Ottawa-It will be no simple task for farmers and the food sector to achieve the federal goal of net zero carbon dioxide emissions by 2050 while remaining profitable, says the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI).

There is more to meeting net-zero emissions than simply reducing them, CAPI says in a report. The challenge for such a diverse sector will be reaching the goal with all its economic, environmental and regional complexities that need to be addressed in a federal policy framework.

“Many of the key issues that make this a complex problem stem from the fact that each level of the supply chain faces variability,” said CAPI research associate Elisabeta Lika. “Unlike other industries, agriculture cannot simply set a static annual target. At the farm level, the current greenhouse gas (GHG) tools lack accuracy and specificity when they should be fit-for-purpose to meet the needs of diverse farm operations across Canada.”

Additionally, there are inefficiencies in data collection for aggregate GHG intensity data at the post-farm gate level making it difficult to achieve consistencies across the food value chain, she said. For strategies to be effective, they must demonstrate economic benefits to stakeholders, reflect actual farm operations, and be adaptive to account for changing conditions.

For instance, it may be challenging to get farmers to adopt technologies or practices that promote emission reductions without proper policy or financial incentives to support their adoption. Eliminating livestock farming from the system may be a solution to reducing methane emissions but it is not practical from a production standpoint. Other considerations for policy recommendations are how to maximize production efficiencies while still reducing emissions, how to account for food waste and maintain food availability, understanding the limits of soil carbon sequestration and land use intensification and finally how these policies will impact international trade.

“The transition to net-zero agriculture isn't just an environmental challenge – it's an economic and social one too,” Lika said. “We must ensure that as we push for sustainable practices, we’re not putting unfair pressure on our farmers and rural communities. The transition to net-zero needs to work for everyone.

“By tackling this challenge head-on, Canadian agriculture can set the standard for climate-smart farming worldwide. We have the innovation and expertise to make it happen."

The CAPI report recommends that at a high-level, governments ensure the full spectrum of agri-food complexities are considered in the policy framework, policies are region-specific rather than one size fits all and the policy framework be flexible to the changing technology and scientific landscape of the agrifood sector. For Canada to become a global leader in sustainable agriculture, there must be collaboration between multiple parties through open, inclusive dialogue.

CAPI and the Centre for Agri-Food Benchmarking are working on the challenges of meeting net-zero emissions targets in the sector. A review of greenhouse gas tools in pursuit of net-zero agriculture has been produced by CAPI while the Centre has looked at greenhouse gas intensity measurement in transportation and food processing. It found a lack of aggregate GHG intensity data at the post-farm gate and the challenges that exist in making these calculations.

Both their reports touch on the need for standardized approaches at both the farm gate and post-farm gate level to accurately collect GHG data. These are complex challenges that need diverse expertise to ensure effective solutions and sustainable production now and into the future.

This news item prepared for National Newswatch