Gov’t support among lowest

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Published: May 23, 2002

While agriculture contributes more to Canada’s national economy than

the average among industrialized nations, government support for the

sector is among the lowest in the developed world and falling further

behind, according to a report prepared for government MPs.

The report by British Columbia agrologist and activist Wendy Holm was

presented late last year to the prime minister’s Liberal task force on

agriculture. It helped influence the task force conclusion that the

government must become more supportive.

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Holm said that agriculture’s contribution to the gross domestic product

– 2.2 percent – is slightly higher than the average in other developed

countries in the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development.

Yet Canada’s 1998-2000 support for agriculture, at 0.77 percent of the

GDP, is third lowest.

“In only two countries, New Zealand and Australia, is total support for

agriculture as a percentage of GDP lower than in Canada,” she wrote in

a report presented to Liberal MPs on behalf of B.C. Tree Fruits.

The comparison with the United States is striking, especially since the

numbers pre-date the latest U.S. farm bill with its promise of higher

subsidies for the next six years.

During the 1990s, per capita support for Canadian farmers, including

the benefits of supply management price setting, fell 38 percent while

spending in the U.S. increased 22 percent, according to her analysis of

OECD reports.

“Canadian farmers now receive 55 percent lower levels of per capita

support than do their American counterparts.”

And during the decade, the level of Canadian farm support as a

percentage of gross farm receipts fell 45 percent compared to an eight

percent drop in the U.S.

The message clearly impressed MPs on the Liberal task force.

“Canada’s level of farm support, as a percentage of gross domestic

product, lags behind all OECD countries except Australia and New

Zealand,” they wrote in an April interim report.

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