GIA Workshop Brings Together Experts to Advance Sustainable and Precision Agriculture
The Global Institute for Agritech (GIA) hosted a workshop on October 10, 2025 at SFU’s downtown campus, featuring leading experts from academia, government, and industry to explore innovations and strategies for sustainable agriculture and precision farming.
The event began with the opening remark from the GIA Director, Dr. Woo Soo Kim and then, three insightful invited presentations. 1) Dr. Hannah Wittman, Professor at the Faculty of Land and Food Systems and the Institute for Resources, Environment and Sustainability at the University of British Columbia, shared her research on motivating farmers to adopt sustainable practices that balance environmental health with economic viability. Dr. Wittman also introduced LiteFarm, a free and open-source farm management app designed to help farmers track light, temperature, and moisture conditions while automatically organizing operational data. Tailored for sustainable farming, LiteFarm has already been adopted by over 8,000 farmers worldwide to enhance productivity and ecological resilience.
Next, 2) Dr. Jichul Bae from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), Agassiz BC provided an in-depth overview of weed control challenges across Canada. With annual weed management costs exceeding CAD 528 million, he highlighted the urgent need for efficient and sustainable alternatives to chemical herbicides, which can degrade soil health over time. Dr. Bae discussed emerging physical weed control technologies such as cover cropping, laser and electric weed killer, and pressured air-blow treatments. While these methods show strong potential for reducing environmental impact, scaling up remains a challenge due to current technological and economic constraints.
The final speaker, 3) Dr. David Gerbrandt, Co-founder of BeriTech,a BC local AgriTech company, showcased the company’s innovative approaches to blueberry cultivation, one of British Columbia’s and Canada’s most significant agricultural markets. By integrating mulch, optimized substrates, gene editing, and advanced horticultural methods, BeriTech aims to enhance blueberry taste, freshness, and productivity while supporting year-round production and food security.
Following the invited presentations, a panel discussion moderated by GIA associate director, Dr. Tammara Soma, brought three invited speakers together to discuss pathways toward community involvement in precision and sustainable agriculture. The panel addressed key topics including farmer accessibility to new technologies, supportive policy frameworks, and the importance of shared data networks that can empower researchers and practitioners alike. Together, these discussions underscored a shared commitment to fostering innovation, collaboration, and sustainability within Canada’s agricultural ecosystem.
Overall, the workshop fostered valuable dialogue and collaboration among diverse stakeholders committed to advancing sustainable and data-driven farming. The exchange of ideas across academic, governmental, and industrial sectors highlighted both the progress already being made and the opportunities ahead for creating a more resilient, innovative, and inclusive agricultural future.
