Accelerating action for climate-smart agriculture
There is a strong appetite in business right now to build resilience into our agrifood systems. We can harness that ambition to incentivize, recognize, and reward farmers for the meaningful impact they contribute to a sustainable future. It’s time for unapologetic action.
Nick Betts
Managing Director
CANZA (Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food) brings together action-driven problem-solvers from across the agri-food system to accelerate a net-zero future.
Climate change is a complex and extremely interconnected challenge. From droughts to floods to ice storms–climate impacts threaten the food, fibre and fuel production that Canadians count on. Agriculture is one of the only sectors where we can tackle climate change from two directions. Not only can we reduce agricultural emissions that contribute to climate change. We can also leverage the potential of agricultural lands to remove harmful emissions from the atmosphere, as part of a broader solution.
Seizing this opportunity means advancing innovative practices and technologies that help lower agricultural emissions while embracing climate-positive activities, like sustainable soil management. Critical to all this is supporting and rewarding the role that farmers play by properly valuing the environmental benefits of climate-smart farming in our economy.
This will take collaboration and innovation across the entire agri-food system; CANZA enables this.
Providing a platform for pre-competitive, collaborative action and industry leadership, CANZA harnesses the ingenuity, innovation, and existing resources of our agri-food systems to catalyze meaningful progress towards our net-zero goal. That involves aggressively developing, testing, and scaling innovative technologies, championing transformative policies, and helping advance favourable market conditions that incentivize sustainable farming practices.
CANZA currently focuses on two game-changing initiatives: climate-smart farming (embracing technologies, policies and practices with the potential to improve and de-risk agricultural productivity, resilience and returns in ways that can benefit farmers) and scaling the use and uptake of biodigesters (significantly reducing emissions by creating renewable energy, either for selling to the grid or for on-farm use, and nutrient-rich digestate that can enhance crop yields).
CANZA’s work is informed and bolstered by the Smart Prosperity Institute’s land-use, nature, and agriculture research stream. The team collaborates on critical questions like how to credibly quantify and report on the climate-positive impacts of climate-smart farming practices, which is essential to properly valuing environmental benefits.
Contact Nick Betts, Managing Director, for more information: info@canza.ca
There is a strong appetite in business right now to build resilience into our agrifood systems. We can harness that ambition to incentivize, recognize, and reward farmers for the meaningful impact they contribute to a sustainable future. It’s time for unapologetic action.
Nick Betts
Managing Director
I get up every day to passionately do everything I can to catalyze impact that will ensure our world and food systems are stewarded better today than yesterday.
Nick is the inaugural Managing Director for the Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food. He is an action-driven, strategy-guided leader in building and deploying opportunities that drive positive climate impact across the agri-food industry. With a background spanning roles in farm associations, agricultural ministries, international industry associations, and global climate consulting, Nick’s unique perspective and experiences catalyze innovative and implementable solutions from boots to boardroom.
Through his 15+ years working in agricultural sustainability, Nick brings a robust international industry and academic network, experience in leading global initiatives in regenerative agriculture and a deeply seeded understanding and awareness of Canadian agriculture and farming communities.
Nick earned an B.Sc. in ecology from the University of Guelph, and MBA in leadership and sustainability from Cumbria University (UK), and holds certificates in sustainability reporting, farm transition planning, change management and Lean business strategy.
Michael is a Research Associate with the Smart Prosperity Institute. Prior to joining SPI, Michael worked at Trans Canada Trail, a non-profit organization that supports the development of active transportation routes and recreational trails as fundamental to the well-being of Canadian communities. Michael has also worked at the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (UNSCDB) in subnational and local implementation and with the Office for Disability Issues at Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC). Michael holds a Master of Environmental Policy from the Institut d’études politiques de Paris (Sciences Po) and his research interests are focused on the nexus between urban nature, human health, and climate change. When not at his desk, Michael can be found cycling, rock climbing or exploring the great outdoors with his growing family.
CANZA engages and draws on the expertise of problem-solvers across the agri-food value chain—from farmers to food producers, retailers to investors–to accelerate and operationalize innovation across our agri-food system.
You can’t manage what you can’t measure. Credible data is integral to effectively valuing the benefits of climate-smart farming. Farmers need available, affordable, accurate, and efficient tools to monitor, measure, and validate that data. Through CANZA, pilot projects–like this one with Hebert Grain Ventures–help deploy scalable solutions.
We have seven years—seven growing seasons—to reduce Canada’s emissions by 40%. We can do a lot in that time, including on our farms. But it will take the whole Agri-food system working together. This is why CANZA exists.
Watch the videoCanada has over 25 million cows and hogs, and over 155 million chickens. Together, they produce a lot of manure—and that manure produces a massive amount of methane, an especially powerful greenhouse gas. Biodigesters are a proven technology to contain emissions while unleashing economic growth–aiding farmers, their local communities and the country as a whole. So, how do we scale them in Canada? Learn more.
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