Agriculture minister Ralph Goodale last week hinted the new Liberal government may be willing to inject additional money into a farm safety net system it has spent years cutting.
With indications that net farm income is falling because of higher costs and lower commodity prices, farm leaders have been warning the safety net program might not be strong enough to survive a sharp downturn in the farm economy.
In an interview last week, Goodale acknowledged he has been hearing, and heeding, farmer concerns.
He suggested when the federal books are balanced in 1999, farmers may be one group to benefit from the expected appearance of budget surpluses.
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“When you get that fiscal monkey off your back, there is flexibility that emerges,” he said June 5. “And still within the confines of fiscal responsibility, where can you make the best strategic investments … to achieve the best results for society? I hope and I believe as that fiscal room emerges in the future, the needs and interests of rural Canada will continue to be a very important priority.”
Asked directly if that could mean more money for farm support programs, Goodale said it is up to farm leaders to prove they need additional federal funds.
Three-tier system
The Liberals negotiated a national three-tier system with the provinces which includes a Net Income Stabilization Account program, crop insurance and room for provinces to create companion programs.
But finance minister Paul Martin also cut the federal contribution from $850 million to $600 million annually.
A farmer-bureaucrat committee appointed to assess the existing safety net has concluded existing funding would not be enough if all eligible farmers join the system or if farm income takes a sharp drop.
“For a lot of the bigger farmers, there is just bugger-all in their NISA accounts and there will be precious little support if they hit a downturn,” said Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Jack Wilkinson.
Ontario Federation of Agriculture president Tony Morris said there are worries some programs may violate international trade rules against production-inducing subsidies and create inequity in support available to farmers across Canada.
