Amr Addas, FCC

Canada provides a unique and compelling case for investment in agriculture and food systems transformation. This opening session examines how investments in regenerative agriculture and food systems translate into both financial value and system-level outcomes. We’ll surface market signals, enabling conditions, persistent gaps shaping the opportunity, and the role of financial and social capital in accelerating Canada’s transition.

Chelsi Beernaert & Zack Koscielny, Green Beach Farm & Food | Moderated by Dana Penrice, Holistic Management Canada

Producers are the foundation of any food system. In Canada, they are as diverse as they are spread out. Sit down with farmers from across Canada and learn what compels them to farm differently – and what holds them back. Let these valuable first-hand insights inform your work at RFSI Canada and beyond. 

Daniel Bacon, Area One Farms; Eoin Callan, Bloom Local Food Fund; Yuan Shi, Nya Ventures; Cora Xiao, InvestEco | Moderated by Sarah Day Levesque, RFSI

Agriculture is anything but monolithic. Investment opportunities span the full agrifood value chain – from soil to stomach – and across asset classes and stages. This session unpacks how different forms of capital, from venture and private equity to debt and philanthropy, can work to build value while building farms, businesses, and the systems needed for regeneration.

Diane-Laure Arjalis, IVEY; David Cooper, Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS); Julia Grady, 10C Harvest Impact | Moderated by Alain-Olivier Desbois, Elements Financial

Canada’s agrifood system is defined by diversity – in landscapes, operations, and risk. Yet financing structures have remained relatively uniform. As capital seeks resilience, this session explores how new approaches across the capital stack are being designed to better serve farmers and food system enterprises, enabling transition while balancing risk, return, and durability.

Afua Asantewaa, Inclusive Prosperity Fund & Sara Dent, Young Agrarians | Moderated by Wayne Miranda, Definity Foundation

Most conversations about regenerative agriculture start with practices. This one starts with a more fundamental question: who gets to farm in the first place?

Across North America, farmers are aging out, land is consolidating, and the barriers for new and next-generation producers are rising. Without addressing land access and retention, discussions about adopting new production models – regenerative or otherwise – risk being out of step with the realities farmers face.

This fireside chat explores efforts to help farmers access and stay on the land and how catalytic capital can help bridge this gap. We’ll examine what it takes to keep farmers on the land and open pathways for new farmers. The conversation will ground big-picture ambition in the practical realities of ownership, access, and long-term viability – and surface what role investors and funders can play.

Alain-Olivier Desbois, Elements Financial; Geoffrey Fudurich, Quinn+Partners; Cory Van Groningen, Harvest 2 Gather

In a series of short, insight-filled lightning talks, we will explore some of the compelling ingredients needed to build resilient food systems across Canada. 

Optional Workshop During Networking Break: Coordinating Capital Across Investors & Asset Class

Laura Thompson, Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS)

The process of coordinating and directing diverse forms of capital to achieve aligned objectives is an idea garnering increased attention, with efforts cropping up around the world to support the concept. But what does this look like in practice in Canada? What are the potential rewards of such a process? And what holds it back?

Erin Crampton, Independent Consultant

Too often, investment solutions are designed far from the realities they aim to serve. This session shares a different approach – one that begins with producers. Drawing from work in Alberta, we’ll explore how a human-centered, producer-led methodology can inform investment design, reveal unmet needs, and point toward more grounded, resilient pathways for scaling regenerative agriculture in Canada.

Leah Blechschmidt, Nature United; Philippe Crete, Fondaction Asset Management; Laura Melly, Private Investor & Field Builder | Moderated by: David Bennell, Transformational Investing in Food Systems (TIFS)

As interest in natural capital investing accelerates globally, agriculture is emerging as a critical entry point — and Canada is uniquely positioned to lead. With vast landscapes, strong production systems, and growing investor attention, regenerative agriculture offers a pathway to align financial returns with ecosystem health and long-term resilience. This session explores how natural capital frameworks are being applied in agriculture, who is already deploying capital in the Canadian context, and what it will take for Canada to step forward as a leader in regenerative agrifood investment.

Wayne Miranda, Definity Foundation & Leah Perry, Wittington Ventures | Moderated by Duncan Macrae, Coeuraj Capital

Agriculture is the foundation of every economy – underpinning and overlapping with food security, geopolitical stability, biodiversity, water systems, and public health. As investment in Canadian agriculture evolves, how are funders and investors incorporating the systemic nature of agriculture and food systems? This discussion convenes three individuals using a systems lens to approach investments in different areas of the sector. We’ll make the connection between the theory behind systems-based investing and how to put it into practice.

• Workshop 1: A Practical Case in Designing Investment Methodology Using Producer Led Insights 

Erin Crampton, Independent Consultant & Kira Gerwing, Sacha Investments 

In this workshop, attendees will hear from farmers and stakeholders who have participated in producer-led investment design methodologies and learn what it has meant for them. Then, through small group work, participants will test what this methodology could look like in other real world scenarios.

• Workshop 2: The VC Paradox – Aligning Capital for Growth & Commercialization

Eric Agyemang, Maple Bridge Ventures; Delphine Descamps; Rob Napoli, Cascadia Seaweed

As capital flows into regenerative agriculture and food systems, venture capital is often the first—and sometimes only—tool investors reach for. Yet many of the businesses building these systems require different timelines, risk structures, and definitions of return. This session examines the structural mismatch between venture capital and regenerative system building, and the opportunity to design more fit-for-purpose capital stacks. Join investors, founders, and ecosystem leaders as they explore how venture can play a more effective role—and how it can be complemented by impact and philanthropic capital to enable more resilient and scalable outcomes.

Karen Ross, Farmers for Climate Solutions (FCS) & Lysa Porth, AIRM Consulting, Agi3, and Professor of Finance at the University of Guelph

In Canada, Business Risk Management (BRM) programs and insurance products are powerful drivers of farmer decision-making. Yet, while regenerative practices can strengthen on-farm resilience and reduce risk over time, existing risk management products fail to recognize that value and hinder adoption. Grounded in real on-farm examples, this session will expose the regenerative risk gap: the disconnect between capital flowing into regenerative agriculture and the risk management architecture needed to support transition at scale. The conversation will examine why this gap matters for farmers, public programs, insurers, and impact investors, and will identify opportunities to better align risk management with long-term resilience, regenerative outcomes, and the future of Canadian agriculture.

Darren Baccus, Farm Credit Canada (FCC); Jill Bester, Genus Capital; Delphine Descamps; Andrea Gruza, Bonnefield | Moderated by Adam Spence, SVX

As systemic risks – from supply chain disruption to nature-related exposure – continue to rise, agriculture is increasingly emerging as a critical opportunity space for large-scale capital, not just as an asset class, but as strategic infrastructure. What does this mean for Canada’s ongoing transformation? In this closing session, we look ahead at how scaled and diverse pools of capital are beginning to engage, the catalytic investments that are still needed, the role for collaborative landscape-level strategies and the power that each of us holds to shape how capital shapes Canadian agriculture and food.