Leadership Panel on Sustainability

From CAPI Update, Winter 2010

The Problem: Climate disruptions — hot, cold, wet, dry — are posing challenges to agriculture around the world. Although Canada's agriculture sector is better positioned to adapt to these changes than many countries, it faces major issues in different regions: dryer soils, water access issues, water quality, flooding, changing frost patterns, etc. Producers everywhere will need to diversify, moving away from an overreliance on the fossil fuel-based economy. The agricultural sector faces growing pressures to meet sustainable production practices, even while ensuring that food supply requirements are fulfilled. These pressures on producers are revolutionizing how food is produced.

Opportunity: We need to change the very systems that underpin our food production system. Canada stands to gain a competitive advantage by adopting sustainable practices along the entire food production system: the inputs required to produce food and bring it to market and the outputs generated in doing so. For example, adopting new technology is key to coping with regional climate change impacts. By strengthening its focus on productivity, Canada is poised to position itself as one of the most dependable suppliers of quality food in an era of increasing environmental pressures.

Research Program: Farmers are being asked to make changes in their production processes in order to reduce the environmental impacts caused by agricultural activity. They are also being asked to help create ecological goods and services (EG&S). Ecological goods and services represent the benefits humans derive from ecosystem functions. Farmers may benefit from these adjustments but may also be subjected to additional costs. CAPI's research is focused on "who should pay for EG&S?" CAPI is also looking at the optimum models for achieving environmentally sound agriculture practices while addressing food sustainability and helping farmers cope with climate change adaptation. CAPI is planning a series of symposia in 2010 to advance the dialogue on climate change adaptation. In the world of a changing climate, CAPI is interested in how Canadian agriculture can remain competitive and agile by better leveraging its R&D capacity.