No doubt – one of the highlights of the Grow Canada16 Conference was the Keynote presentation by renowned marketing consultant and speaker, Jay Baer. Author of book “Hug your Haters”, Jay’s challenge to persons involved in food and agriculture was to defy expectations, confidently responding to naysayers. Considering that consumers often do not have sufficient information to know what they want, (according to credible studies), scientists and technologists have a great opportunity to package and present relevant information for decision making at every level.
Ottawa, ON. Under the overall theme of “Up to the Challenge”, recurring topics throughout the conference included Food Security, the food movement and climate change, each with associated challenges and proposed solutions. Of specific interest was the analysis of several National Food Policy initiatives in Canada. Some of the key areas to be addressed by the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food (AAFC) – Food Security, the Environment, Sustainable Growth in the Food and Farm Sector and Health are primary portfolio themes of other Ministries. This underscores the increasing importance of partnership and harmonizing strategies. It is likely that the central role of agriculture and food in economic and social development will be reflected not only in national food and nutrition policies, but in other sector policies. The IICA Delegation in Canada looks forward to participating in the consultations that the AAFC will be hosting in 2017 to obtain input for the Canadian Food Policy.
The GrowCanada partnership is a coalition of national stakeholders working together to promote innovation in Canada’s agriculture and agribusiness sectors. The conference is an annual event which provides a platform to connect with industry leaders from across the country, explore cutting edge insight and build a stronger and more vibrant Canadian agricultural sector that ultimately can contribute to a better world.
For more information, visit the conference website: http://growcanadaconference.ca/about/growcanada-conference/
