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Winnipeg Free Press

Digital agriculture languishing in Canadian fields

Opinion Frustration oozes out of the opening lines of a report highlighting the current state of adoption for digital agriculture in Canada. 'Digital agriculture offers powerful tools to address Canada's pressing agricultural challenges, but the current approach isn't delivering results,' says the analysis compiled by Manitoba-based EMILI and the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute. 'Despite the potential to increase yields by 20 per cent, while reducing environmental impact, Canada captures just three per cent of global agtech venture capital investment compared to 55 per cent in the United States.' SUPPLIED A drone-mapping tech demonstration takes place at Innovation Farms, the Manitoba field space EMILI uses for testing new ag technology. If the trend continues, the report forecasts fewer Canadian agtech companies and fewer innovations to support Canadian farmers, which places the sector at a competitive disadvantage relative to more 'digitally advanced nations.' EMILI (Enterprise Machine Intelligence Learning Initiative), an industry-led body that works with farmers, industry, investors and innovators to promote the development of digital tools for agriculture. So from its perspective, any pace of adoption is too slow. But if you overlay the issues holding it back and the future challenges Canadian agriculture faces in productivity, competitiveness, profitability, generational transfer, labour and sustainability — to name a few — it's hard to argue with the report's conclusion. In short, while farmers have widely embraced technology such as GPS guidance systems, which have shown to reduce fuel costs by as much as 15 per cent and increased yields by upwards of 10 per cent, they have been slow to fully embrace this expanding suite of technologies. It's not because they are stodgy old stick-in-the-muds like they are sometimes portrayed, but because the results so far can't consistently align with the promises. That hesitancy in turn puts a chill on investment as startups working in the innovation space struggle to scale up to commercial release and enter a marketplace where uptake is anything but certain. Just as with the adoption of no-till farming two generations ago, farmers moving into this space aren't just buying different field equipment, they must change how they think about farming to achieve the benefits. It's how they apply what is described as the 'broad ecosystem' of software, robotics and AI-driven insights to their on-farm management that unlocks the potential. 'These tools don't just boost yields. They save time, reduce stress and strengthen farmers' control over their operations. Recognizing this full scope is key to unlocking its full potential across all farm types,' the report says. However, on the farm, potential doesn't pay the bills. If it doesn't rain or it's too cold, hot or wet, the return on investment on a new technology evaporates, even if it works as promised, which isn't always the case. Plus, there are significant barriers to adoption, not the least of which is poor connectivity. More than one-fifth of rural Canadians still lack access to high-speed internet and 90 per cent of Canada's farmers live in underserved areas. Data ownership and control are another problem. Farmers are repeatedly assured they retain ownership of their data, but control over how it is used is a grey area underscored by lengthy consent forms that seemingly require a legal degree to decipher. Farmers are careful about how much intel about their operations they share, as it can affect relationships with suppliers, buyers and competitors. Information is power. Wednesdays A weekly dispatch from the head of the Free Press newsroom. Another issue is interoperability; the different technologies and platforms in the marketplace today don't always talk to each other — making it hard for farmers to harvest the benefits of an integrated system. On top of all that, the policy approach within Canada has been fragmented and short-sighted. 'Canada's mix of federal and provincial programs is not sufficient to drive a digital revolution in Canadian agriculture,' the report says. It calls for digital agriculture to become the focus of Canada's next five-year plan for agriculture when it is negotiated by federal, provincial and territorial ministers. That plan must include an enabling regulatory environment, investment in programs and partnerships, as well as extension support for farmers. Or Canada will fall even further behind. Laura Rance is executive editor, production content lead for Glacier FarmMedia. She can be reached at lrance@ Laura RanceColumnist Laura Rance is editorial director at Farm Business Communications. Read full biography Our newsroom depends on a growing audience of readers to power our journalism. If you are not a paid reader, please consider becoming a subscriber. Our newsroom depends on its audience of readers to power our journalism. Thank you for your support.