Agri-food is big business in Alberta.
Alberta contributes 16 percent of Canada’s primary agriculture GDP, and in 2019, Alberta’s primary agriculture sector contributed $14 billion in farm cash receipts and employed nearly 50,000 people.
The food and beverage processing sector is the largest manufacturing employer in the province, employing 23,000 people and accounting for $15.5 billion in manufacturing sales.
It could be even bigger.
As this new School of Public Policy paper from the University of Calgary outlines, there is tremendous growth potential in the industry: while Canada’s exports declined year-over-year by 10 percent in 2020, Canada’s primary agri-food exports grew by 10 percent, and food and beverage products exports grew by 5 percent.
If Alberta, despite the long list of economic challenges before it, wants to achieve sustainable prosperity, the agri-food industry must play an increasingly prominent role in the province’s future.
But as the paper’s authors point out, more than just soil and sun, the farm of the future will integrate all the latest technologies into its production, from AI, quantum computing, augmented reality, sensor technology, robotics, and blockchains.
The authors outline three additional opportunities for Alberta where investment should be focused:
- Value-added Processing – Alberta food processing and manufacturing grew at an annual rate of 2.8 percent from 2010 to 2019, almost double the average growth rate of Alberta’s non-oil and gas industry sectors for that period.
- The Sustainable Economy – The global carbon offset market is valued at $50 billion, to potentially as high as $800 billion.
- Trade and Exports – Alberta faces the potential for double digit growth to existing trade volumes if the province is proactive in investing in its trading relationships.
