Prime Minister Mark Carney deserves credit for beginning an important national conversation about food security with the National Food Security Strategy. As this work advances, it’s worth remembering that food security begins with farmers, and farmers need our support.
Recent global disruptions have shown how interconnected our food systems are, and how quickly pressures can ripple from international supply chains to grocery prices at home. Responding effectively requires a clear, coordinated national approach that puts farmers at the centre of the solution.
Growing global uncertainty, pressure on food systems, and rising costs mean conversation must now turn to action. Canadians would benefit from an integrated national agri‑food security strategy — one that supports both consumers and producers and recognizes an essential truth: a resilient food supply depends on secure farmers and on the crops and livestock they produce.
Grains such as corn, soybeans, and wheat grown in Ontario and Eastern Canada play a vital role in feeding the country’s largest population centres. Grain farmers form the backbone of supply chains that touch every household. Their work is strengthened by research, innovation, and training, and long‑standing collaboration among farmers, institutions like the University of Guelph, and industry partners.
That strength is evident across the system. Farmer‑led research partnerships have helped make soybeans Ontario’s largest acreage crop. In a volatile global protein market, soybeans are increasingly important as a local source of oil and protein meal that supports Canada’s livestock sectors.
Corn adds further value. Beyond food and feed, it is a key input for ethanol, contributing to domestic energy goals while producing high‑quality distillers’ grains. These by‑products support beef, dairy, poultry, and pork production, strengthening regional resilience.
Wheat provides a direct link from farm to table. Research at the University of Guelph, supported by Grain Farmers of Ontario, has produced varieties suited for local milling and processing. Ontario wheat can move efficiently from field to flour to grocery shelves, strengthening domestic food availability.
Together, these interconnected supply chains play a critical role in keeping Canadians fed. Food sovereignty means having the capacity to grow, process, and secure staple foods. Grain farming is central to that capacity.
Ontario grain farmers supply the raw materials that support livestock production, food processing, domestic fuel blending, and employment across the agri‑food economy. Much of this production is oriented first and foremost toward feeding Canadians.
Research, development and industry partnerships help advance crop improvement and agronomic practices, ensuring that new knowledge moves efficiently from the lab to the field. This work supports informed decision‑making at a time when farmers continue to manage weather uncertainty, market volatility, and rising input costs.
Fertilizer and energy prices have increased amid geopolitical instability and supply chain constraints, with impacts that extend across the entire food system and ultimately affect consumers.
Other countries are acting. The United States, for example, has committed substantial resources to maintain domestic agricultural capacity, providing farmers with confidence that their ability to produce will be protected.
Canada now has an opportunity to take a similarly deliberate approach. The National Food Security Strategy must move beyond aspiration to action with coordinated federal support for farmers who underpin the country’s food and feed supply. This includes ensuring fertilizer access and pricing transparency, while continuing to invest in research, innovation, processing capacity, and workforce development.
As affordability pressures continue, food affordability and resilience are increasingly connected. Strengthening them will require coordinated action across the agri‑food system, starting with support for the farmers who grow our food.
Food security begins on the farm. National policy should reflect that reality, and act on it now.
Crosby Devitt is the CEO of Grain Farmers of Ontario and Rene Van Acker is president of the University of Guelph
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