ZH 
EN 
International Agro Forum (IAF) 2022
01
Introduction
The goal of the IAF is to create a networking platform for agricultural professionals, entrepreneurs, companies and investors to build connections and explore business opportunities, and to promote Western Canada’s rich agriculture sector and connect international companies with right business partners in the region.
• For professionals & entrepreneurs: Learn of groundbreaking agritech and solutions for your needs.
• For companies: Gain exposure, pitch and meet international investors, potential clients and partners.
• For investors: discover and potentially invest in innovative people, ventures and technologies.
Register at https://bit.ly/2022IAF
02
Presentation
CHAIRS
Jason Luan, Forum Honorary Chair
The Honorable Minister of Community and Social Services, MLA for Calgary-Foothills
Jason Luan was appointed as the Minister of Community and Social Services on July 8, 2021. He previously served as Associate Minister for Mental Health and Addictions. Minister Luan was elected as Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) for Calgary-Foothills on April 16, 2019. He previously served as an MLA for Calgary-Hawkwood (2012-2015).
Graduating from the University of Calgary with a Masters of Social Work in 1990, he has dedicated his career to public service, promoting healthy families, strong communities and economic prosperity. He served in a variety of roles in provincial and municipal governments. He co-chaired the Immigrant Sector Council of Calgary (2006-2012) and served on the Calgary Council on Mental Health and Addictions from 2017 to 2018.
David Yee, Forum Program Chair
President of Super GeoAI Technology Inc
David, has worked in the agricultural industry for over 15 years in both the private and government sector. His ag career includes operation management of a large OEM manufacturing plant, executive level roles in business development, research and development of small and large machinery platforms and publicly funded ag research initiatives.
Currently he is the president of a start-up AgTech company, heads a consultancy agency focused on providing business intelligence on the emerging AgTech eco-system in Western Canada and serves as the “Executive in Resident” to the College of Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan.
Speakers
Tom Goddard
International agriculture consultant
Pre-pandemic Tom was a Senior Policy Advisor with the agriculture and forestry ministry in Alberta. His background in extension, soil science and fieldwork across a range of agriculture, industry and government environments has enabled him to translate across disciplines and provide pragmatic solutions to current and strategic issues. Technically his research has focused on landscapes and scales beyond test tubes and small plots using technology, models and expert knowledge.
Tom Goddard has a career that spans broadly across agriculture in Alberta and internationally. At one point Tom was the provincial soil conservation specialist for Alberta. As a senior policy advisor, he brought diversity, expertise and foresight to government policy groups. Internationally, he has worked for a variety of agencies in a number of countries including China. Now he is engaged internationally on soils, conservation, farm groups and policy development. Currently he is working with UN-FAO to develop an integrated policy sourcebook.
Topic: Agriculture 101 for Alberta
Joy Agnew, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President, Applied Research at Olds College
Joy grew up on a grain farm near Prince Albert, Saskatchewan and earned her Ph.D. in Ag/Bio Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan. Her career has been focused on applied research in agriculture and she joined Olds College in January 2019. At Olds College, Joy oversees the Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI), the research division of the College, which focuses on applied research in crop and livestock production. Joy also has a leadership role in the development of the College’s Smart Ag Ecosystem, bringing together the academic programming, applied research, strategic partnerships, smart farm operations, and extension & communication activities to help the College meet its goal to be a leader in Smart Agriculture. Joy is also past president of the Canadian Society of Bioengineering and is an adjunct professor at the University of Saskatchewan.
In 2021, Joy was named one of Canada’s top 50 most influential people in Canadian Ag by Canadian Western Agribition.
Topic: Smart Farms: Accelerating the Development and Adoption of Technology in Agriculture
Kenny Corscadden, B.Eng., M.Sc., MBA, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President, Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Lethbridge College
Following a technical career in the Royal Air Force, Kenny moved to the private sector and has held several executive positions in engineering companies in the UK and Canada. In 2006, Kenny transitioned to academia and, over the last 15 years, has served in a number of academic and administrative leadership roles at Acadia University, Dalhousie University, Faculty of Agriculture and in his is current role of Interim Vice President Research and Partnerships at Lethbridge College.
Kenny has a record of applied research achievements, including raising more than $10m in external funding, over 50 peer-reviewed publications with a research focus on Farm Energy Conservation. Kenny sits on provincial and national boards and committees and leads the college’s goal of being an economic driver and promoting applied research projects that encourage investment, efficiencies, and competitive advantage.
Topic: Opportunities for Growth in Vertical Farming in Alberta
Brad Fournier, M.Sc., MBA
Investment Director – Agriculture at Invest Alberta Corp.
Brad joins Invest Alberta with over 25 years of senior and executive management experience working in government, private and non-profit space across the agriculture and health sectors. Raised on an Alberta dairy and purebred Angus operation, Brad’s oversight of $75M in research and innovation investment, policy and program delivery and livestock financing are just some highlights of his agriculture experience. Brad acquired an BSc Agriculture and an MSc in livestock molecular genomics at the University of Saskatchewan; he then obtained an MBA (Athabasca). Brad sits on a range of boards and committees like Canadian Angus Fou.
Topic: Reasons to Invest in Alberta AG Sector
Nancy Wu
Executive Director – Export and Investment Branch
Alberta Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Rural Economic Development
Nancy leads a team of investment, export and grant experts to lead and coordinate Alberta government’s strategies and initiatives in capitalizing the Province’s investment and export opportunities in the Agri-food sector.
Nancy has been a senior manager with the Alberta government since 2005. She has over 20 years of government and industry experience, and held positions with various Alberta government departments, such as International and Intergovernmental Relations, Finance and Enterprise, Innovation and Advanced Education,and Jobs, Economy and Innovation, focusing on various economic development roles such as investment attraction, trade promotion, industry development, labour development and intergovernmental relations.
Nancy has worked with a number of industry sectors, including energy (all across the energy value and supply chain), agriculture and food, and telecommunication.
Nancy has in-depth understanding of Alberta’s economy and its competitiveness in the global market place. She has vast industry network and deep expertise in global business development. With a proven track record in working with bothinternal and external stakeholders and clients in dynamic environments, she is known for her ability to promote a partnering culture.
Nancy got her MBA degree from the University of Alberta, Faculty of Business.She lives in St. Albert and is married with one child.
Topic: Choose Alberta for Agri-Investment
Weiping Zeng, Ph.D.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Director at SGA
Dr. Weiping Zen is the Co-founder & CEO of Super GeoAI Technology Inc. (SGA), a fast-growing geospatial artificial intelligence (GeoAI) technology company with offices in Saskatoon and Calgary. Under his leadership, SGA is a global leader in combining innovations in geospatial (GIS, Remote Sensing, and GPS), artificial intelligence (AI), big data, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), and cloud computing technologies to solve challenging agricultural problems.
Dr. Zeng was formerly the associate director of the Spatial Initiative in the Office of the Vice-President of Research at the University of Saskatchewan. Dr. Zeng has initiated, managed, and led over 150 projects in geomatics, machine learning, GeoAI, and agriculture over the past ten years. SGA is currently developing Geo-AI-driven products that help growers and buyers to automate laborious manual observation and rapidly make informed decisions.
Dr. Zeng received his Ph.D. in Geographical Information Systems (GIS)/Geography from the University of Alberta in 2007.
Topic: Digital Agriculture Technologies and Opportunities
Xiaoming Zhu
Chief Executive Director at Canswan Farmland Ltd.
Xiaoming Zhu is the Chief Executive Director of Canswan Farmland Ltd. and the President of Canada-China Agriculture Association Inc.
Xiaoming had worked at Henan College of Animal Husbandry and Economics for 10 years before she joined Texas A&M University in 1991. She returned to China in 1994 and established private agricultural high-tech enterprises. Xiaoming
immigrated to Canada in 2004 and founded Canswan Farmland Ltd. in 2011.
In 2013 Xiaoming’s first book Being a Farmer in Canada came on the book stalls. In 2015 she wrote and published her 2nd book The Woman of Canswan Farm.
Topic: Business Models for Agricultural Investment in Grand Prairie
03
Agenda
Session A - February 4, 2022
2:00 pm - 2:15 pm Opening Remarks and Greetings
Shi Ping Wang, CFA, CPA
President of Chinese Professionals & Entrepreneurs Association of Calgary
Jason Luan, Forum Honorary Chair
The Honorable Minister of Community and Social Services, MLA for Calgary-Foothills
Nate Horner
Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development
2:15 pm - 4:00 pm Presentations
Tom Goddard
Recently retired from Alberta Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development
Agriculture 101 for Alberta
Joy Agnew, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President, Applied Research at Olds College
Smart Farms: Accelerating the Development and Adoption of Technology in Agriculture
Kenny Corscadden, B.Eng., M.Sc., MBA, Ph.D.
Associate Vice President, Research Innovation and Entrepreneurship at Lethbridge College
Opportunities for Growth in Vertical Farming in Alberta
Brad Fournier, M.Sc., MBA
Director of Investment-Agriculture at Invest Alberta Corp.
Reasons to Invest in Alberta AG Sector
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm Panel Discussion
Moderator, David Yee, Forum Program Chair
Session B - February 5, 2022
7:00 pm - 8:30 pm Presentations
Nancy Wu
Executive Director – Export and Investment Branch
Alberta Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry & Rural Economic Development
Choose Alberta for Agri-Investment
Weiping Zeng, Ph.D.
Co-founder and Chief Executive Director at SGA
Digital Agriculture Technologies and Opportunities
Xiaoming Zhu
Chief Executive Director at Canswan Farmland Ltd.
Business Models for Agricultural Investment in Grand Prairie
Hosted by
Chinese Professionals and Entrepreneurs Association of Calgary (CPEAC)
Cpeac Entrepreneur Club（EC）
