Farm Policy
The ‘Other’ APF Pillars
by Ken Hough, OCPA Director of Research & Market Development

Throughout discussions on the APF (Agricultural Policy Framework) over the past year, virtually all of the attention has been focused on the BRM (Business Risk Management) pillar, with some justification, because of the immediate and direct impact on farm income in the near term.

However, there are four other pillars of the APF – Science and Innovation, Food Quality and Safety, Environment and Renewal - as well as the federal initiative on ‘Branding Canada’. While the furor has raged over BRM principles and funding, federal and provincial governments have continued to work on their plans for these other pillars. The results of their efforts, as presented to Ontario farm groups in late February, are summarized below.

Because the farm community has been so focused on the BRM battle, there has been virtually no consultation undertaken to date with farm groups on the content of these other pillars. As proposed programs have been developed without the benefit of feedback or input from consultation, it remains to be seen whether they can actually promote long-term sustainability and financial prosperity for the agricultural sector.

Overview:
Funding for these four ‘other’ pillars is shared, in total, 60% by the federal government and 40% by Ontario, although the balance within individual pillars may differ from this 60:40 split. Ontario receives 23.5% of the federal funds allocated to these pillars nationwide. Funds allocated to the four non-BRM pillars and to Branding Canada are shown in Table 1.

Science and Innovation:
The S&I programs are to be focused on three overall goals: 1) realigning public [agri-food] science resources into priority areas and bioproducts and increasing investment from non-agricultural sources (such as health, environment, etc.); 2) coordinating and strengthening linkages along the entire value chain; and 3) creating an innovation climate to accelerate development, commercialization and adoption of innovations.

Programs being put forward as commitments under the S&I pillar are listed below, with the source of funding indicated for each:
• New Directions Research Program (prov.)
• Support for Ontario Agri-Food Technologies (prov.)
• Strategic Development for Science and Innovation in Canada (fed.)
• Integrated Supply Chain Management
• Alternative Renewable Fuels Research& Development fund (prov. + fed.)
• Soy 20/20 (prov. + fed.)
• Inno-Centre, Guelph (prov. + fed.)
• Agricultural and Medical Related Science Initiative (MaRS LANDING) (prov. + fed.)
• Life Science and Agri-Food Innovation Fund (prov. + fed.)
• Communication and Awareness (prov. + fed.)
• Ontario Agri-Food Research and Development Strategy (prov. + fed.).

Food Safety and Quality:
Goals in this area include: 1) protecting human health and reducing food safety risks; 2) increasing consumer confidence; 3) increasing industry’s ability to meet or exceed market requirements; and 4) providing value-added opportunities.
Specific commitments include:
• On-Farm Food Safety programs (fed. + prov.) in general, and specific initiatives pertaining to livestock medicines, health accreditation and animal health surveillance network
• Canadian Food Safety Adaptation Program (fed.)
• HACCP (Hazards Analysis at Critical Control Points) strategy for all Ontario food processors (not restricted to meat, poultry, milk) (prov. + fed.)
• Data management (prov.)
• National Codes, when updating (prov.)
• Traceability and surveillance (prov. + fed.)
• Food Safety Research (prov.)
• Risk Assessments/Food Research/Baselines (prov.).

Environment:
Goals include protection and preservation of the resources of soil, water, air and biodiversity through programs for farm planning and management of nutrients, pests, land, water and nuisances.
The federal focus is on agri-environmental farm planning. Provincial commitments encompass:
• Information management systems and data collection analysis

• Education and technology transfer
• Development of regulations and programming for the Nutrient Management Act
• Agri-environmental Farm Planning
• Rural Water component of the Healthy Futures for Ontario Agriculture program
• Pesticide Certification Course.

Renewal:
The goals for this pillar include: 1) raising the quality and availability of business management information, tools, advice and training for producers and advisors; 2) diversifying the agricultural economy through new markets, new opportunities and new business ventures; and 3) helping farmers make choices about sources of income.
Ontario’s proposed commitments include:
• Ontario Small Town and Rural – Rural Economic Development (OSTAR-RED) program
• Agricultural Management Institute, encompassing benchmarking and business ‘best management practices’, business risk management tools, business succession planning and new entrants, human resources development and training, and innovation and marketing opportunities.
Proposed commitments for the feds include:
• Agricultural Management Institute (see above)
• Farm Business Service
• Skills Development Initiative
• Agricultural Enterprise Program.

Branding Canada:
The aim under this initiative is to maximize the benefits of the other APF pillars by building on an international recognition for quality, safety and innovation in Canadian agri-food exports. A number of targeted trade advocacy strategies are being planned under existing and new programs, with increased opportunity for industry and sector stakeholder involvement. This initiative is to be funded by the federal government but the province will assist in implementation. Clearly, industry is expected to participate heavily as well.

Summary:
These four ‘non-BRM’ pillars cover a breadth of programs and initiatives. Based on the program titles and some pre-existing knowledge of several of these programs (many are continuations or extensions of existing programs), it is probable that substantial value should be forthcoming, although OCPA has considerable unease about this, resulting from the lack of detail available. The vast majority of these programs will not provide much in the way of direct funding to farmers (with the possible exception of environmental farm planning, although even here the details are still unknown). Unfortunately, OCPA has little more information than that presented above on these programs. Many questions remain unanswered, allowing for the establishment of growing concerns regarding the ultimate effectiveness of many of the initiatives proposed.

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