Agriculture, Agro-food and Aquaculture

Agriculture, Agro-food and Aquaculture

Canada’s Agriculture, Agri-food, and Aquaculture sector are diverse and national in scope. It provides nearly 7% of Canada’s GDP and was responsible for more than 73 Mt CO2e of Canada’s national emissions in 2018. Most of these emissions are associated with biological processes in animal, fish, and crop production; with the remainder being associated with energy use on farms. The biological emissions largely emanate from methane and nitrous oxide, with some contribution from CO2 being derived from energy use.One opportunity area that combines priority environmental issues, methane management and nutrient management is anaerobic digestion (AD). AD on-farm and through centralized hubs (i.e., larger scale) will become more viable as the demand for renewable natural gas increases. Innovative irrigation technologies that help reduce or conserve water consumption are also of key interest, as are sensory and digital surveillance technologies that can help optimize on-farm irrigation protocols. Electrification and automation of agricultural equipment is another area of potential demand with limited capacity in Canada. Vertical agriculture is another source of innovation which is emerging in Canada but lagging European expertise.