National Farmers Union president Stewart Wells, re-elected on the weekend, says the “one voice” campaign to unite farmers is an ineffective non-starter.
He told delegates to the NFU convention that the union has helped shape the debate in recent years by analyzing the impact of weak farmer market power, alerting farmers to government research cutback plans and leading the fight against increased patent protection for seed companies and against introduction of so-called terminator seeds.
“A pattern is developing and that pattern shows the NFU defining the issues and executing successful campaigns around them,” he said.
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Then the Swift Current farmer turned on other farm groups, which he called the farmers-must-speak-with-one-voice crowd.
“On many of the most important issues, one voice becomes no voice,” said Wells. “The desire of these organizations to stay friendly with governments, their desire to straddle both sides of the fence, their desire to be all things to all people means that on some of the most important issues of the day, the so-called one voice is transformed into no voice.”
In a later interview, he said groups such as the Canadian Federation of Agriculture do not seem to make the connection between farm income, farmer power and such developments as plant patenting and trade deals that do not increase farmer incomes.
He said other groups are fixated on the World Trade Organization and better safety nets. “Most times there doesn’t even seem to be the understanding that current WTO rules are responsible for the sad state of our safety net programming,” he told delegates.
Wells said the NFU will continue to co-operate with other groups when it is in farmers’ interests and when co-operative action can be effective.
“But let us not spend too much time worrying about the one-voice discussion,” he said. “As long as corporations have two nickels to rub together, they are always going to form a shill organization to promote their views. We will never be in a spot where there is only one farm voice.”
Besides, other organizations are too focused, too compliant and often too unwilling to connect all the policy dots, Wells said.
He spoke at an Ottawa NFU conference that featured speakers warning about the growth of corporate power with the compliance of politicians.
