Farm leaders last week repeated their call for regionally specific programs to fill gaps in the business risk management programs.
Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Bob Friesen, along with presidents Ian Wishart of Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers and Glenn Blakley of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, said AgriFlex would create equality in a diverse industry.
The proposal, developed by CFA members and first announced by the federal government last November, is similar to what was once available under companion programs.
“It worked really well before,” Friesen pointed out during a news conference at the Western Canada Farm Progress Show in Regina.
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Wishart said the money could be used to improve crop insurance, enhance programs available to cattle producers or implement alternative land use strategies.
“We’ve been finding, for instance in the cattle sector in Western Canada, that there are substantial gaps and there is quite a difference province to province,” he said. “We are impacted in a significant way with what Alberta decides to do to support their cattle industry. They’re prepared to do whatever it takes to make that industry thrive in that province and other provinces can suffer to some degree if they do not have access to some programs that would be comparable.”
Wishart said Canadian agriculture is complex and diverse, and programs must recognize that. The time to deal with the gaps is now because times are relatively good.
Blakley said a crop insurance review is underway in Saskatchewan and AgriFlex funds might be a way to enhance the program.
“We see a huge benefit in having a fund like AgriFlex,” he said. “The ability for each individual province to address the issues and concerns of their producers would be a tremendous stabilizing effect for the industry.”
Both the federal and provincial governments would contribute to AgriFlex. The provinces, however, would use the money to best suit their farmers.
Friesen said that would put an end to ad hoc payments.
“We have to get beyond crisis management,” he said. “We would far rather be ready for a crisis.”
Agriculture ministers have seen the proposal several times but haven’t endorsed it. Friesen met again with federal minister Gerry Ritz the day before the Regina news conference.
Friesen said affordability is a concern, but he noted that in each of the last six years governments have had to come up with about $1 billion in ad hoc money.
“We’re saying, ‘look, this is a component that is going to be proactive in preventing us from having to fill in the hole in an ad hoc way.’ “
Friesen couldn’t say how the federal money would be allocated to each province, although perhaps the value of agricultural production could be used.
