Natural Resources November 15, 2006 Ministers Focus on Building a Stronger Future for Agriculture in Canada Federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture met November 14 in Calgary to discuss the transformation of Canada�s agriculture and agri-food sector, and to set the stage for cross-Canada consultations on the next generation of agriculture and agri-food policy. Ministers agreed on measures to address the pressures farmers are facing in a rapidly evolving world, announcing changes in how governments support farmers in managing the business risks of farming. Given that Canada�s agriculture and agri-food industry is an integral part of the Canadian economy and an important contributor to Canada�s social fabric, ministers also launched consultations for the next generation of agriculture and agri-food policy. They were united in their commitment to work with the sector on new policies that will enable industry to seize new opportunities and remain competitive in a challenging global environment. Supporting Producers in Managing the Business Risks of
Farming At the same time, ministers acknowledged that more work still needs to be done to identify and address gaps and make improvements in the business risk management suite, within the context of affordability. They tasked officials to continue consultations with the sector, starting in January, in conjunction with the next generation policy development process. Ministers, with industry representatives and government officials, have worked intensely on re-engineering the support governments provide to help producers manage the business risks of farming. The changes tackle many of the needs expressed by industry representatives on behalf of farmers, and include significant delivery and design improvements such as: In principle, and subject to securing appropriate authorities, ministers agreed to the following: In addition, consistent with recommendations from industry, they agreed to maintain linkages between income stabilization programming and production insurance, to monitor these linkages going forward, and to make any necessary adjustments in the future to ensure they continue to work as intended. They further directed officials to review overall affordability and interrelationships in the BRM program suite within the context of consultations for the next generation policy. Next Generation of Agriculture and Agri-Food Policy Ministers formally launched consultations for the development of the next generation of policy and challenged the sector and those interested in it to focus their energy and enthusiasm on bringing innovative ideas and solutions to bear on the challenges the sector faces. Representatives from across the value chain will have an opportunity to input early in the process to help shape the discussion moving forward. Ministers released an overarching discussion paper that examines the economic situation of the sector and sets out a proposed vision, and a principles paper that sets out proposed guidelines for the policy development process. This will be followed in the coming weeks by the release of a series of thematic papers that present possible policy options in the areas of environment (including an evaluation of ecological goods and services), food safety and quality, innovation and science, renewal, and markets and trade � as well as a number of economic background papers, including one on business risk management. Ministers stressed that the suite of documents is intended to guide discussions for the consultations and that governments remain open to new ideas from the sector. The documents can be found at www.agr.gc.ca/nextgen Ministers recognized the significant input industry has provided for a national traceability system. They committed to further industry consultation as part of the implementation process. They also received an update on Avian Influenza preparedness and the enhanced specified risk materials feed ban. The annual conference of agriculture ministers will be held in Whistler, British Columbia, in June 2007. Media contacts:
2006 11 15 11:30 a.m. |
|
All material copyright the Government of Newfoundland and Labrador. No unauthorized copying or redeployment permitted. The Government assumes no responsibility for the accuracy of any material deployed on an unauthorized server. Disclaimer/Copyright/Privacy Statement |