AGRICULTURE has a public image problem. It is too often singled out for blame when pollution issues gain prominence.
Federal environment minister John Baird recently added to the problem when he mentioned agriculture first in an announcement of $11 million more in funding for water pollution control on Lake Winnipeg.
That’s unfortunate and David Rolfe, head of the Manitoba farm group Keystone Agricultural Producers, was quick to condemn the statement as an “unfair attribution of blame.”
While agriculture is often undeserving of the proportion of blame it receives for pollution, those who earn their living in it, like all industries, have a responsibility to ensure that their businesses do not unduly damage the environment.
Read Also
Agriculture needs to prepare for government spending cuts
As government makes necessary cuts to spending, what can be reduced or restructured in the budgets for agriculture?
It’s unfortunate that federal officials have fueled the misperception with unfounded statements, but agricultural operators must nevertheless embrace environmental protection programs like the one announced by Baird.
That study is designed to discover the causes and solutions for the lake’s high phosphorus levels.
Most of those involved in agriculture are interested in doing all they can to ensure a clean industry with caring environmental stewards at the helm. They should have no problems with the plan.
It is in the interests of those in the agricultural industry to do all they can to ensure the public perception of agriculture matches the practices in the countryside.
Plans for action like the Lake Winnipeg study could also ward off future knee-jerk reactions, such as the Manitoba government’s hog barn development moratorium.
Earlier this year, Manitoba announced a ban on hog barn development pending an environmental review. Agriculture once again found itself negatively portrayed for political gain, while municipal waste continued to flow into the lake unchanged.
By investigating the Lake Winnipeg situation and others like it, the true sources of pollution can be laid bare and the appropriate actions can be taken, whether the source is agricultural or otherwise.
Governments and taxpayers should also expect to shoulder responsibility by ensuring the proper incentives and programs are in place. Programs such as the Environmental Farm Plan and the Alternative Land Use Services program benefit all of society and should be supported by society as a whole.
This type of thinking fits in with current directions of the United Nations.
UN Food and Agriculture Organization director general Jacques Diouf said in the FAO annual report that agriculture has potential to degrade the Earth’s land, water, atmosphere and biological resources, or to enhance them.
“Ensuring appropriate incentives to these people (those who depend on agriculture, fisheries or forestry for a living), is essential,” Diouf said.
Agriculture is a key influence on the health of this planet. We hope that the UN statement marks the start of a worldwide movement that sees agriculture as the solution, instead of the problem.
Bruce Dyck, Terry Fries, Barb Glen, D’Arce McMillan and Ken Zacharias collaborate in the writing of Western Producer editorials.
