Federal agriculture minister Andy Mitchell has vowed that improving farm profitability will be a key test of his success as minister.
Mitchell said Nov. 15 that reversing farm income trends is a long-term process while his time in the job will be as long or as short as political fortunes dictate.
“But I’ll try to make as much progress as I can,” he said. “I’d like to be measured in terms of moving this issue forward.”
In a speech to a symposium on declining farm incomes, the minister promised some unusual help in the farm lobby attempt to change the system.
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He said Agriculture Canada will research and report on the depth and consequences of a 30-year trend in declining farm income.
The government will work with farmers and the provinces to identify the reasons for the decline and he promised to work on solutions that will involve government, provinces, farmers and society.
Mitchell said that in his four months on the job, complex issues ranging from safety net reform to trade barriers and negotiations have demanded his attention.
“All of these cannot overshadow the importance of dealing with the long-term issue of farm income,” said the minister.
CFA president Bob Friesen said later Mitchell’s promises of help and investigation were important commitments. The minister is doing more than promise to study the issue with action sometime later.
“He’s willing to wade into this and work with the industry,” said Friesen. “That is encouraging.”
Friesen said the seminar, organized by the CFA, was not meant to be a lobby for more farm aid.
“What we want are answers about how the system can work for farmers as well as for other players in the system.”
