New Canadians, New Farmers

Dr Patrick HABAMENSHI, MA, DVMDevelopment Economist

New Canadians, New Farmers Program Coordinator

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Introduction• Challenges of Canadian agri-food sector:

– Aging workforce and shortage of skilled workers;– Recruitment and retention of qualified employees;– Lack of awareness, and interest, in agriculture career

paths;– Shortage of seasonal and harvest labor; and– Lack of training and continuous learning culture.

• One of proposed to the sector’s challenges is to create opportunities for new immigrants wishing to enter agricultural and food production careers.

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Rural snapshot• Fewer immigrants settle in rural areas• 2001 agricultural census: recent immigrants (farm/non-

farm) only 6% of total rural population

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Opportunities

• Recent Immigrants highly skilled and highly experienced;

• Toronto growing market for locally grown new crops:– 43.7 % of all recent immigrants live in Toronto– Toronto one of the most diverse cities in

world: more than 60 ethno-cultural groups.

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Challenges• Recent immigrants including professionals in agricultural related

fields face difficulties integrating labor force:– Survival jobs and unemployment;– High incidences of poverty among new immigrants: almost half food

bank users recent immigrants - and most of them have a University Education

• Loss of health advantage (“Healthy immigrant effect”) as new immigrants settle in country:– Difficulties accessing foods from back-home often absent from main

grocery stores – Adoption of non-familiar food habits: new comers forced to explore

new food practices (fast-foods), often without adequate information on the relation between food and health

• Increase cases of obesity and several chronic diseases including cardiovascular disease, some cancers and osteoporosis

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Program Summary

• Will provide training programs and support services to help new Canadian farmers start new farm enterprises in near urban areas to meet the growing demand for locally grown and culturally appropriate fresh produce in Southern Ontario.

• Partnership with community, settlement and ethno-cultural organizations. • Two ‘training and incubator farm’ facilities near Toronto• Access to other near urban/urban small plots and co-op farming

arrangements. • Programs and support services will include:

– Tailored business develop courses and support, – Farm tours, – Mentoring, – Ecological agriculture and technical training, – Linkages with existing resources and support programs, – Access to necessary start up infrastructure, – Market access support.

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Beneficiaries• New immigrants with agricultural backgrounds or related

experience;• Will include women and youth as most vulnerable groups

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Partnerships

• Landholders:– TRCA, Town of Ajax, City of Toronto, Private landholders (e.g. family farmers,

faith based organizations, educational facilities, etc): Community hyped-up about local food, new immigrants (detail)

• Community based Program Partners: – Community Economic Development for Immigrant Women, Multi-cultural

Interagency of Peel (MIAG), Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization, Newcomer Women Services of Toronto, etc…

• Outreach and engagement partners: – Settlement organizations; Ethno-cultural umbrella organizations (e.g. Hispanic

Development Council, African Canadian Social Development Council, Chinese Canadian National Council- Toronto Chapter, and Council of Agencies Serving South Asians, etc…); Ethno-cultural organizations.

• Advisory Committee: – Consultative body comprised of representatives of FarmStart partner

organizations [CLAWS, Heifer International, the Alternative Planning Group, Settlement and Ethno-cultural umbrella organizations and key resource people engaged in community development and immigrant’s issues].

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Overall benefits

• Meeting of two solitudes:– Urban Solitude:

• Potential Immigrant Farmers lost in urban jobs• Potential Market for New Crops

– Rural Solitude:• Established farmers in dire need of new hands,

new skills• Established farmers looking to explore new

markets

Thank You!