Agriculture may be making a comeback in Saskatchewan.
Graham Parsons, president of the Organization for Western Economic Co-operation, told the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association’s recent convention that he expects agriculture to once again lead the economy in Saskatchewan.
The province’s advantage, he said, is the fact that it has 36 percent of all Canadian agricultural land, at a time when urban expansion around the world has put pressure on available farmland.
“Eighteen percent of Ontario’s best Class 1 land is now urban,” Parsons said.
The United States is losing about one million acres per year and China is rapidly losing agricultural land to accommodate its increasing population.
Read Also
Short rapeseed crop may put China in a bind
Industry thinks China’s rapeseed crop is way smaller than the official government estimate. The country’s canola imports will also be down, so there will be a lot of unmet demand.
Parsons said Saskatchewan production can replace losses in other countries.
The changing geography is also altering the way the world does business.
Parsons says “Chindia” is the place to watch. With 40 percent of the world’s population, China and India are becoming dominant.
History bears out this type of change.
In the past, Egypt, Rome and England were all dominant economic players, Parsons said. After the Second World War, the U.S. took over that role.
“By 2050 there’s a large demand for psychiatrists in North America to help Americans understand what it’s like to be No. 2,” Parsons joked with the crowd.
But he is serious about the shift.
“The elementary school population in China is equal to the American population,” he said.
The transportation revolution to container use has already linked North America and Asia. As China and India lose land and water resources to their burgeoning populations, they will need that connection to feed their people.
Parsons said the urbanization of agricultural production areas in California and Florida are also putting pressure on production in the U.S.
