An accountant’s dream and a farmer’s worst nightmare.
That was how some people interpreted the Agricultural Income Disaster Assistance program during a farm rally at Melita, Man., last week.
The only people who benefit from AIDA are accountants, said Joan Hodgson, who farms near Deloraine, Man. She shared a sentiment that has been repeated many times since the AIDA applications went out.
“I looked at it, and I don’t think I’m dumb, but I can’t figure out that program.”
Recent changes to AIDA failed to stifle the criticism.
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Federal agriculture minister Lyle Vanclief traveled to Estevan, Sask., and Brandon, Man., last month to announce changes to AIDA and the Net Income Stabilization Account. The changes were meant to improve the flow of money to those who qualify under the farm safety nets.
Farmers who think they will be eligible for 1999 AIDA will be able to apply for a 60 percent advance on estimated eligibility.
Debra Temple, who farms near Waskada, Man., was not impressed.
“I still can’t figure out why he (Vanclief) bothered to make a trip back to make his big announcement in Estevan and Brandon.
“He should have just faxed it because it wasn’t worth the flight,” said Temple, during the Melita rally. “Sixty percent of nothing is still nothing.”
But figures released by Ottawa show prairie farmers will draw millions of dollars from AIDA this year. Close to 2,000 of those farmers had qualified as of June 27.
Murray McCallum works with Manitoba farmers who request help filling out the application forms. At a meeting of Keystone Agricultural Producers in Brandon last week, he described the application forms as straightforward.
“Don’t rule yourself out before you do the work,” McCallum said. “You’re doing yourself a big disservice.
“The money’s there. They do want to spend it, believe it or not.”
There are, however, wide gaps between the average AIDA payments approved for farmers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, according to federal and Alberta statistics.
The average payment for Alberta producers is close to $24,000. The average for farmers in Saskatchewan is less than half that.
Critics of AIDA say the difference between provinces shows one of the fundamental flaws of the program.
Based on a three-year average of gross margins, AIDA might let people most in need fall through the cracks. Farmers who have endured several consecutive years of low commodity prices might not qualify, said Weldon Newton, vice-president of KAP, Manitoba’s general farm group.
“That’s where the program falls apart. It wasn’t designed to take care of continuous low prices.”
KAP insists that the gross margin used in AIDA should be based on an average of a producer’s best three of the past five years. The program also should cover negative margins, said Newton, and have no links to other safety net programs such as NISA.
Although KAP views AIDA as flawed, Newton encourages farmers to fill out the applications, even if they doubt they will qualify.
“That’s the only way we’re going to help convince Vanclief the program isn’t working and it may give some indication of why it isn’t working.”
Newton knows of producers who got money through the program even when they didn’t expect it.
