Ottawa-Investment and productivity growth in the agri-food industry has lagged in recent years, says Justine Hendricks, President and CEO of Farm Credit Canada.

In response, FCC has improved its lending to farmers and ignited strategic innovation and investment while simplifying its lending process to serve customers more quickly and efficiently, she told the Commons agriculture committee.

“We've redesigned our transition loan to help producers plan succession. We've introduced Root AI, our free virtual farm assistant, to help farmers solve problems on the go.”

Since 2024, FCC Capital has directly invested more than $300 million in ag-tech innovation. It’s commitment to this industry is long term.

FCC has attracted $5 billion from private investors to add to the $2 billion it has to invest in the sector by 2030 to propel innovation and productivity growth.

“Everything we're working on at this time is intended to support the success of this industry and the millions of Canadians who contribute to its growth.”

Canada exports food products to more than 190 countries. “We're working tirelessly to support this industry as it diversifies its activities internationally.”

Among FCC’s many customers is a farm in Guelph “that's pioneering indoor agriculture. Imagine the difference that can make in places where sunshine and farmland are in short supply.”

During the last 15 years, FCC has tripled its farm lending to $63 billion and is on pace to hit $85 billion by 2030, Hendricks said.

“In the past three years, total assets are up 24 per cent and 85 per cent of our loans are $1.5 million or less, meaning about 60,000 loans in the book.”

During 2025, FCC disbursed $19.9 billion, which enabled the sector to add $14 billion to the country's economy and support nearly 137,000 jobs.

FCC generates an annual dividend to the federal government and reinvests its profits to benefit farmers and ranchers.

Answering Quebec Liberal MP Marianne Dandurand, Hendricks said FCC wants to be bold by coming up with new products and solutions, playing its role as a catalyst and ensuring that it always maintains a balance between the short term and the medium or long term.

The task facing FCC is being able to really understand and grasp what the challenges are for farmers of all ages. It is also about seeing how it can offer its funds or products to maximize the success of the products produced on Canadian farms.

Dandurand said there are many young people who want to get into agriculture but find it difficult to access financing and acquire a farm.

Hendricks said FCC has created a transition loan program that will make it easier for young people to become farmers. “It's only been a few months, but we're already hearing from the market that it's greatly improving things.”

Hendricks also said that 25,000 of FCC’s 103,000 clients are women. “We're very proud of that.”

This news report prepared for National Newswatch