Dr. Evan Fraser, director of U of G’s Arrell Food Institute, spoke to several news outlets about a new report released by RBC titled “Farmers Wanted: The labour renewal Canada needs to build the next green revolution.” Fraser is a co-author of the report along with three U of G PhD candidates, authors from RBC and Boston Consulting Group.
CBC Radio’s The Current spoke to Fraser for an episode examining the labour shortage facing Canada’s agriculture sector.
Speaking to CBC News in Saskatchewan, Fraser said the temporary foreign worker program helps with some of the labour shortfalls in Canadian agriculture, but with moves toward year-round operations in greenhouses and vertical farms, “a temporary migrant worker that comes in simply for the growing season doesn’t really make sense.” His thoughts were translated to French for a similar report on ICI Radio-Canada.
In an interview with the Toronto Star, Fraser discussed how technology is changing the nature of farm work and the skills required, creating new opportunities for professionals of all kinds.
Fraser also spoke with CityNews and The Gormley Show on 650 CKOM in Saskatoon about the report.
A professor in the Department of Geography, Environment and Geomatics, Fraser helps lead the Food from Thought initiative and is the Canada Research Chair in Global Food Security, studying rural agricultural policy food security and how each is affected by climate change.