A new study tries to establish the value of the Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program.
It suggests the program is a key reason Ontario's horticulture industry is able to generate $5.4 billion in economic activity and more than 34,000 jobs.
Ken Forth says the study helps create an accurate picture of how important the foreign worker program is to the horticultural sector.
He's president of the Foreign Agricultural Resource Management Services, which administers the program.
SAWP connects Ontario farmers with supplementary seasonal labour from Mexico, Jamaica, Barbados, Trinidad/Tobago and the Eastern Caribbean States.
Over 1,400 Ontario farms used the program in 2015, hiring nearly 17,000 seasonal workers.
The study says the program helps the agriculture sector cope with problems finding workers.
Those shortages are blamed on aging demographics, competition with other sectors and fewer numbers of young people pursuing careers in farming.
