The intersection of equity, diversity, and development within Canada’s agri-food & rural advisory and extension systems will be explored, particularly in Indigenous, northern, remote and disadvantaged communities. The topic focuses on how advisory services can better serve marginalized groups, promote decolonization, and support social inclusion in agri-food systems. Moreover, mental health and well-being, especially in rural and remote communities, are the key focus of the topic. Key issues to address under this topic include but are not limited to: 

Equity, diversity, indigenous, northern and community-based development:

• Transitions in advisory systems and the rise or decline of certain farming practices (e.g., smallholder farming, indigenous and place-based approach, farm consolidation, and corporate farming)
• Various programs relating to disadvantaged groups’ needs and capacity development, such as Indigenous communities, new immigrants, and women.
• Extension and advisory organizations and the integration of needs of these groups in supporting their development.
• Extension and advisory organizations and agents and the support for people with special needs (e.g. people with limited physical/ cognitive abilities) in agriculture?
• Grassroots advisory movements and approaches (e.g., agricultural advisory committees) and their development in response to transitions and place-based development needs. Common initiatives from the bottom up (e.g., by civil society organizations or alternative farming movements) or from the top down
• Response of extension and educational services to the needs of the temporary foreign worker and seasonal agricultural laborer

Mental health, stress and social wellbeing

• Engagement of extension and advisory services with the human dimensions of farming, including experiences of joy, stress, and mental health challenges
• Extension and education structures, processes, and support for the well-being of diverse groups, including migrant workers, people of different genders, Indigenous communities, and individuals with mental or physical disabilities
• Initiatives and processes that extension and educational systems successfully utilize to disproportionate levels of workplace injury, especially in rural and remote communities
• Successful extension and training programs that addressed well-being challenges, and processes make them effective