ST. JOHN’S, N.L. – A growing rift between grain groups in Western and Eastern Canada is fragmenting the industry and making it more difficult to present a unified voice to government, an agribusiness leader lamented last week.
Denise Dewar, vice-president of CropLife Canada representing farm chemical and biotechnology developers, told a panel discussion on food industry partnerships July 27 that growing disunity between Canadian grains and oilseeds farmers makes it difficult for chemical and seed producers to face government with a united demand for regulatory reform.
“For our industry, we have been disappointed to see the disintegration of the grains and oilseeds organizations,” she said during the semi-annual meeting of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. “Grains and oilseeds producers from East and West are not working together anymore. We need Canadian producers to work together so we can face government and international competitors as a united Canada.”
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In a later interview, Dewar said she was referring to the fact that Grain Growers of Canada, created in 1999 to represent the domestic and trade interests of the sector undiluted by the needs of other sectors, has lost its Eastern Canada membership during the past year.
Ontario corn, wheat and soybean producer associations as well as the Quebec grain growers’ group have dropped out of GGC.
It now consists of eight groups, all from Western Canada except one -Alberta Barley Commission, Alberta Winter Wheat Producers, Western Barley Growers Association, Atlantic Grains Council, British Columbia Grain Producers Association, Canadian Canola Growers Association, Manitoba Corn Growers Association and Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association.
Dewar said that is not good for the industry.
She said it is more difficult to develop a common front on issues such as own use chemical imports or the need for regulatory reform in the farm chemical or biotechnology sectors.
“My industry, which sees advantage in a common front to government, sees the divisions in the farm community as weakening that message,” said Dewar. “We don’t want the government to be able to divide and conquer.”
Some CFA members said their organization through its provincial affiliates and the Canadian Wheat Board represents grain interests across the country.
The CropLife vice-president in charge of plant biotechnology issues ran into some flak from CFA directors when she said the companies her association represents want to work in partnership with farmers.
Several said farmer interests don’t always seem to be the first priority when companies like Monsanto, a CropLife member, try to push a product like genetically modified wheat, which was sidelined after producer complaints about potential market reaction.
One delegate said it is hard to see an industry-farmer partnership arrangement when farmers are in an income crisis and agribusiness is doing well.
Dewar said her job is to try to create conditions that make Canada an attractive place for biotechnology investment, and the decision not to allow GM wheat on the market was a setback that hurt innovation investment in Canada.
But she also noted that during a farmer rally on Parliament Hill last spring, for the first time CropLife Canada sent a letter that aligned it with the political drive for policies that help farm income.
“We believe the farm income situation in Canada has to be rectified.”
