High net-worth individuals seeking returns without all of the market volatility of recent year should consider investing in real assets.

That’s according to a panel of experts who spoke at the 2013 Financing and Investing Conference in Toronto on Monday.

Real assets include economic sectors such as infrastructure and agriculture. While direct investment in infrastructure is better suited towards institutional investors, according to panelists, agriculture does offer some opportunity for accredited investors.

“[Agriculture is] a very steady performing asset and it’s a good industry,” said Tom Eisenhauer, president, Bonnefield Inc., a panelist at the conference, “people always have to eat no matter what happens in the markets.”

One of the reasons why Canadian farmland is a low-risk real asset with steady returns, said Eisenhauer, is because of the country’s ability to maintain its food production levels despite global problems such as over population, climate change and water shortages.

“Canada is actually going to be a net beneficiary of climate change at least in terms of agriculture,” he said, “[that’s] not true south of the border, it’s not true in Russia, it’s not true in Brazil, and many of the other primary agricultural producing regions of the world.”

One of the reasons why Canada will not struggle like other regions to produce food, said Eisenhauer, is the country’s large water supply and the miniscule need for irrigation. For example, U.S. irrigation levels are approaching 30% of available water and China diverts roughly 90% of its water supply to irrigation, according to Eisenhauer, whereas only about 8% of Canadian water is used for irrigation.

Rather than making a direct investment in farmland like an institutional investor, said Eisenhauer, high net-worth individuals can purchase pooled funds in this sector. However, Eisenhauer warns that to invest in Canadian farmland individuals must be Canadian citizens with a Canadian passport.