Alberta potato grower invited to World Economic Forum discussions in Switzerland

A southern Alberta farmer has been tapped to speak at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, which ends on Friday.

Chris Perry, Farmer at Perry Family Farm:

"On our farm in Alberta, resilience isn’t a buzzword. It’s a design principle. We’ve been building small, circular systems that integrate food, energy, carbon and data long before ‘regenerative’ became common language."

"The lesson has been clear: If something only works for one farm, it’s a pilot. If it works for many, it becomes infrastructure. When partnerships share risk, create real economics for farmers and stay long enough to learn together, adoption scales and resilience become real."

Why it matters

Southern Alberta networking and panel work at World Economic Forum puts Canada front and centre in international collaboration in agriculture.

Farm background and participation

Perry Family Farm near Chin, Alta., grows potatoes, green peas, sunflowers, seed canola, wheat and barley on its 5,000 acres. Invited by PepsiCo, Chris Perry said he is deeply honoured to meet among fellow agricultural world leaders and contribute on two connected conversations on two separate panels.

Panel participation

Partners in Possibility: Collaborating for Resilient Food Systems puts Perry alongside Jim Andrew, chief sustainability officer for PepsiCo, Andrew Walton, chief sustainability officer for Lloyds Banking Group, and Jan Christoph Kalbath, global head of sustainability and energy transition for Louis Dreyfus Co.

Perry Family Farm won the 2025 PepsiCo Farmer of the Year Award. PepsiCo invited Chris Perry, far right, to speak on two separate panels at the World Economic Forum in Switzerland this week.

The discussion will focus on how collaboration across farmers, brands, finance and policy can move solutions from pilots to true infrastructure. The Farmers First: Scaling a More Resilient Food System panel puts farmers at the centre of the conversation as partners shaping solutions.

Perry will be joined by:
 

• Thibaud Deschamps, a rapeseed farmer from France and part of the La Tricherie co-operative, known for sustainability leadership.
• Maria Vitória Vasconcelos, a third-generation corn grower from Brazil using agroforestry to build resilience, whose story is featured in National Geographic’s Food for Tomorrow series.
• Host Ramon Laguarta, chair and CEO of PepsiCo and moderator Jim Andrew.

Chris Perry, Farmer at Perry Family Farm:

"What makes this panel special is the intent behind it. To listen first. To acknowledge what works, what doesn’t and how we strengthen collaboration to scale what is already proving itself on farms around the world."

"Farmers invest in decades and generations, not financial quarters or election cycles. Bringing that mindset into global forums matters if we’re serious about food security, climate resilience and the future of farming. Grateful for the trust, proud to represent farmers and very much looking forward to the conversations ahead in Davos."

Recent recognition

It has been a whirlwind year for Perry Family Farms. Along with being invited to speak at the World Economic Forum, the farm has been featured in a Frito Lay potato chip commercial and took home the PepsiCo Farmer of the Year award.