How AI Adoption is Reshaping Agriculture Across the Prairies

Canada’s Prairies are known for feeding the world. Statistics from the Government of Canada demonstrate that this region occupies 80 percent of Canada’s farmland while also contributing 94 percent of Canada’s exports in key agricultural commodities like wheat, canola oil, canola seeds, lentils, peas, and beans.

Agriculture remains a key driver of Canada’s economy, but producers across the Prairies face mounting challenges, including unpredictable weather, crop disease, and persistently tight profit margins. In collaboration with Mitacs, three entrepreneurs are tackling these agricultural challenges head-on in Saskatchewan, Manitoba and Alberta, through a new wave of AI-driven innovation projects.

1. Portable Lab Solutions: PathoScan Technologies
2. Analysing Fields from Space: Enns Brothers
3. From Pilot Project to Market Expansion: CropMind

Talent in Action: Fueling Canada’s AI and Agriculture Pipeline

By ensuring AI research translates into products and services that benefit farmers and producers, Mitacs continues to position Canada as a leader in AI-enabled agriculture.

Between 2020-21 and 2025-26 inclusive, Mitacs has made a total investment of $11.3 M+ in Agriculture and AI related projects, supporting over 300+ interns, 160+ professors, 120+ partner organizations, demonstrating its proven capacity to deploy talent into real-world applications across key innovation sectors.

Mitacs serves as a research-commercialization bridge, helping companies like PathoScan, Enns Brothers, and CropMind accelerate market entry and growth.

Ultimately, the convergence of AI and agriculture will be defined by the people who design, build, and deploy these technologies. By fostering interdisciplinary collaboration and supporting hundreds of AI and agriculture projects, Mitacs is helping Canada harness AI not just as a technical tool, but as a catalyst for better care, stronger agricultural systems, and long-term economic growth.

About Mitacs

For over 25 years, Mitacs has helped grow the economy and develop the workforce of tomorrow, connecting industry with academia and global partners to solve real-world challenges. We support business-academic research collaboration through internships, co-funded with businesses, for undergraduate to graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

As a national innovation connector, Mitacs takes a talent-first approach to strengthen innovation capacity and drive global competitiveness. We serve as an essential research-commercialization bridge, accelerating market entry and growth for new products and services.

This is a critical time for Canada to think big and take bold action. Mitacs is ready to help build a strong and resilient Canadian economy, powered by ideas, talent and innovation.

Mitacs is funded by the Government of Canada, the Government of Alberta, the Government of British Columbia, Research Manitoba, the Government of New Brunswick, the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador, the Government of Nova Scotia, the Government of Ontario, Innovation PEI, the Government of Quebec, the Government of Saskatchewan, and the Government of Yukon.