Reflections from first-generation small-scale vegetable farmers
Renewal of the agriculture sector requires an influx of young farmers, either members of farming families or first-generation farmers. The latter face distinct challenges (Bloomfield, 2023; Magnan et al., 2023). This study seeks to understand some of their motivations and challenges in order to inf...
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University of Waterloo
2024-12-01
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| Series: | Canadian Food Studies |
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| Online Access: | https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/657 |
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| author | Richard Bloomfield Deishin Lee |
| author_facet | Richard Bloomfield Deishin Lee |
| author_sort | Richard Bloomfield |
| collection | DOAJ |
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Renewal of the agriculture sector requires an influx of young farmers, either members of farming families or first-generation farmers. The latter face distinct challenges (Bloomfield, 2023; Magnan et al., 2023). This study seeks to understand some of their motivations and challenges in order to inform policy changes to support and encourage more first-generation farmers.
Agriculture has long been regarded in Canada as not only economically but also culturally significant. Yet less than 1% of the population are recognised as farmers by the latest census data (Statistics Canada, 2021). In the last three decades alone, Canada has net lost nearly 150,000 farmers and the average age of a Canadian farmer is now 56. Only 8.5% of Canadian farmers were under 35 in the last Agricultural Census, compared to 20% in 1991, and that percentage has been declining steadily since 1931 (Clapp, 2023; Magnan et al., 2022; Qualman et al., 2018; Statistics Canada, 2006, 2022). In particular, the number of young people from farming families staying in agriculture is declining. Several reports, including that of the Royal Bank of Canada Climate Action Institute, show that a majority of farmers do not have a succession plan in place although, within the next decade, 40% will retire (Yaghi, 2023). People from non-farming backgrounds find it difficult to enter the profession due to barriers that include prohibitive costs and lack of training. To ensure that Canada can feed its growing population, we must address the farmer shortage by understanding the experiences of new—particularly young—farmers.
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| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-6afa048d357a4b5e8156ad4a2e00cd88 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2292-3071 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-12-01 |
| publisher | University of Waterloo |
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| series | Canadian Food Studies |
| spelling | doaj-art-6afa048d357a4b5e8156ad4a2e00cd882025-01-20T20:55:31ZengUniversity of WaterlooCanadian Food Studies2292-30712024-12-0111310.15353/cfs-rcea.v11i3.657Reflections from first-generation small-scale vegetable farmersRichard Bloomfield0https://orcid.org/0009-0003-8397-8513Deishin Lee1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6335-2877Huron University CollegeIvey Business School Renewal of the agriculture sector requires an influx of young farmers, either members of farming families or first-generation farmers. The latter face distinct challenges (Bloomfield, 2023; Magnan et al., 2023). This study seeks to understand some of their motivations and challenges in order to inform policy changes to support and encourage more first-generation farmers. Agriculture has long been regarded in Canada as not only economically but also culturally significant. Yet less than 1% of the population are recognised as farmers by the latest census data (Statistics Canada, 2021). In the last three decades alone, Canada has net lost nearly 150,000 farmers and the average age of a Canadian farmer is now 56. Only 8.5% of Canadian farmers were under 35 in the last Agricultural Census, compared to 20% in 1991, and that percentage has been declining steadily since 1931 (Clapp, 2023; Magnan et al., 2022; Qualman et al., 2018; Statistics Canada, 2006, 2022). In particular, the number of young people from farming families staying in agriculture is declining. Several reports, including that of the Royal Bank of Canada Climate Action Institute, show that a majority of farmers do not have a succession plan in place although, within the next decade, 40% will retire (Yaghi, 2023). People from non-farming backgrounds find it difficult to enter the profession due to barriers that include prohibitive costs and lack of training. To ensure that Canada can feed its growing population, we must address the farmer shortage by understanding the experiences of new—particularly young—farmers. https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/657Agriculture in Canadaagriculture and municipal land useagricultural policyfirst-generation farmerslocal foodsmall-scale vegetable production |
| spellingShingle | Richard Bloomfield Deishin Lee Reflections from first-generation small-scale vegetable farmers Canadian Food Studies Agriculture in Canada agriculture and municipal land use agricultural policy first-generation farmers local food small-scale vegetable production |
| title | Reflections from first-generation small-scale vegetable farmers |
| title_full | Reflections from first-generation small-scale vegetable farmers |
| title_fullStr | Reflections from first-generation small-scale vegetable farmers |
| title_full_unstemmed | Reflections from first-generation small-scale vegetable farmers |
| title_short | Reflections from first-generation small-scale vegetable farmers |
| title_sort | reflections from first generation small scale vegetable farmers |
| topic | Agriculture in Canada agriculture and municipal land use agricultural policy first-generation farmers local food small-scale vegetable production |
| url | https://canadianfoodstudies.uwaterloo.ca/index.php/cfs/article/view/657 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT richardbloomfield reflectionsfromfirstgenerationsmallscalevegetablefarmers AT deishinlee reflectionsfromfirstgenerationsmallscalevegetablefarmers |