B.C. Farmers Gain On-Demand Human Resources Support

Langley and Victoria, BC / March 24, 2025 – British Columbia farmers and ranchers will gain invaluable human resource (HR) support, courtesy of a new initiative delivered by AgSafe BC.

AgSafe and Investment Agriculture Foundation of BC (IAF) have heard from BC’s agriculture sector they don’t have the resources and support they need to effectively do HR. They heard BC producers need assistance when it comes to recruitment, retention, performance management, compensation, compliance, and more. Seeing an opportunity to fill the gap by working across partners, IAF proposed the BC Agriculture HR program to AgSafe. Building off an innovative program delivered by go2HR in the tourism industry; IAF was able to connect the program to AgSafe who work directly with farmers/employers and were hearing the need in the sector for solid HR advice alongside the work they were doing in the Agricultural Safety practices space.

The BC Agriculture Human Resources Advisory Service, inspired by a successful program in the tourism and hospitality sector, will serve as an "HR on Speed Dial" for the province’s agricultural community. Led by Project Manager Kaitlyn Janzen, who boasts extensive experience in agriculture and human resources, a team of Regional HR Consultants will be available to agricultural producers for consultations and on-demand assistance via telephone, email, and digital meetings.

The result is HR support services for farmers who are also employers. The initiative is funded by the Ministry of Social Development and Poverty Reduction, through the Canada-British Columbia Labour Market Agreement, as part of suite of Agricultural Labour initiatives delivered though IAF.

Background

A recent study by the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council revealed that British Columbia's agriculture sector has the highest vacancy rate of any province at 12%, with over 4,800 positions estimated to have gone unfilled in 2021[¹].

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