Canada’s hog industry is appealing to governments to enrich the farm income safety net system.
Hog producers want a disaster program built into the national system, the Canadian Pork Council said in a policy approved at a board meeting last week.
It wants the Net Income Stabilization Account program maintained, but expanded and enriched.
“Continuation of the program is supported by hog producers but the program must have sufficient funding if it is to be an effective safety net,” said the CPC.
“At this time, it is not. Increased contribution levels by both producers and governments is needed.”
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The hog sector joined many other commodity and farm groups in asking for a one-third increase in NISA funding, allowing farmers to contribute up to four percent of eligible receipts.
Governments would match that.
The cap is three percent and ministers have been unenthusiastic in their assessment of proposals for more funding.
Yet the pork council says even a four percent contribution level would not be enough.
“This level of funding would be an improvement over the existing program and while still not sufficient, would provide a step for further increases,” said the industry group.
Deadline set
In mid-July, federal and provincial ministers promised to sign new safety net agreements next year, to take effect in 2000.
They did not commit to more funding and federal minister Lyle Vanclief discouraged speculation that federal safety net funding will increase beyond $600 million.The provinces add $400 million.
The hog producers said money is not the only issue.
They said the existing system of NISA, crop insurance and provincial companion programs is geared to crop producers, since livestock operations do not receive a benefit from crop insurance.
Their solution would be to convert funding that now goes to provincial companion programs into a national disaster program. “Ideally, provinces should share in the funding of an equally applied disaster program.”
And a separate program of support should be created to help beginning farmers until they build sufficient NISA funds to get them through a crisis.
In addition, the hog producers said the basis for contributions to NISA accounts should be changed from net eligible sales to value-added.
Underlying the pork council proposals was a plea that governments not create new support or funding programs that could lead to retaliation by trade competitors.
The hog industry, heavily dependent on trade, suffered millions of dollars in countervail in the past when the American government determined that Canadian stabilization programs were trade distorting and provided unfair competition to U.S. hog growers.
The NISA program has not been found liable to such retaliatory tariffs.
The pork council urged governments to create some national forum that would judge all new government support programs, or changes to existing programs, to make sure they will not risk “unnecessary retaliation from our trading partners.”
