Farmland is a renewable resource that feeds generation upon generation if treated with care. Sustaining this resource is critical if we are to feed a growing world, and with fourteen percent of the Earth’s land surface already producing crops and twenty-five percent in forage, every hectare counts. Here in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, hundreds of crops are grown on some of the world’s most productive farms. Abbotsford is Canada’s most economically productive farm community, adding close to a billion dollars in farm sales each year to the economy.
The Food and Agriculture Institute (FAI) at the University of the Fraser Valley is an interdisciplinary research centre that focuses on issues, challenges, and sustainability solutions related to food and farm systems. FAI partners with a diversity of researchers, industry leaders, and governments to build knowledge and tools for moving toward sustainable, resilient food systems for communities and regions in British Columbia, Canada, and across the globe.
Latest FAI News and Media:
- UFV Today 'Grounded Innovation Summit at UFV explores future of sustainable agriculture' - May 15, 2026
- New publication: Acceptance and perceptions of cellular agriculture in Canadian food systems.
- New publication: A just transition for cellular dairy? Reflections from the Fraser Valley.
- Eco Canada ‘In Their Words: Lenore Newman’ [video] - March 28, 2026
- CBC Ideas (podcast) ‘What if you favourite food became extinct?’ - March 9, 2026
- Carole Taylor's Journal 'Canada as a Breadbasket (w/ Dr. Lenore Newman, University of the Fraser Valley' [video]- February 12, 2026
- New publication: Scenarios for controlled environment agriculture planning and implementation in a city-region.
- New publication: Diversifying urban agriculture assets: How municipal policies encourage or deter the development and adoption of agritech solutions
- New publication: Resource guide for women & 2SLGBTQIA+ entrepreneurs in the agri-tech industry.
- CBC Radio, BC Today 'How will Canada’s GST rebate help you?' (Dr. Pizzirani on expert panel) - January 25, 2026
- The Globe and Mail ‘Opinion: In Carney's new world order, Canada's opportunity is as a breadbasket’ by Evan Fraser and Lenore Newman - January 21, 2026
- UFV Today 'UFV students shine at 'Solutions in Scaling Sustainable Agriculture' hackathon' - January 05, 2026
- The Fraser Valley Current 'Opinion: The Fraser Valley shows why protecting nature is essential to BC's farming future' by Dr. Renee Prasad & Dr. Stefania Pizzirani - November 11, 2025
- The Globe and Mail 'We must protect supply management from the trade war' By Lenore Newman and Evan Fraser - July 15, 2025
- CBC North by Northwest w/ Margaret Gallagher 'Cravings: Lenore Newman on Butter Tarts' - July 6, 2025
