On Friday, June 4th, we had the pleasure of meeting with the Ontario Fruit and Vegetable Growers Association (OFVGA), a generous sponsor of OLIP. We were thrilled to speak with Gordon Stock, Senior Policy and Government Relations Advisor for OFVGA.
The OFVGA is a nationally recognized non-profit umbrella organization that represents over 3,500 fruit and vegetable growers in Ontario. As one of Canada’s oldest agriculture organizations, the OFVGA advocates on behalf of the fruit and vegetable sector on five key areas including safety nets, crop protection, energy, property and infrastructure, labour, and environment and climate change.
We had a fascinating conversation with Gordon about how the fruit and vegetable sector is rapidly evolving due to changing growing seasons, weather conditions, and crop destruction as a result of climate change. While innovations in agricultural technology, such as climate-resilient crops and enhanced crop cultivation strategies, are helping farmers adapt to these changing conditions, the increasing use of automation on farms also has significant labour implications for the sector.
Gordon also spoke about the agricultural sector’s reliance on temporary foreign workers, and how these partnerships have faced challenges this year due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We ended our conversation with a reflection on maintaining and protecting agricultural land from urban sprawl within the Golden Horseshoe.
We are so glad we had the opportunity to meet Gordon, and enjoyed learning about the work of OFVGA. Thank you, OFVGA, for taking the time to meet with us and being sponsors of OLIP!