Thank you for inviting the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council, CAHRC, to be here today. I'm here as a producer from East Selkirk, Manitoba, where I produce grains, oilseeds, and vegetables. I'm a member of the Keystone Agricultural Producers of Manitoba, which is an implementation partner of the Canadian agriculture and agrifood workforce action plan. I'm also the vice-chair of CAHRC.
CAHRC has quantified the labour gap farmers are facing today and in the future. Portia also identified for you the current vacancy rates. At this juncture, industry stakeholders are requesting that our government policies be responsive to their needs as employers, in order to fill positions and run their farms and processing operations.
We eat three times a day. Canada depends on the agriculture and agrifood industry, our Canadian consumers, our trade exports, our workforce, and our Canadian economy. The industry is seeking to work with the federal government on a whole-of-government approach.
This is where Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has an important leadership role to play. Agriculture labour needs to be the concrete seventh priority of the next policy framework, because workforce shortages are affecting all of the Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's proposed priorities: innovation, public trust, sustainability, and international markets and trade. It's the number-one business risk issue and is severely affecting our capacity for value-added agriculture and agrifood processing.
Under the new seventh priority for labour, business development, and competitiveness, there are four initiatives that could be actioned to address the inadequate supply of workers. These priorities will help position Canada to become a future food superpower with a strong, highly skilled, and trained agri-workforce.
Number one is improving diversity. We support women's inclusion and participation in the workforce. Women currently make up 30% of the agriculture workforce, and outreach initiatives are needed for under-represented groups, including women.
Second, we need to grow the agri-workforce, and we need national career initiatives. We know we need to get Canadians engaged in agriculture, and agriculture offers quality career opportunities with competitive wages. A national career campaign is needed to raise awareness and to disseminate agricultural career opportunities to media influencers, educators, and the public, increasing industry's access to labour with under-represented groups such as youth and the unemployed.
Third, we must increase training. We need to improve the knowledge and skills of workers through the development of affordable, accessible training, including online e-learning to ensure that farm and food workers in rural Canada have access to training support.
Finally, we have the Canadian agriculture and agrifood workforce action plan, a strategic road map for jobs and growth in rural Canada. The action plan is a collaborative industry effort. It is the culmination of over four years of work by 26 members of the agriculture and agrifood labour task force, 13 AAFC value-chain round tables including seafood, and 77 agricultural groups and companies supporting its implementation. It is critical that this strategy be adequately funded, allowing the plan to be actioned.