The Niagara Community Observatory at Brock University is looking for agri-food stakeholders who would like to join either in person or virtually for a focus group discussing the barriers and drivers to the adoption of automation and robotics in Ontario’s agri-food sector.

The focus group discussion will inform research funded by the Ontario Agri-food Research Initiative (OAFRI)*. The NCO will release its findings in the form of a policy brief later this year.

The Observatory would greatly appreciate your input into this research and are inviting you to participate in the focus group.

They have set up six (6) focus group sessions, three (3) in person at Brock University in St. Catharines, Ont. and three (3) that will be held using MS Teams. Attendance is limited to 12 per session.

If you are interested in contributing to this policy discussion, please register at one of the Eventbrite links below:

IN PERSON DATES:

Focus Group #1 Tuesday, May 17 from 9:30 am to 11 am

Focus Group #2 Tuesday, May 17 from 2 pm to 3:30 pm

Focus Group #3 Wednesday, May 18 from 1 pm to 2:30 pm

VIRTUAL DATES (MS TEAMS):

Focus Group #4 Thursday, May 19 from 10 am to 11:30 am

Focus Group #5 Thursday, May 19 from 1 pm to 2:30 pm

Focus Group #6 Thursday, May 26 from 1 pm to 2:30 pm

This study has been reviewed and received ethics clearance through Brock University’s Research Ethics Board [20-085 – CONTEH].

*OAFRI projects are funded through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, a five-year, $3-billion commitment by Canada’s federal, provincial, and territorial governments that supports Canada’s agri-food and agri-products sectors.