Embracing new technology and finding more workers are essential to moving Canadian farms ahead.Ottawa—Canadian farmers have the potential to produce $51 billion worth of food by 2030 compared to the current $32 billion if they can afford to adopt new technology and find enough trained workers, says a report from the Royal Bank of Canada.The report, called Farmer 4.0, is based on interviews with producers, farm organizations and academics. It says Canada must embrace a skills agenda and boost innovation. “Within the coming decade, there will be about nine billion people to feed around the world -- over one billion more than today. Our sector is well-positioned to supply the rising demand. Canada is consistently ranked one of the world's top five exporters, and we anticipate trade agreements with Europe, the United States and the Pacific Rim region will enable our producers to tap into large and fast-growing markets.”The challenges include the well documented shortage of agriculture workers currently estimated at 123,000 along with the need to acquire new skills to manage the farm of the future, “as automation and new and emerging technologies become as essential to farming as water or fertilizer.”Data will become an essential component of agriculture in the future, it said. “As Canadian farmers leave traditional tasks to smart machines, and focus on strategy and systems, they'll be better positioned than ever to feed a fast-growing global population. But to do that, they'll need a wide range of new skills, as well as enhanced old skills, that Canada isn't developing anywhere near fast enough.“Canada's rural population growth has remained flat for the 30 years, which makes it harder to address labour shortages,” the report said. “Additionally, the bulk of the sector's capital is held in large, illiquid assets such as farmland and barns. And high operating costs hamper a producer's ability to invest in new technologies. These and other factors have resulted in uneven adoption and usage of advanced technologies across the country.”The report calls on the federal government “to convene a national skills strategy for agriculture, together with employers, workers, educators and industry groups, to plan for future labour needs.” It also wants farm organizations “to coordinate efforts in a bold campaign to attract and retain more youth, women, Indigenous people and new Canadians in agriculture.” All major research and development initiatives, such as the Protein Supercluster, should be lined to education and skills development.It wants barriers to high skilled immigration for agriculture jobs dropped and industry-wide data governance standards adopted to increase access to the best data and insights on food production and the provision of high-speed internet to rural Canada speeded up.“Feeding a hungry world presents a historic opportunity for Canada if we can figure out how to better match people, capital and innovation in the agriculture space,” said John Stackhouse, the RBC Senior Vice-President who led the report's creation. “We believe Canada can once again be an agriculture superpower, and do it in a way that cuts greenhouse gas emissions, and supports thousands of communities that still help to define our country.”The report found that Canadian farmers are at the intersection of a demographic and technological revolution. By 2025, one in four farmers will be 65 or older, with 110,000 expected to retire in the coming decade. Meanwhile, fewer young people than ever are entering agriculture.Automation and new technologies “will not reduce employment in the near term but will change the skills needed over the decade by farms, aquaculture, vineyards and greenhouses, the report said. About 14 per cent of producers automated tasks last year, and the sector spent four times as much per worker on machinery as the overall economy did. But even though 95% of large producers reported using advanced technologies, Canada's share of agtech investment was just 3.4 per cent in 2018.Farm owners and operators “will need the digital expertise, leadership abilities and critical thinking skills to manage ever-larger and more complex operations,” the report said. “A second group of skilled workers who service farm equipment will need to focus on increasingly smart machines, meaning they'll have to develop the technological skills to tool robots and write code. The report estimates Canada will need another 25,000 such people, known as enablers, with software knowledge, business acumen and communications skills.”A third group with knowledge of scientific fields such as genetics, blockchain and artificial intelligence, will create 18,000 more jobs, the report said. There will still be a need for lower skilled workers and they will account for 85,000 of the total labour shortages by 2030. The demand for such positions, which include fruit picking and planting, will become more acute in the short term – and more automatable in the long term. The transition will require a new approach to immigration and reskilling, among other policies.“Agriculture will be central to Canada's future health and prosperity,” the report said. “With the right mix of skills and technologies, Canadian farmers can help feed the world and grow Canada's economy.”Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.