Organics funded to revise standard

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Published: February 8, 2018

The federal government is providing the organic sector with about half of the money it needs to revise its national standards.

The Canadian Organic Standards are supposed to be updated every five years.

If they are not, the Canadian General Standards Board is required to withdraw the outdated standards, jeopardizing more than $600 million worth of annual exports.

That is why the organic sector is relieved Ottawa contributed $250,000 toward the $550,000 project.

“As Canadians and international trading partners increase demand for organic products, the Canada Organic Trade Association welcomes a strong partnership with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,” Dag Falck, president of the association, said in a news release.

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federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million

The current standard was last revised in November 2015, so the next update is due by November 2020.

Nicole Boudreau, co-ordinator of the Organic Federation of Canada, which is leading the review, said it is a long, arduous process but a vital one.

“If we want producers to transition to organic agriculture, we need the standard to be clear, easy to read, easy to understand, manageable and applicable,” she said.

The last review cost $1 million and involved vetting 400 proposed changes. She expects half that many proposals this time around because the last review covered a longer period of time. It was the first review since the standards were created in 2006.

“We were very, very late because we were lacking funding,” said Boudreau.

The Standards Council of Canada was lenient back then, but it isn’t anymore. The standards will be withdrawn if they are not revised on time.

Boudreau has received only a few petitions for changes, but she has a pretty good idea what might be coming.

She thinks most of the proposed changes will be related to the permitted substance list.

One debate that always seems to arise is whether a synthetic input should be allowed if it is identical to natural substances.

Another issue she expects to surface is whether parallel production should be allowed.

Growers in the United States are allowed to plant an organic crop next to the same type of conventional crop. That is not allowed in Canada.

“The (Canadian) organic producers feel they have a disadvantage, so we know it will come back to the table,” said Boudreau.

It is a similar situation with hydroponics, which is allowed in the U.S. but not in Canada.

Boudreau said the organic sector is seeking further funding for the project from Agriculture Canada and will also be asking industry to contribute about $100,000.

The federal government also announced $72,500 of funding for Canadian Organic Growers to create a user-friendly guide to the standards.

As well, it provided $95,114 to the Canada Organic Trade Association to attend international conferences and trade shows and to lead trade missions in key markets such as Europe, the U.S., Asia and Latin America.

About the author

Sean Pratt

Sean Pratt

Reporter/Analyst

Sean Pratt has been working at The Western Producer since 1993 after graduating from the University of Regina’s School of Journalism. Sean also has a Bachelor of Commerce degree from the University of Saskatchewan and worked in a bank for a few years before switching careers. Sean primarily writes markets and policy stories about the grain industry and has attended more than 100 conferences over the past three decades. He has received awards from the Canadian Farm Writers Federation, North American Agricultural Journalists and the American Agricultural Editors Association.

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