Foundations in Agricultural-based industries for Refugees and Migrants Impact Study

The Foundations in Agricultural-based industries for Refugees and Migrants (FARM) Impact Study evaluated the role of the FARM program in the economic and social integration of newcomers and studied the experiences of two different perspectives: newcomers, and industry employers.

Project Information

What is the FARM impact study?

The Immigrant Education Society (TIES), with funding from the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada (SSHRC) and in partnership with the Southern Alberta Institute of Technology (SAIT), conducted a research project during the pilot FARM Program. This study highlighted the views and experiences of FARM clients and practicum employers from local businesses in the horticultural, agricultural and landscaping industries. Additionally, it examined FARM’s impact on participants’ integration and the value of this kind of programming for agricultural employers in Alberta.

We found that the FARM program established a roadmap on how to link newcomers in urban settlement agencies seeking their first jobs in Canada with employers seeking employees. Settlement agencies can play an important and effective intermediary role in bringing these two groups together. The approach employed by FARM may also serve as a strategy to bring newcomers from larger urban areas to their communities.

What were the aims of the FARM impact study?

This research bore four specific objectives:

• To identify the social representation of the participants’ experiences and challenges related to employment and recruitment.
• To identify the social representations of the participants related to the benefits of the program.
• To describe the social representations of participants’ overall experience with the program and the impact on their socioeconomic integration.
• To identify the social representations of participants related to the continuity, accessibility and scalability of the program.

Why is this important?

A continuing labour shortage in the agricultural industry and higher rates of unemployment amongst immigrants were the basis for this pilot project undertaken by TIES. In 2017, Alberta was unable to find enough agricultural workers, and 2,800 jobs went unfilled as a result of labour shortages (Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council [CAHRC], 2019). These shortages have led to delays in production and up to $821 million in lost sales (CAHRC, 2019). To bolster the agricultural industry labour pool, governments turned to the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and its substream Seasonal Agricultural Worker’s Program (SAWP; Zhang et al., 2021).

A significant portion of newly arrived refugees and immigrants in Calgary possess a background in agriculture or horticulture. At the time of project implementation, almost 30% of TIES clients previously worked an agriculture related role. Those newcomers often find it difficult to access economic integration because of lower levels of education, language skills, and are often compelled to retrain for a new, more urban appropriate career.

Newcomer participation in the agricultural workforce facilitated through programs like FARM may hasten their economic integration given the high demand for workers in that sector and address labour shortages. In contrast to the situation of workers under TFWP and SAWP, new immigrants have access to settlement resources and are invested in staying in Canada for the long term. The FARM Impact Study explored whether new immigrants can play a role in supplementing this labour force shortage. This is partly because they may enter the agricultural industry as part of a structured integration process. This study capitalized on the unique research opportunity to examine the value of employment programming in facilitating the integration of permanent newcomers into Canadian society. It also assessed the viability of programs like FARM as a supplement or alternative to the TFW program.

Research Overview

Framework

The conceptual framework of this research is rooted in the theory of social representations. Social representations are a kind of knowledge that is socially constructed and shared, with a practical purpose and which contributes to building a reality that is common amongst the members of a social group (Jodelet, 1989). This theory makes it possible to shed light on the central trends of the participants’ experiences in the FARM program and its impact on how it facilitates the migrants’ socioeconomic integration into the Canadian workforce

Research Questions

• To what extent does the FARM program have an impact on the socioeconomic integration of newcomers into the Canadian workforce?
• How can the FARM program be scalable and accessible to more employers, agencies and participants?

Methods

Data Collection

We used an exploratory research method to examine the impact of the FARM program on newcomer clients and industry partners and employers.

Semi-structured interviews were conducted with:

• 15 FARM clients
• 5 FARM employers

Key Findings

Newcomers connecting with employers and vice-versa, was not a barrier for immigrants finding employment in the agricultural, horticultural, landscaping, and related industries.

• 74% employment rate, with some of the unemployed students turning down job offers.
• There were more positions being offered by employers through FARM than there were graduates accepting them.

Newcomer participants observed that their social and economic integration benefited from FARM.

Newcomers felt that they increased the extent of their social network in Canada after FARM.

• A proportion of newcomer participants (53% of those surveyed) also indicated that they would pay for the program if funding became a barrier for continuing.  

Partners were enthusiastic in providing curriculum input and in engaging with graduates on their roles at the workplace.

• Favourable employer responses indicate that the FARM program is a viable strategy for bridging sectoral businesses with newcomers seeking employment.

Recommendations

The following are four recommendations for future initiatives like the FARM program:

• Increase emphasis on the requirement for students to have vehicle access during the registration period.
• Align program schedule to partner companies’ seasonal operations.
• Ensure the involvement of practicum employers from curriculum development stage onwards.
• Explore the viability for offering support to newcomer entrepreneurs with experience and interest in owning their own farms or other agriculturally related businesses.

Learn More

Here are the resources used during the FARM pilot project that may be used as references or guides:

• FARM Curriculum
• FARM Workbook

References

Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council. (2019). How labour challenges will shape the future of agriculture in Alberta: Agriculture forecast to 2029. https://prod.cahrc-ccrha.ca/sites/default/files/2021-11/AB_EN_Reduced%20size.pdf

Jodelet, D. (1989). Les représentations sociales. Paris: Presses universitaires de France.

Zhang, Y., Ostrovsky, Y., and Arsenault, A. (2021). Foreign workers in the Canadian agriculture industry. Statistics Canada. Economic and Social Reports, 1(4). https://doi.org/10.25318/36280001202100400002-eng