Thank you.
On behalf of the University of Guelph, we would like to thank all of you members today for the opportunity to present to you. We report to you today from the traditional territory of the Attawandaron people, and today this is the treaty territory of the Mississaugas of the Credit First Nation.
The University of Guelph, where I am today, is Canada's food university. We're recognized internationally as a leading academic and research institution, ranking first in Canada and third worldwide in agricultural and food research.
At the University of Guelph, we are committed to solving real-world challenges in the agri-food sector by stimulating innovation and equipping our students with the knowledge to become leaders in the field.
Regarding the committee's study, we believe that Canada's food and beverage processing sector has strong growth potential, specifically with international exports.
As vice-president of research, I know first-hand, and will therefore focus on, the necessity of investing in research and development as a means to drive innovation and in turn encourage growth in capacity and in exports in the sector. My colleague, Dean Van Acker, will then speak to the necessity of training the sector's next-generation talent pool.
Investments into R and D are needed to grow Canada's processing capacity while achieving better integration throughout the value chain. A key point here is that Canada's food and beverage processing sector is unique in its composition. Centralized right here in our own backyard in Ontario, the food processing sector is composed of some large and medium-sized companies and a very large number of small and very small companies.
For those on the smaller scale, access to R and D resources remains an immense challenge. R and D and innovation need to be considered along the entirety of the value chain, with strong localized connections between primary producer, processor and the market.
There's an advantage in incorporating vertical integration where there is a line of sight across the value chain, where innovation and processing will impact both upstream and downstream elements. We see this first-hand at the University of Guelph in our vertically integrated R and D, for example, in Canada's beef sector.
At the University of Guelph, from outdoor pasture research in northern Ontario to sophisticated livestock production research in Elora and onward to our unique CFIA-licensed abattoir to innovation and finished product and, finally, to consumer preference and nutritional testing, we conduct meat science research that completely integrates along the value chain, and we see where innovation has an impact.
Innovation is embedded throughout the entire value chain, and we do the same at the University of Guelph for many other verticals, from dairy to row crops to fruits and vegetables, covering many of the 200 food commodities that call Ontario home.
What we've learned here is that a fundamental component of our R and D value-add is providing the most modern and technologically driven system to our partners, as well as partnering to capture that value-add as a distinct selling point at the market.
Looking forward, technological trends and advanced manufacturing such as automation, blockchain traceability and artificial intelligence will be critical in the food and beverage processing sector. Again, we see that first-hand through our hands-on R and D at the University of Guelph. Value chains based on real-time information technology will help us deliver and manage resources more efficiently, producing more food and reducing our environmental footprint.
Investments in R and D are key in bridging that gap. We need to invest in the possibilities of Canadian companies' capacity to grow to export sophistication. A key element of getting this right is that we need to integrate a highly trained talent pool into that R and D component.
I'm now going to turn to my colleague, Dean Rene Van Acker, to speak to the training of that talent pool.