REGINA — A work plan to help develop a new safety net was approved by Canada’s agriculture ministers last week in Regina.
The work plan covers four areas: A design that’s individual income-based using the whole farm; broader framework options and companion programs; Saskatchewan GRIP replacement options for 1995; and spending limits.
The ministers will receive recommendations from working groups on each of these areas at their annual meeting in Winnipeg in July.
Federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale said, in general, the whole-farm concept was agreed upon by everyone.
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“A NISA-harmonized type of program has many of the characteristics that we’re looking for,” he said.
The program must be compatible with new world trade rules, market neutral, fiscally affordable, cost effective and user friendly, Goodale said.
With a view to making a final decision in July, the ministers agreed to “consider the extension of an individualized NISA/harmonized NISA-type, whole-farm program to all primary agricultural production with the exception of supply-managed production, for the 1994 tax year,” said a press release.
Issues still to be clarified or resolved include adding red meats and forages, the level of contribution and the basis for contribution (value-added, eligible net sales, etc.).
Western priorities
Meanwhile, the four western provinces have determined several priorities for a new safety net program.
The provinces have identified that crop insurance and a whole-farm income support program should be basic components.
Provincial expenditures on companion, adjustment or transition programs should be minimized. These types of programs would require some form of producer contributions and either no deficit or a tight limit on deficits.
The final priority is that measures designed to give protection against disastrous weather or market conditions beyond what is provided by crop insurance and the whole-farm plan would be defined and handled through special programming.
“We might not all move to the same program in the same year,” said Saskatchewan agriculture minister Darrel Cunningham. “But we certainly would like to see a level playing field in Western Canada at least.”
