Saskatchewan’s organic community is pleased with the final recommendations of a report that outlines how to get 10 percent of the province’s farmers involved in organic production by 2015.
“If the recommendations are all implemented it will really position Saskatchewan well,” said Cathy Holtslander, director of the Saskatchewan Organic Directorate (SOD).
Prepared by regional economic and co-operative development minister Lon Borgerson, the report, delivered to Saskatchewan premier Lorne Calvert, offers 34 recommendations on how to bolster organic production.
“With large retail chains entering the market, organics are more than just a niche opportunity. The time has come to capitalize on Saskatchewan’s natural advantages – a large agricultural base, innovative people and a clean environment,” said Borgerson.
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A key recommendation calls on the province to pay $200,000 per year in funding to SOD, a member-funded umbrella group representing growers, processors, buyers, traders and certifiers.
Holtslander said that annual cash injection would do wonders for the group.
“We’re not rolling in the dough. We struggle with being able to support our one part-time paid position for the administrator and to support the work of the board.”
The money would allow SOD to hire full-time staff, lobby governments and provide a public voice for the organic sector, she said.
Holtslander was also pleased to hear Borgerson advise the province to pick up 75 percent of the annual certification fees for each organic producer up to a maximum of $750.
“Everybody’s ears perked up when we heard that,” she said.
Holtslander said that measure would be particularly appealing to smaller producers who are contemplating changing to organic production but can’t afford the annual certification fee.
Borgerson’s report also called for the province to assist farmers making the transition into organics by providing a subsidy of $10 per acre to a maximum of $7,500 for each of the three transition years, when producers are farming without chemicals but are not yet reaping the higher premiums associated with organic certification.
The report also called for the establishment of an organic advisory board, expanded research capacity, increased training opportunities, international marketing support, measures to attract young people and immigrants to the industry and the promotion of farmers’ markets and community assisted agriculture.
“Lon has really talked to the organic community and has listened,” said Holtslander.
With the level of commitment she said she has heard from the premier, Holtslander believes the goal of having 10 percent of the province’s farmers involved in organic production by 2015 is realistic.
According to Statistics Canada’s 2006 Census of Agriculture, the province had 1,181 certified organic operators that year, representing 2.7 percent of the province’s farms.
There were another 184 in transition and 1,088 who considered themselves organic but were not certified.
Holtslander is confident those farmers will become certified, bringing the total to 5.5 percent of the farming population almost overnight, if the province adopts the recommended subsidy programs.
