On March 3, a roundtable was held at the University of Guelph to discuss Canada’s Sustainable Agriculture Strategy with the Federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau. The event brought together a diverse group of stakeholders from academia, producers, and food processors to discuss the future of sustainable agriculture in Canada.
Among the participants were Deus Mugabe, a PhD student at the University of Guelph and Food From Thought HQP scholar, who shared his learnings from ongoing PhD research, as well as previous collaborative work with Royal Bank of Canada, Boston Consulting Group and the Arrell Food Institute at U of G on climate action for Canadian agriculture.
The event allowed him to learn about the policymaking process and how research gets translated into practice. For Deus, three main takeaways emerged from the conversation:
- First is the urgent need to establish a reliable Greenhouse Gas measurement, reporting, and verification system for Canadian Agriculture.
- Second is the importance of supporting farmer livelihoods, which should be included in Canada’s Sustainable Agriculture Strategy.
- Third is the need to strengthen partnerships and engagement of environmental and climate action stakeholders.
The roundtable was a critical step toward developing Canada’s Sustainable Agriculture Strategy. It was an opportunity for stakeholders to come together, share their knowledge and expertise, and contribute to developing policies to ensure Canada’s agricultural sector’s continued growth and productivity while minimizing its environmental impact.
Resources:
https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/environment/sustainable-agriculture-strategy
