Better broadband will be boon to farmers, prof says

A professor at Dalhousie University says the CRTC's decision last month to declare broadband internet a basic service is good news for farmers.

As part of its decision, the Canadian Radio-television and Telecommunications Commission ordered internet providers to get to work to boost internet service and speeds in rural and isolated areas.

Sylvain Charlebois, a professor in food distribution and policy at Dalhousie, told Information Morning Saint John that faster and more reliable internet services for rural areas will help improve agriculture policy. 

"It's really about connectivity and getting rid of that rural-urban divide that we've seen over the last few decades," he said.

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Charlebois said most city dwellers have benefited from broadband for some time and take it for granted, but in rural parts of the country, where most farms are located, the internet is often slow and can be easily knocked out by poor weather.

"Frankly, the internet in rural Canada is just not efficient, not allowing farmers to really, fully appreciate what's going on in markets, understanding prices also connecting with markets to sell goods," he said.

"Farmers will benefit, but city dwellers will also benefit by allowing rural Canada to be better connected."

Connected farmers can press case

But Charlebois also said with lots of pressure on politicians from constituents, farmers who are better connected can communicate issues more quickly that affect them with both lawmakers and the broader public.

In an era where a politician like U.S. president-elect Donald Trump can change policy with 140 characters on Twitter, Charlebois said it's important for farmers to know what's going on.

In some other parts of the world, he said, farms are geographically closer to cities than they are in Canada, where the greater distance creates a wider division.

Charlebois taught in Europe last year and said the students there were better acquainted with agricultural policy and the challenges farmers face because the people producing food are online.

"I'm not saying that Canadian students aren't informed," he said. "It's just you can feel that they don't have that experience and understanding that I've experienced around the world."

Ensuring farms are connecting to broadband internet, Charlebois said, will help bridge that gap.

Number of farms dwindling

"Farming's changing quite a bit," he said. "We are actually losing seven to nine per cent of all our farms every single year right now."

Charlebois said there are a lot of smart farmers out there who have information to share. 

"If you actually allow all the instruments that farmers have access to to be complimented by the internet, or more efficient internet, then you're allowing farmers to really be able to sell, or operate their business more effectively," he said.

Another example of where broadband can benefit farmers is the labelling of genetically modified foods.

Charlebois said many are concerned about the issue, but there is also a lot of misinformation out there that farmers could address.

"I suspect that, with better connectivity between (those) two dimensions of society, I would expect the public discourse to become smarter, to assess proper risks and to really understand what the challenges are."

The one disappointing part of the CRTC announcement, according to Charlebois, was the commission did not set a price for rural broadband, so he's unsure how affordable it will become for rural Canadians.

Broadband tops wish list

Amanda Wildeman, the executive director of the National Farmers Union in New Brunswick, wholeheartedly agrees with Charlebois and said the union has been working on a strategic plan to improve rural infrastructure over the last few years.

"And on the top of that list, that we hear.. very frequently is Internet and cellular service," she said.
Wildeman said as an organization trying to get information to its rural membership, it's essential for farmers to have reliable Internet services.

"There are people who are still on dial-up, which causes a huge challenge both in terms of what we can send by email as well as the frequency that people access it, because it is inconvenient, it's slow, you get bumped, it doesn't work very well," she said.

While it depends on the farm, Wildeman said being online is becoming more important to some farmers.

"We are seeing an increased trend of farmers who are in to direct sales," she said.

People doing that need to be able to contact customers in a timely way and be able to boost their online presence said Wildeman.

But she also points out that getting a price on farm equipment, like a tractor, in the digital age requires Internet access.

While Wildeman says the CRTC decision is hopeful news, the timeline for 90 per cent connectivity is still five years away.
"But it's one less thing that we have to be actively pushing for," she said.