to keep up with the demand

Climate FieldView unveils key findings from its 2022 Perceptions of Canadian Agriculture Survey

TORONTO, Dec. 12, 2022 /CNW/ - Canadian farmers are integral to both the local and global food supply and have been facing a wealth of challenges in recent years from an impending recession that is impacting food prices to climate change and extreme weather events, global conflicts, the COVID-19 pandemic, and supply chain disruptions. Despite these challenges, Canadian farmers persevere, and a new survey shows consumers remain confident in their ability to weather the storm. According to the 2022 Perceptions of Canadian Agriculture Survey, released today by Climate FieldView and conducted among members of the online Angus Reid Forum, the vast majority (98 per cent) of Canadians recognize the country's farmers importance to domestic food security, and four-in-five Canadians say they are confident in their ability to continue meeting domestic food demand.

 According to the national survey, when Canadians were asked about the extreme weather events that occurred in the past year, 62 per cent say they have an increased appreciation for Canadian agriculture. This growth in appreciation is particularly evident when looking at regions such as BC, where 76 per cent noted an increase in appreciation after major flooding events impacted key agricultural regions of the province in 2021. Similarly, the Canadian Centre for Food Integrity (CCFI) who recently released their 2022 public trust research report, also determined that environmental issues are top of mind for Canadians as one of the greatest threats to Canada's food system alongside inflation and labour shortages.

"Canadians are making the connection on the importance of Canadian farmers to our food system," says Matt Eves, Bayer Digital Farming Lead - Canada.  "Farmers have faced many external challenges in recent years, trying to meet supply demands for Canadians while also striving to innovate to stay ahead of these challenges, while ensuring sustainability remains top of mind."

In order to better manage these challenges on farms, many Canadian farmers are turning to technology to help make better use of their resources and reduce the impacts of climate change as much as possible, and better manage unexpected issues that may arise. As a result, modern farms today look much different than the image Canadians might have in their minds.

When asked what kinds of technology came to mind that farmers use in their operations, 26 per cent of respondents could not cite any examples, and only 13 per cent of Canadians viewed agriculture as more innovative compared to other domestic industries. Furthermore, while the CCFI report showed 4 in 10 strongly agree that Canadian farmers are good stewards of the environment, 16 per cent of respondents in the Climate FieldView study did not know how Canadian farmers support sustainability, showing many may not understand the true impact technology and innovation has on farming and sustainability.

"Right now, there is a gap in knowledge of the innovation on farms," says Eves "but public awareness and support for these advancements will be crucial for the industry to continue to innovate to be more sustainable and resilient in order to face ongoing challenges in the future."

Climate FieldView is committed to supporting Canadian farmers goals for innovation and sustainability and raising awareness for their important role within the Canadian economy and domestic food supply.  

Highlights from the 2022 Perceptions of Canadian Agriculture Report 

• About four-in-five Canadians are confident in the domestic agricultural industry's ability to keep up with demand, nearly unchanged from last year across Canada; however, confidence in individual provinces has shifted, with Saskatchewan dropping from near universal confidence (99%) in 2021 to 84% now.
• Quebec residents were more than twice as likely as last year to say they are very confident (41% vs. 16%, respectively).
• For those who lacked confidence, the most common responses noted concerns around extreme weather events and climate change as major factors (37%) and limitations on resources such as fewer farmers and land for farming (38%).
• When asked about extreme weather events that occurred in the past year, 62% of Canadians say they have an increased appreciation for Canadian agriculture, with the highest increase in appreciation coming from British Columbia (76%).
• 69% in Ontario
• 63% in Atlantic Canada
• 60% in Alberta
• 57% in Saskatchewan/Manitoba
• 46% in Quebec
• The vast majority of Canadians across all regions believe the country's farmers are very important to domestic food security (90%), though only 67% would rate Canada's importance in global food security as very important.
• Interestingly, Canadians among the younger generation (18-34) were significantly less likely than older generations to say Canadian farmers are very important, both for domestic and global food security.
• 84% see Canadian farmers as very important to domestic food security, compared to 90% and 95% among the 35-54 and 55+ age groups, respectively
• Only 50% see Canadian farmers as very important to global food security, compared to 67% and 80% among the 35-54 and 55+ age groups, respectively
• Only 13% of Canadians see agriculture as more innovative than other domestic industries
• 23% in Alberta
• 21% in Saskatchewan/Manitoba
• 14% in Atlantic Canada
• 13% in Ontario
• 9% in British Columbia
• 8% in Quebec
• 16% of Canadians don't know how farmers support sustainability, down from nearly one quarter of Canadians in 2021.
• Knowledge of innovation in Canadian agriculture is low, with 36% saying they don't know how it compares to other Canadian industries and another two-in-five (39%) expecting it's about the same.

Methodology 

This survey was conducted among a nationally representative sample of n=1,528 Canadians (18+) who are members of the online Angus Reid Forum, balanced and weighted on gender, age, region and education. For comparison purposes only, probability samples of this size would yield a margin of error of +/-2.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20. The survey was offered in both English and French.

About Climate FieldView

Climate FieldView is a global, industry-leading digital platform. Through its suite of easy-to-use data visualisation and analysis tools, farmers have a single platform to unite data from each piece of their precision equipment and access those insights from anywhere with a smartphone, tablet device or computer. For more information visit climatefieldview.ca.

SOURCE Climate FieldView

Juliana Martine, [email protected], 250-689-0744