Building a Framework for Sound Agricultural Policy

The Government of Canada’s process to develop an ‘architecture for agricultural policy in the 21st century’ moved into a new phase in mid-June with a second round of stakeholder consultations. Input from the first round of hastily arranged consultations, held this past spring, reveals that many stakeholders have concerns very similar to those outlined by OCPA in previous issues of this magazine.
According to the summary report prepared by GPC International, participants in the initial consultation process expressed several concerns with the proposed Agricultural Policy Framework (APF): Will branding Canada as a world leader in food safety, environmentally sound production and innovation enhance profitability for producers? How does APF address the immediate concerns and pressures on the industry? Who will bear the costs of implementing the initiatives outlined in APF?

Participants were also concerned that trade and international issues were not adequately addressed, and called for more specifics in the areas of funding and transition plans. They were insistent that the area of providing compensation for trade injury must be included as well.

Over the last several weeks, OCPA has been engaged in the development of a draft ‘Agricultural Policy Platform’ (APP) that lays out a sound course for the industry in order to address present and future challenges. Based on the same ‘pillars’ as the federal government version, with the addition of a sixth pillar – International Trade Policy – the APP is designed not only to address the needs of OCPA members and other grain and oilseed producers, but also to answer many of the concerns raised by participants in the APF consultations held this past spring.

OCPA agrees that commitment to research and innovation is critical to the future of the industry. Public sector-supported research is essential to fostering Canada’s development in areas such as bioproducts/bioeconomy, life sciences, value-added market opportunities and environmental stewardship along with the more traditional areas of agri-food productivity, quality and related issues. Given the magnitude of public sector investment and policy focus of such issues in the U.S. and other jurisdictions, increased investment funding is needed just to keep Canada from falling further behind, let alone positioning us as world leaders. The agriculture sector needs to be able to take advantage of the many emerging opportunities, especially those that capitalize on the advantages that Canada has to offer.

A sound agriculture policy also needs to create a more attractive environment for innovation and growth through measures such as improved tax policy and training and education programs, among others. We need to promote, rather than impede, the development of the ‘carbohydrate economy’.

The role of environmental stewardship in Canadian agriculture – another key pillar of the Agriculture Policy Framework – has long been recognized by the farm community. Many key environmental initiatives have already been implemented by farmers in Ontario – often to a degree that far exceeds minimum legislated requirements. There’s no doubt that farmers have a substantive conservation and stewardship ethic; however, farm economics and profitability MUST be solid enough to give farmers the freedom to worry about issues beyond the survival and economic viability of their operations. That is an issue that must be addressed in any agricultural policy that will support the sustainability of agriculture in Canada in years to come.

Ensuring the financial sustainability of domestic agri-food production is in the best interests of the nation and therefore its government as well. Actions taken in this regard will ensure an ongoing source of safe, secure, domestically produced food as well as – increasingly – a source of renewable raw materials for industrial processing. Unlike many other sectors of the economy, agri-food production is exposed to many variables beyond individual producers’ ability to control.

A sound agricultural policy must help in managing exposure to these unique variables, including weather, distinct, short, seasonal crop production cycles, and inordinate exposure to the detrimental impact on price of foreign agricultural policies that concentrate support and subsidies on the field crop production sector, especially grains and oilseeds. Commodity-specific programs are essential, because the risks and the impacts vary from sector to sector.

The Agriculture Policy Framework MUST recognize and address the impact here in Canada of policies enacted by our major trading partners, especially the U.S. Canada’s farmers operate in a global marketplace . The actions of foreign governments determine the international trading environment and will significantly influence the future of Canadian grain and oilseed producers.

Unless this issue is addressed, and the economic survival of our farms is more certain, the Agriculture Policy Framework cannot achieve the desired results. The sector will ‘grow and be profitable’ if, and only if, the federal government takes proactive steps to ensure an equal playing field for Canada’s producers against those with whom we must compete directly on an ongoing basis.

1