Good morning, and thank you very much for the opportunity to speak with you today.
My name is Paul Lucas and I'm the director of agriculture and food for Northlands in Edmonton, Alberta. While my discussion with you today is not directly related to issues of farming, it is related to youth and youth development in agriculture and my observations that are cause for concern.
As the largest and oldest agricultural society in Canada, Northlands engages approximately 2,200 volunteers in our events and programs throughout the year. Our role as an agricultural society is to provide the platform for business of agriculture and food. One of our major pillars of the business is youth development in agriculture. As a non-profit association, without volunteers, programs and events would not take place on our site. One of the many challenges we all face as agricultural societies is an aging volunteer base and finding a better way to engage with youth in our programs and events.
I was recently elected to the Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth, with one of my roles as a member liaison for Canada. The Royal Agricultural Society of the Commonwealth is headed by Prince Phillip, with a mission to encourage the interchange and development of sustainable agriculture, forestry, fishing, and rural development throughout the Commonwealth, working with and through these leading national agricultural show societies throughout the Commonwealth.
Canada is not considered a player in the eyes of the RASC, and I hope to change that with the collaboration and integration to a united voice with common goals and objectives around youth and agriculture for Canada. I know we have the ability and the resources to make a difference. The audience with you today I hope will encourage discussion and engagement into promoting and developing youth in agriculture, a program of the RASC called “The Next Generation”.
The next generation are the successors to the RASC as the older generation retires. With a billion Commonwealth members under the age of 25, the Commonwealth is not widely thought of in Canada to engage with. The Canadian membership in this association is very low, and we need to become a player in the Commonwealth, as we have a lot to offer.
The RASC wants to draw attention to the possibilities for youth to engage more and widen their horizons and share experiences, skills, and advice to encourage enterprise. This was from the Queen's message in 2009. Many agricultural societies across Canada lack resources, motivation, and drive to lead the next generation, as they could play a key role in promoting this throughout their agricultural regions. Agricultural societies need to be more strategic, proactive, creative, inspirational, and challenge youth of today to step up and get involved in all aspects of agriculture, not just farming.
Being involved in putting together agricultural trade shows and livestock shows, we have tried to encourage universities and colleges to participate in the career fair targeted to the urban and rural youth, to learn what types of careers there are in agriculture. One of the main messages that I have heard from several institutions is that youth are being discouraged by their parents and told not to get involved in careers in agriculture but to find a paying job. Their parents do not generally encourage their children to get involved in farming as a career. This, I believe, is a critical issue to review, because I think it is impacting on the future of farming. This is a generalization, of course, on my part, but it is what I believe.
One recruiter recently told me they were finding it more and more difficult to encourage youth to take agriculture at university because of their parents' lack of encouragement to get involved. If this is true, what will agriculture look like in 2050, when the food demand expands three times from its current levels? Agriculture is a critical component to our everyday lives. Farmers feel unappreciated by the urban public and lack the respect they deserve as a critical resource for the world. And this aging farming population struggles to make a decent return on their investments in time and money.
How many youth are prepared to take over from this generation, and how many don't really care to follow in the footsteps of their parents? Farming is changing. It's becoming specialized and requires major capital to keep up with technology and trends to reduce input costs. The conglomerates are coming, and they're consolidating the land.
Since BSE, our organization has seen a decline of 50% in heads shown in the purebred beef industry. We have seen a further 60% decline in purebred breeders registering for a show we put on called Farmfair International.
With the impending food demand of three times the current level by 2015--a mere 1% increase per year in food demand--and the necessity of having more arable land, we need to encourage, promote, appreciate, and celebrate the importance of agriculture in this country.
In Commonwealth circles, Canada is not seen as a player in promoting the next generation or in supporting the RASC. I have tried to connect with every major provincial agricultural society across Canada, with a view to creating an awareness of the importance of youth. Not one association has expressed interest in participating, citing money as the issue.
The old-thinking agriculture societies need to embrace and lead the way in promoting and supporting youth development in agriculture. Most put on agricultural events, fairs, and livestock shows. How many support the development of youth? This should be part of their mandate and mission statement as ag societies in Canada. The world is changing, and I fear that ag societies in this country need to step up and take the challenge of promoting the development of youth and youth engagement in agriculture.
As a G-7 nation, we are rich beyond our dreams. Little is done to support developing countries. While I know that this is far from the truth for Canada, we should be pooling our ideas. Associations across this country should better promote what Canada does in support of the RASC and Commonwealth countries through engaging the younger generation.
There is much we can tap into as a country in the Commonwealth. And I hope that some of what I am saying will be of assistance in drawing attention to this tremendous opportunity.
In order to promote the next generation, I would like to see every provincial ag society review the proposal to create a rural achievers program. Every ag society could promote rural achievers within their regions. They could be judged at each provincial association's annual convention. The prize for winners could be a work experience across the country at fairs, exhibitions, rodeos, and agriculture events. As an example, first prize for the winner of the Australian Rural Achiever Award is a trip to the Calgary Stampede.
One of the final proposals we're working on with the RASC is the development of a farm in a developing country--Ghana, in Africa--that becomes a sustainable agriculture centre of excellence for a developing country. It would have the support of the next generation and the RASC, universities, and colleges throughout the Commonwealth.
In my recent conversations with the U of A and Lakeland College, I learned that a major focus is supporting education in developing countries as an initiative for creating connections for student enrollment and education for the future.
I want to thank you for the opportunity to speak to you today.