At the Arrell Food Institute (AFI). AFI, a team is working on the national Sustainable Food Systems for Canada initiative ( SF4C ) a national innovation and entrepreneurship training platform designed to close Canada’s agri-food productivity gap and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.  They have designed a survey to get the sector’s perspective on current and future agri-food skills and training requirements. This will help the SF4C partners in designing responsive and appropriate training programs. 

Jeanna Rex, education lead at AFI, is encouraging participation from the horticultural sector. 

“We are inviting professionals across the agriculture and food sector to take part in a short survey designed to better understand the realities of work in this dynamic field—from primary production to processing and manufacturing and everything in between,” says Rex. “Because you work in the agri-food sector, your perspective is invaluable.” 

The team wants to learn from your real-world experience to better understand:

• -  The skills, tasks, and activities you regularly perform
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• -  How these connect to sustainability, innovation, and entrepreneurship
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• -  The skills you currently use in your work
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• -  The skills you anticipate will be important in the near future

Your insights will directly inform the design of more relevant and responsive training programs to prepare the next generation of agri-food professionals.  The survey takes less than 10 minutes to complete and can be accessed here:   SF4C Skills Survey – Fill out form

Feel free to share this invitation with colleagues or networks across the agri-food sector.  The deadline to respond is Friday, December 19. Reach out to Jeanna Rex at jeannar@uoguelph.ca if you have questions. 

Source: Arrell Food Institute November 14, 2025 communiqué