Worker shortages among the biggest problems facing farmers. Ottawa—Foreign workers are essential to food production in Canada and without them, many farms could not properly raise livestock and produce crops, says the Canadian Federation of Agriculture.The CFA statement is aimed at rebutting attacks on the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP) and the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) that have flowed from three deaths from COVID-19 as well as some outbreaks of the disease on farms. However how the three men from Mexico contracted the disease hasn't been established.“Like any industry, agriculture requires an adequate workforce to keep operations going. Farmers continue to identify chronic and critical labour shortages as one of the most pressing risks facing Canadian agriculture and a major constraint on both agricultural growth and global competitiveness.“Agriculture is a complex industry that faces unique workforce challenges due to population migration from rural areas to urban city centres and the production of highly perishable products, some seasonal in nature,” CFA said. “When they can't find Canadian workers, farmers turn to TFW and SAWP “to get the workers they need.”International workers have been coming to Canadian farms from Latin America and the Caribbean for more than 50 years, CFA said. “Many workers come back to the same farm for many years, some as long as 40 years. Over those years, they gain important and specific production knowledge and are relied on as Canadian trained and experienced workers who support the success and quality of Canada's food supply.”Foreign workers are issued work permits to fill vacant positions for specific lengths of time. TFWs can be in Canada for a maximum of two years at any one time and seasonal workers can remain in the country for a maximum of eight months, although they can return again. They have to be paid the same as a Canadian worker for the same role under the TFWP.In normal years, more than 60,000 offshore workers come to Canada. “Even with this program, on-farm agriculture has the highest job vacancy rate of any industry at 5.4 percent.”The pandemic has forced farmers “to navigate a global health crisis that they were unprepared for, both personally and in terms of on-farm infrastructure,” CFA said.There is a hefty selection of government document and private sector reports on TFWP and SAWP that spells the vital role foreign workers play in Canadian agriculture, it said.They include publications from the Canadian Horticultural Council, the Ontario Greenhouse Vegetable Growers, the Conference Board of Canada, the Inter-American Institute for Cooperation in Agriculture, Agri-Food Economic Systems, the Royal Bank of Canada and the University of Calgary.Alex Binkley is a freelance journalist and writes for domestic and international publications about agriculture, food and transportation issues. He's also the author of two science fiction novels with more in the works.