Despite the fact that the Atlantic provinces in Canada are widely known for their fresh seafood, farming is difficult in these provinces.
If you walk into any of the seaside cafes along the Cabot Trail on Cape Breton Island, and other retail shops in Nova Scotia, you will easily find lobster rolls, shrimp pizzas, and so on.
From what we have said, you can see that aside from Aquaculture, farming is generally difficult in the Atlantic Provinces. In this article, we will be discussing extensively some of the factors responsible for this.
A General Summary Of Farming In Canada
Agriculture has an important role to play in the Canadian economy such that in the year 2018, there were more than 260,000 farming jobs in Canada unlike in the past years when farming was done on a small scale and farmlands were very small.
This was the situation for some time until Agriculture became a main driver of the Canadian economy, then it became necessary that they expand and diversify thereby prioritizing having a dependable source of food for Canadians.
Cattle, Dairy products, Hogs, Soybeans, Corn, Poultry, Wheat amongst others are some of the top agricultural products in Canada, and interestingly, Canadian companies recently started exporting most of these products.
A Brief Description Of Farming In The Atlantic Provinces
The biggest fishing industry in Canada operates in the Atlantic Provinces because their chief Agricultural produce is mainly fish and crustaceans thereby making it a crucial part of the Atlantic Canadian economy for some time now.
Records show that currently, this industry alone employs about 35,000 people and through exports alone, generates over $2.5 billion yearly. Nevertheless, farming is known to be a herculean task in the Atlantic Provinces.
There is a wide range of factors that affect farming in the Canadian Atlantic provinces and they include; technological advancement and lack of government subsidies. Another factor that cannot be ignored is climate change – and we know that food production on land and water responds to climate change.
Why Farming Is Not Easy In The Atlantic Provinces?
The difficulty of farming in Atlantic provinces can be attributed to the factors listed below:
1. Change In Climate And Geography
If you ever reside in the Atlantic provinces in Canada, you can attest to the uniqueness of its geography thereby making farming a difficult course. Please note that the 4 Canadian Atlantic provinces are made up of a small group of islands and peninsulas.
Environmental factors that give rise to this ranges from the rocky soil to the wet ever-changing climate, and a tendency of hurricane summer, and they have jointly contributed in making farmers in Atlantic provinces put in the most efforts in finding out how to grow crops, irrespective of these challenges and succeed generally in the farming business.
As a result of increased losses resulting from heavy rainfall and little water during the growing season coupled with encroaching pests and diseases, the food supply is threatened.
2. Insufficient Support For Farmers
It is no longer news that when farmers are not equipped with credit facilities, and mechanized farm implements, their level of productivity will suffer the impact. This is no different for farmers in the Atlantic province as they receive very little government subsidies.
While other industries such as shipping, maritime, offshore oil and gas exploration, and coastal tourism, research, and development in the Atlantic provinces get more support from the government, farmers are paid less attention.
3. Shortage In Labour
More farmworkers are seriously needed in the Atlantic Provinces, this is as a result of the fact that most Canadians do not want to work on farms as they consider it uneasy especially because a lot of farms are located in remote areas.
According to reports, more than 55,000 temporary foreign workers were in the year 2018, employed in Canada for farming. A shortage in the labor force could be considered as a factor affecting farming in Atlantic provinces, but we think that this is a great opportunity for ex-pat farmers.
What Is The Best Canadian Province For Farming In Canada?
It is okay to wonder if there are Canadian provinces that make farming easier than others.
We have listed below our list of the Best Canadian Provinces in Canada for Farming.
The Saskatchewan Province
The act of farming thrives in Saskatchewan and it houses most of the farms in the country. In addition to this, there are numerous subsidies and mechanized tools provided by the government for Saskatchewan farmers.
Aside from the efforts of the government, their landmass also makes it easy to grow crops. Unfortunately, as a farm worker looking for a farm job, we cannot recommend the province because it is not labor friendly, they heavily employ the use of mechanized farming tools.
The Alberta Province
The province is widely known to be the second largest wheat-producing Canadian province and the 2nd largest agricultural producing City in Canada having numerous opportunities in the areas of mixed farming; strong livestock and crop farming sectors. Little wonder why the province has one of the world’s most productive agricultural economies.
Furthermore, the diverse landscapes allows for the large production of Agricultural produce.
The British Columbia Province
British Columbia made it to number three on our list, interestingly, there are numerous opportunities for farmworkers lurking around the province. Amongst all farming activities, cattle rearing and crop farming are the most dominant in British Columbia.
With more than 100 wineries, British Columbia is known to be the largest wine-producing province in Canada. This is resulting from the fact that most farmers in British Columbia concentrate on high-quality and value-added products like fruits, vines, ornamental plants, and so on.
What Are The Employment Opportunities For Canadian Farmers?
In Canada, below are the list of some of the available employment opportunities for farmers and they include:
- Livestock workers
- Farm supervisors
- General farmworkers
- Agricultural engineers
- Soil and plant scientists
- Agricultural salesperson, etc