Abstract:
Canada’s agri-food sector faces mounting pressures from climate change, global food security risks, supply chain disruptions, public health challenges, and a rapidly evolving innovation landscape. Meeting these challenges will require a coordinated, impact-driven research and innovation strategy that bridges industry, provincial, federal, and academic priorities. This panel will bring together leaders from government, academia, and the agri-food sector to discuss how Canada can build a more integrated, future-ready national agri-food research ecosystem. The session will explore current gaps in coordination, opportunities for stronger cross-sectoral partnerships, and the policy frameworks and funding models needed to support collaborative, agile, and equity-informed research.

Summary of Conversations

The discussion centered on the mounting pressures facing Canada’s agri-food sector, including climate change and global food security risks. A successful national research ecosystem requires a clear mission for Canada to be an agricultural leader, with a systems-based approach that includes farmers’ perspectives and both short-term and long-term vision. Key themes included the need for coordinated, cross-sector collaboration to break down silos and clarify roles among stakeholders (government, industry, academia). Participants emphasized mission-driven funding with specific, quantifiable outcomes, and the vital role of de-risking technology through validation and demonstration to accelerate adoption among farmers, food and beverage manufacturers, and other businesses across their entire supply chains. The importance of balancing long-term (e.g., breeding) and short-term (e.g., disease emergencies) investment was a recurring point.

Take Away Messages/Current Status of Challenges

• The Canadian agri-food sector is facing mounting external pressures, including climate change and risks to global food security, requiring a unified, collaborative response.
• Funding for research has been “episodic” and characterized by a “patchwork approach” across federal and provincial levels, creating instability for long-term strategic work.
• The ecosystem suffers from operational silos, where organizations and regions often fail to coordinate, leading to duplicated efforts and less efficient resource use.
• A major challenge is balancing long-term research needs (e.g., 10-12 years for new apple variety, breeding, biotech) with urgent short-term issues (e.g., supply chain shocks, disease outbreaks, like DON mould in corn).
• There is a divergence in priorities, where government priorities (e.g., sustainability) may not align with ‘farmers’ and food business leaders’ primary objectives of productivity and economic viability.
• The private sector is showing signs of “backing away” from R&D investment in the agri-food space, creating concern for future public-private partnerships.
• Innovation often stalls at early technology readiness levels (TRL 3), and there is a systemic “scaling problem” for new agri-food technologies.
• There is a persistent need for better knowledge mobilization and commercialization to bridge the gap between research creation and technology adoption by producers.

Recommendations/Next Steps

• Adopt a clear, national-level mission statement defining Canada’s purpose and goal to be a leader in agriculture and food, moving beyond mere problem grumbling, so that individual organizations, institutions and businesses can rally around achieving a common goal.
• Implement mission-driven funding models with solid, quantifiable Key Performance Indicators (KPIs) to ensure research contributes to measurable outcomes and a shared destination.
• Foster cross-sector collaboration by intentionally identifying and clarifying specific roles for all stakeholders (government, industry, academia) to eliminate silos.
• Encourage the shift from a mindset of ownership to one of stewardship over research and innovation assets to facilitate collaboration and shared responsibility.
• Increase investment in “soft infrastructure” such as trained technicians, managers, and specialized researchers to ensure a “bench” of experts is ready for short-term emergencies and long-term projects.
• Focus research strategies on future needs, including intentional and integrated planning for climate-resilient breeding, agricultural infrastructure, and preparedness for future diseases.
• Utilize and formalize networks of smart farms and other testing grounds across Canada to validate and demonstrate technology, de-risking it for accelerated adoption.
• Encourage and invest in more challenge-based funding models that elicit proposals from collaborative teams across industry and research to address strategic priorities.