Canada sees rising interest in controlled environment agriculture

As Canada continues to rely heavily on imported fruits and vegetables, especially during its long winters, different types of controlled environment agriculture (CEA) are gaining momentum to help overcome this problem. The goal is to support domestic production and reduce reliance on foreign supply. As trade dynamics evolve and consumers become more conscious of Canadian grown food, understanding the potential and limitations of CEA has never been timelier.

In this report, we build on previous work by exploring the strengths and opportunities CEA offers Canadian agriculture, while also highlighting weaknesses and threats it must overcome. While greenhouse-grown crops are the most recognized form of CEA, the category also includes other sectors like insect farming, aquaculture, lab-grown meat, and crops grown in vertical or containerized systems. We focus on fruits and vegetables grown in greenhouses, by far the largest and most established segment of CEA in Canada. However, many of the insights and trends discussed here are also relevant to other emerging CEA methods like vertical and container farming.

Strength: Yields outpace outdoor grown equivalents

By extending the growing season and stacking crops vertically, greenhouse operations unlock higher yields than traditional outdoor farms growing the same fruits and vegetables. The advantage is striking, ranging from five times more pounds per acre for tomatoes to an impressive 30 times more for herbs (Figure 1). Part of this advantage is a result of the ability for greenhouses in Canada to operate for nine months of the year on average, with multiple harvests. Some vertical and container farms push this further with year-round production.

The space and time advantage in greenhouse production also translates into a higher farm gate value per acre. Again, herbs dominate this category followed by cucumbers (Figure 1). Even field-grown vegetables often get their start in these controlled environments, highlighting the strength greenhouses have in overcoming Canada’s typically short outdoor growing season.

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