Title: Climate Change and Ontario’s Agri-food: OMAFRA’s Perspective

Abstract: Ontario’s agriculture sector comprising almost 50,000 farms in 5 million hectares generates $13 billion farm cash receipts to Ontario’s GDP (OMAFRA, 2016). Adding food processing and other activities in the agri-food value chain, Ontario’s agri-food sector generated over $37 billion to the province’s gross domestic product, 800,000 employment and $14.9 billion in agri-food trade (OMAFRA, 2016-17).

Ontario’s agriculture sector is vulnerable to a changing climate, although its footprint in provincial GHG emission is relatively low and stable (6% of total provincial emission 171Mt in 2013). Due to complex interactions of agri-food sector with climate, natural resources and other factors, the climate change challenges and opportunities are yet to be fully understood. Besides GHG reduction actions, the climate change adaptation efforts are vital for long-term success of the agri-food sector and thereby, provide food security, economic growth and stability, health and nutrition, and environmental benefits. Our partnerships through policy development, agri-food research and innovation and knowledge exchange will play central role in our collaborative journey for building a climate-resilient agri-food sector in Ontario. The purpose of the presentation is to highlight OMAFRA’s involvement in the climate change adaption and mitigation initiatives for Ontario’s agri-food sector and to stimulate a collaborative and ongoing discussion.