--- canonical_url: "https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-22/a-half-century-of-productivity-growth-and-structural-change-in-canadian-agriculture-an-overview/" title: "A Half-Century of Productivity Growth and Structural Change in Canadian Agriculture: An Overview" author: name: "CSLS" url: "https://csls.ca/author/cslc/" date_published: "2026-07-13T07:33:44+00:00" date_modified: "2026-07-13T07:33:44+00:00" post_type: "ipm" summary: "" ipm_issue_period: - "Fall 2011" ipm_keyword: - "agriculture" - "Canada" - "Canadian Productivity Accounts" - "fertilizers" - "labour productivity" - "mechanization" - "MFP" - "productivity" - "Statistics Canada" - "structural change" ipm_research_theme: - "Sectoral and firm-level dynamics" ipm_country_focus: - "Canada" featured_image: "https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/IPM_50_banner.webp" status: "publish" --- # A Half-Century of Productivity Growth and Structural Change in Canadian Agriculture: An Overview Canonical URL: https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-22/a-half-century-of-productivity-growth-and-structural-change-in-canadian-agriculture-an-overview/ # A Half-Century of Productivity Growth and Structural Change in Canadian Agriculture: An Overview [Download full PDF article](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-22-5-de-Avillez.pdf) Cite this article × Cite this article as: de Avillez, Ricardo. 2011. “A Half-Century of Productivity Growth and Structural Change in Canadian Agriculture: An Overview.” International Productivity Monitor, No. 22 (Fall 2011): 82–99. https://www.csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-22/a-half-century-of-productivity-growth-and-structural-change-in-canadian-agriculture-an-overview/ ## Author: - Ricardo de Avillez Centre for the Study of Living Standards (CSLS) ## IPM Issue 22 Fall 2011 pp. 82–99 ## Related IPM articles [The Relationship between Efficiencies Defenses for Mergers and TFP Growth Robin Shaban Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 82–102](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-relationship-between-efficiencies-defenses-for-mergers-and-tfp-growth/) [Labour Productivity as a Measure of Technological Change Ulrich Kohli Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 64–81](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/labour-productivity-as-a-measure-of-technological-change/) [Adult Skills and Productivity: New Evidence from PIAAC 2023 Dan Andrews, Balázs Égert, Christine de La Maisonneuve Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 41–63](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/adult-skills-and-productivity-new-evidence-from-piaac-2023/) [Appendix: Variable Definitions and Country/Sector Coverage for Regulatory Reform Analysis Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–18](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/appendix-variable-definitions-and-country-sector-coverage-for-regulatory-reform-analysis/) [The Potential Impact of Pro-competitive Regulatory Reforms on Productivity and Growth in Canada Gilbert Cette, Jimmy Lopez, Giuseppe Nicoletti, Océane Vernerey Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 3–40](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/the-potential-impact-of-pro-competitive-regulatory-reforms-on-productivity-and-growth-in-canada/) [IPM Issue 49 Editors’ Overview Andrew Sharpe, Bart van Ark, Paul Schreyer Fall 2025 | IPM Issue 49 | pp. 1–2](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-49/) [Appendix: UK Productivity Growth Rates Across Data Vintages and Studies Josh Martin Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 65–73](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/appendix-uk-productivity-growth-rates-across-data-vintages-and-studies/) [Opportunities and Risks of Artificial Intelligence for Productivity Francesco Filippucci, Peter Gal, Katharina Laengle, Matthias Schief, Filiz Unsal Spring 2025 | IPM Issue 48 | pp. 1–26](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-48/opportunities-and-risks-of-artificial-intelligence-for-productivity/) [Using Ecosystem Accounting to Integrate the Environment in Measures of Multifactor Productivity Carl Obst Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 87–108](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/using-ecosystem-accounting-to-integrate-the-environment-in-measures-of-multifactor-productivity/) [Eroding Natural Capital: An Alternative Explanation for the Secular Decline in Productivity Growth Christina Caron Fall 2024 | IPM Issue 47 | pp. 109–147](https://csls.ca/ipm-archive/ipm-issue-47/eroding-natural-capital-an-alternative-explanation-for-the-secular-decline-in-productivity-growth/) ## Abstract ## Résumé EN FR Copy link Email LinkedIn The primary agriculture sector in Canada experienced impressive productivity growth over the 1961-2007 period, outperforming by far productivity growth seen in the Canadian business sector as a whole. In the period in question, the agriculture sector also experienced profound structural changes, from the massive decline in the use of labour input due to mechanization, to the increased use of intermediate inputs (such as fertilizers and pesticides) in the production process. The objective of this article is to highlight some of the most important structural changes observed by Canadian agriculture over the past 50 years, and link them to the robust productivity growth in the sector. RÉSUMÉ Le secteur de l’agriculture primaire au Canada a connu une croissance marquée de sa productivité pour la période de 1961 à 2007, devançant de beaucoup la croissance de la productivité du secteur canadien des entreprises dans son ensemble. Au cours de cette période, le secteur de l’agriculture a également vécu des changements structurels profonds allant de la chute massive de l’utilisation de l’apport de travail causée par la mécanisation à l’emploi accru d’intrants intermédiaires (comme les engrais et les pesticides) dans le processus de production. Cet article a pour objet de mettre en évidence certains des changements structurels les plus importants dans le secteur de l’agriculture au Canada au cours du dernier demi-siècle et d’établir des liens entre ces changements et la solide croissance de la productivité du secteur. A GRICULTURAL PRODUCTIVITY HAS BEEN Le secteur de l’agriculture primaire au Canada a connu une croissance impressionnante de sa productivité au cours de la période 1961-2007, surpassant de loin la croissance de la productivité observée dans l’ensemble du secteur des entreprises canadien. Au cours de la période en question, le secteur agricole a également connu de profondes mutations structurelles, allant du recul massif de l’utilisation de la main-d’œuvre en raison de la mécanisation à l’utilisation accrue d’intrants intermédiaires (comme les engrais et les pesticides) dans le processus de production. L’objectif de cet article est de mettre en lumière certains des changements structurels les plus importants observés dans l’agriculture canadienne au cours des 50 dernières années, et de les relier à la robuste croissance de la productivité dans le secteur. [Download full PDF](https://csls.ca/wp-content/uploads/2026/07/IPM-Issue-22-5-de-Avillez.pdf)