Farmscape,
The Executive Director of Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan says its annual Food Influencer Tour is making inroads in helping build the public's trust in agriculture.
Last month Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan hosted its 2018 Food Influencer Tour, an event in which food writers are invited to Saskatchewan to interact directly with those who produce our food.
Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan Executive Director Clinton Monchuk notes these individuals are primarily coming from urban centres.
Clip-Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan-Clinton Monchuk:
It's another form of actually having engagement with consumers.
Instead if us trying to get to them, we bring those influencers to us, show them a great time, show them how Saskatchewan agriculture really is, allow them to build these relationships and ask us questions.
If they have a question that comes up another month down the road and they're not really sure how to answer it, they're going to know that they can talk to an actual farmer about that commodity and how it's produced to avoid them getting some false information, possibly from a Google search.
We've had some huge success.
In fact we had one food correspondent that was out from Toronto that had a negative viewpoint around GMO technology and after she came on our tour she said, "you know what, I've made a mistake.
I've actually understood why farmers use this and the safety that exists in it."
So she changed her viewpoint on that and actually went on the air to say that on one of her programs.
With the following that she has, that was a significant achievement.
I think these different levels of influence that these food individuals have with consumers is excellent and we know that we're starting to increase the public trust in agriculture as a result of this.
Monchuk says having these individuals write about Saskatchewan agriculture is a way for farmers to engage indirectly with consumers.
For Farmscape.Ca, I'm Bruce Cochrane.
Source : farmscape