Survey finds Canadians view agriculture positively

November 8, 2017

In March 2017, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) conducted its first survey on agricultural awareness among Canadians. The survey asked 1,521 Canadians about their knowledge and perceptions of the agricultural sector and revealed some of their concerns and priorities. AAFC will use the data to inform policy development and marketing activities, but results may also provide you with valuable insight that could influence some of your own business decisions.

Among other things, the survey found that:

• 97% of Canadians view the sector as important to the Canadian economy and 81% hold positive impressions of it. These impressions are grounded in the pride Canadians feel towards the industry and in the belief that our farms produce high-quality food. Still, the majority of Canadians (65%) see themselves as having little or no knowledge about the sector.
• Nearly three-quarters (73%) of Canadians think that research and development plays a role in Canada's agriculture and agri-food sector.
• Canadians tend to have mixed views about the impact of the sector on the environment. More than half of respondents (56%) believe Canadian farmers are good stewards of the environment, and almost half (45%) think Canadian farming is environmentally friendly.
• The most popular sources of information about agriculture were the internet (57%) and television (28%).
• When asked who they would trust the most to provide information about farming, the top responses were family (45%), farmers or ranchers (43%), scientists (38%) and AAFC (29%).

Want to know more? The Agricultural Awareness Baseline Survey final report is available at Library and Archives Canada.