Artificial intelligence (AI) is no longer a futuristic concept – it is already deeply embedded in our daily lives.
“Technology adoption, it’s happening. We can’t talk about whether we will adopt AI; this is happening already, whether we notice it or not,” said Dr. Rozita Dara, a professor at the University of Guelph and strategy director for Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance.
While many sectors have rapidly leveraged AI for efficiency and innovation, agriculture has historically lagged behind. Dara is looking to change that through her research with the AI4Food initiative at the Ontario Agri-Food Innovation Alliance. Crucially, her work spans all types of AI, not just recent generative tools.
“AI has been around for 70 years at least, and there are many more simple algorithms, so I’m talking about all types of AI,” said Dara, adding that there is a huge potential for AI use in the agriculture industry, even with current technology.
“The technology is there, and we don’t need to do something extraordinarily big. We can improve very simple processes, processes that are repetitive with high accuracy, they can easily be automated, and that brings efficiency.”
Computer vision, machine learning algorithms, and Internet of Things (IoT) sensors are current ways AI can make farming more efficient and help farmers optimize crop yield.
The AI4Food initiative brings together a wide range of experts to research and develop more innovative technologies and governance frameworks to improve agriculture and food system resilience in Canada. One of Dara’s areas of focus in the initiative is on AI technology governance.
“Governance is about developing processes, techniques, methodologies that ensure the responsible analytical use of AI in agriculture and food,” she explained.
Governance is an important topic for managing the risks that come with AI implementation, especially considering how integrated AI has become in our everyday lives.
“You open up your computer, you go to Microsoft 365 or whatever version you have behind it, there is AI embedded, and then on phones, cars, everywhere. Agriculture and food cannot stay away from AI.”
As global food systems face escalating threats from climate change, geopolitical conflicts, and disease outbreaks, AI offers a vital tool for securing supply chains. However, Dara stresses that success relies heavily on data quality.
“If we collect data in an efficient way, then we can predict what can go wrong. We can improve the efficiency of the processes. We can predict potential impacts of potential risks that could contribute to climate change,” said Dara.
“If we are not measuring, we cannot make an informed decision. If we start measuring, and when I say start measuring, that doesn’t mean I collect data today, and tomorrow I can do lots of great things. It’s a learning process for everybody, making sure we are collecting the right data for the right purpose, and you’re asking the right question. It’s not an easy task, but we have to start doing it now, learn, adapt, and improve until we get to a point where we hopefully have the right data, ensuring sovereignty obviously is very important.”
The timing is critical. On June 4, the federal government launched its new “AI for All” strategy, committing more than $2.3 billion to accelerate AI adoption, boost domestic capabilities, and build public trust. The framework identifies agriculture as one of five key priority sectors for targeted investment.
“I think the new AI strategy has put emphasis on agriculture innovation in AI for agriculture, so that’s great. The government is paying attention; they have considered it as a strategic priority,” said Dara.
