Federal agriculture minister Gerry Ritz remains adamant he will not change the funding or design of his agricultural flexibility program, despite criticism from Canada’s largest farm lobby.
In particular, he said the rules will not be changed to allow the five-year $500 million program to be used in some provinces as a safety net program.
“Let me be clear though, the agricultural flexibility program must be proactive, not reactive,” he told the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting Feb. 26.
“We already have a full suite of reactive programs such as AgriInvest, AgriStability, AgriRecovery and of course, AgriInsurance for crops. These programs are there to give farmers the bankable, stable, predictable support they need to weather the current storms.”
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Earlier, CFA delegates supported a Quebec resolution that called on Ottawa to increase funding tenfold to $1 billion annually and to allow provinces to use it for business risk management (BRM) if they choose.
“The resolution reflects our underlying frustration,” said l’Union des Producteurs Agricoles president Christian Lacasse.
However, in his speech, Ritz ruled out any changes.
“An agricultural flexibility program will not be successful if it simply duplicates the work other programs are already delivering,” he said.
“An agricultural flexibility program will not benefit farmers if it compromises our international trade agreements and reduces our ability to protect key sectors such as dairy and poultry. That’s why I’ve always been crystal clear about the intent for agricultural flexibility. It will be proactive, not reactive.”
The money will be available to provinces to help fund programs outside of the business risk management programs, including environmental and food safety initiatives designed to meet province-specific needs.
Lacasse complained that $100 million in annual funding spread across the country is not much.
However, Ritz received an easy ride from CFA delegates and the friendly tone of the appearance was in sharp contrast to the scene at last year’s CFA meeting when the minister essentially told the federation that its opposition to the government’s handling of the Canadian Wheat Board file did not matter and then stormed out without taking questions.
