"I grow food, IT people do cybersecurity": Addressing cybersecurity risks in Canada’s agri-food sector

Canada’s agri-food sector is increasingly reliant on connected technologies, yet cybersecurity remains a low priority for many producers despite growing threats to farm operations and the wider food supply chain. Drawing on interviews with 29 farmers and 5 food-system experts, together with a national survey of 167 producers, this study examines how Canadian agri-food stakeholders perceive cybersecurity risk and why a disconnect persists between agricultural and IT perspectives on the issue. The findings point to a need for sector-specific outreach and policy that treats cybersecurity as core to farm resilience rather than an IT-only concern.