Highlighting the importance of foreign workers on N.B. farms
/by Lisa Ashworth
New Brunswick farmers play an important role in the provincial economy by producing food and products for local, national, and international export markets. While we have increased our economic contribution in recent years, our farming sector – like other industries – faces a significant workforce challenge.
LABOUR SHORTAGES
According to the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council (CAHRC) outlook for the farming workforce through 2029, 47 percent of Canadian farm employers surveyed said they could not fill their labour needs.
The CAHRC reported that New Brunswick’s agriculture sector employed 5,195 people in 2017 and had a shortage of 268 jobs, costing the industry $30-million worth of output or nearly five percent of sales. The CAHRC projects that shortage will increase to 400 jobs by 2029.
WORKFORCE PLAN
Given the seriousness of the situation, the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick (AANB) commissioned the development of a five-year agricultural workforce development plan to address this challenge in the years ahead.
In April 2020, the AANB published the New Brunswick Agricultural Workforce Development Plan 2020-2024, which outlines our vision to work collaboratively toward ensuring the industry has a strong pool of talent to meet both the seasonal demand and year-round labour demand in the province in the years ahead.
According to the CAHRC, only four percent of agriculture positions in New Brunswick were filled by foreign workers compared to a sector average of 17 percent across Canada. However, foreign workers and immigrant farmers play an important role in two of the objectives of New Brunswick’s agricultural workforce development plan. One objective is addressing the seasonal/harvest workforce needs by promoting foreign worker supports provided by New Brunswick’s Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services (FARMS) non-profit organization. Another objective is attracting immigrant farmers to increase the overall number of farmers in the province.
STRONGER SECTOR
Foreign workers can also help strengthen our agricultural sector by creating opportunities for current farmers to expand and diversify.
As business operators, we usually reach a point at least once in our farming careers when the farm operation reaches a plateau. It’s time to make the business decision on whether to maintain the status quo or expand and/or diversify. If you weave in the potential of bringing a younger generation back to the farm, the desire and business case for change and growth can be even greater.
If, for instance, you spend significant time on field work, bringing in temporary foreign workers to take over that task can free your time to work on expansion. At the same time, foreign workers can help build the diversification on your farm, whether it’s a move to agri-tourism, adding a new crop, expanding to direct-to-consumer sales, or including a packing or processing line. With diversification and growth comes the opportunity to bring the younger generation back to the farm and into their own income stream.
NEW COORDINATOR
In December, the AANB announced the appointment of Jessica McKenna as our new workforce coordinator responsible for implementing our workforce development strategy. Jessica is excited to help bridge the employment gap challenging agriculture producers and industry partners.
Jessica says by shining a light on New Brunswick’s incredible agricultural community and the profound impact it has on the lives of all New Brunswickers, we can bring a new awareness to this industry for local, national, and international growth.
MOVING FORWARD
We look forward to bringing you additional details as we move forward with the plan.
To read the New Brunswick Agricultural Workforce Development Plan 2020-2024 online, search the plan’s title.
Visit cahrc-ccrha.ca/programs/agrilmi to access the CAHRC’s reports and data, including information specific to New Brunswick.
There’s also some valuable information in the New Brunswick government’s Temporary Foreign Workers Employee Guide, which can be found online by searching the guide’s title.
(Lisa Ashworth is president of the Agricultural Alliance of New Brunswick.)
