AgScape Wraps Up Agriculture and Food Careers Initiative Aimed at Filling Industry Gaps
Milton, Ontario – May 29, 2026 – AgScape, a leader in innovative agriculture and food education for educators and students across Ontario, has recently wrapped up its Promoting Careers in Agriculture and Food Initiative. With funding from the governments of Ontario and Canada, the initiative was developed to promote the importance and diversity of career opportunities in Ontario’s agriculture and agri-food sector.
“This initiative allowed us to reach students right across Ontario, helping them see the scope and relevance of careers in the agriculture and food sector,” says Amanda Robertson, Executive Director. “What the last 2 years have really reinforced for AgScape is what’s possible when education, industry, and government are aligned with purpose.”
One installation of the project was the development of an interactive, travelling booth station at select agricultural fairs and career events across Ontario from 2024 to 2026. Over two years, the AgScape booth attended 47 events in areas such as the Greater Toronto Area, Thunder Bay, Temiskaming, London, Niagara, and Ottawa. At these events, AgScape staff and volunteers made meaningful connections with and provided career exploration resources to over 120,000 students, educators, and jobseekers.
AgScape booth pictured with Teacher Ambassadors and staff at the Brooklin Spring Fair (left) and Best Places to Work Ottawa (right)
A second part of the project was the delivery of a bilingual booth kit with accompanying career materials to agricultural societies for display at their events. In 2025, the booth kits were received and displayed by 178 agricultural societies at their fairs spanning Southern Ontario and into underrepresented areas across Kenora, Timmins, and Manitoulin Island.
AgScape booth kit for agricultural societies displayed at the Carp Fair
“I wish I had access to this kind of career exposure as a student. I discovered the agriculture and food sector later in my own career journey, after navigating different industries and career changes, and I quickly realized how dynamic and important the sector really is,” says Devin Iuliano, Programs and Data Specialist. “Being able to help coordinate opportunities that introduce students to these pathways earlier and show them how many different skills fit within agriculture and food was one of the most meaningful parts of this initiative.”
The initiative culminated in a one-day Career Connect event hosted in partnership with the Canadian National Exhibition, where Toronto District School Board students had the opportunity to discover careers in agriculture and food with insights from an experienced industry panel and hands-on, experiential learning activities exploring innovative topics such as genomics, vermicomposting, and food sensory activations. Following the event, 78% of students reported an increased interest in exploring careers in agriculture and food in the future.
“While the projects have wrapped up, they pushed us into communities we haven’t consistently been able to reach and strengthened our responsibility to move beyond one-off exposure toward intentional, high-quality agriculture careers learning,” says Robertson. “We’re just at the beginning of that work.”
About AgScape
AgScape proudly provides innovative agriculture and food education to empower and inspire educators and students across Ontario. As a charitable organization, we have delivered factual, balanced, curriculum-linked programs and resources for the past 35 years.
AgScape is funded in part by the governments of Canada and Ontario under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership (Sustainable CAP), a five-year, $3.5-billion investment by federal, provincial and territorial governments to strengthen competitiveness, innovation and resiliency of Canada’s agriculture, agri-food and agri-based product sectors. This includes $1 billion in federal programs and activities and a $2.5 billion commitment that is cost-shared 60 per cent federally and 40 per cent provincially/territorially for programs designed and delivered by provinces and territories.
For more information about AgScape and its initiatives, please visit www.agscape.ca.
Media Contact
Chloe Leon
Marketing and Communications Coordinator, AgScape
