MOOSE JAW, Sask. – The agricultural policy framework signed by six
provinces in Halifax does nothing to address the real problems in
Canadian agriculture, an economist told the annual Farming for Profit
conference.
Hartley Furtan of the University of Saskatchewan said Canadians need to
know what the country’s agriculture policy is trying to accomplish.
He said foreign subsidies are not to blame for Canada losing its
competitive advantage in grain production, because American farmers are
Read Also
Agriculture ministers agree to AgriStability changes
federal government proposed several months ago to increase the compensation rate from 80 to 90 per cent and double the maximum payment from $3 million to $6 million
also losing ground.
“The problem is that we’re losing our competitive advantage …
compared to Brazil, Ukraine and parts of Kazakhstan,” Furtan said.
“We’re high-cost producers.”
Yet, he said, the agricultural policy framework avoids that issue.
He said it is unlikely science will solve the problem, citing
increasing freight costs, distance from markets and the variable
Canadian weather.
Furtan also said using special labels to overcome technical barriers
won’t help farmers either. He said the costs of going into some markets
equal the benefits.
“How much is in it for the farmer?” he asked.
“We could have a lot of trade volume, but how is that going to lead to
increased growth for farmers? It’s not going to be a solution to our
lack of competitiveness.”
Furtan had more questions than answers. He said the national government
has to address the fact that Saskatchewan and Manitoba are falling
behind, and that opportunities on the Prairies are not as good as they
were 50 years ago.
“What is the principle of government regarding equity of opportunity
across Canada?”
Furtan also said the government has not addressed the single most
important issue – trade dependency on the United States.
“The border is absolutely essential to our producers, yet the framework
says nothing about that border,” he said.
Jack Bamford, a senior policy adviser with Agriculture Canada, said the
framework is not an international trade policy, but a domestic policy.
“If we get this thing right … and we get our act together
domestically, it can impact the way we do things internationally,” he
said.
Bamford said the policy recognizes that food quality and safety are and
will continue to be trade issues.
Bamford also questioned whether an agriculture policy should be
economic or social. An economic policy would focus on trying to have a
competitive production sector, while a social policy would try to “keep
everybody who’s farming today farming tomorrow.
“Near as I can figure, this is an economic policy,” he said.
