Canada is facing a shortage of farmers, and a report says the country will need to accept 30-thousand permanent immigrants by 2033 to take over existing farms and greenhouses or establish their own.

The report from the Royal Bank, the Boston Consulting Group Centre for Canada’s Future and Arrell Food Institute at the University of Guelph estimates a shortfall of 24-thousand general farm, nursery and greenhouse operators.

Researchers say the shortage will come at critical time, with a strong agricultural sector necessary to produce more food for a growing global population.