The National Farmers Union has outlined a list of policies for the federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture to ponder when they are setting the Next Policy Framework.
So far business risk management programs and funding have seemed to be dominant in their deliberations, plus increasing exports.
The NFU urges ministers to:
- wisely and fairly address food system weaknesses made visible by the pandemic,
- reverse biodiversity loss in our agricultural landscapes,
- drastically reduce the greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture and help farmers adapt to the climate crisis,
- rebuild rural prosperity by addressing inequality in the allocation of farm revenues and net income, and
- address the alarming loss of farmers by making farming both possible and attractive for the next generation.
“While governments have primarily measured success by export growth, we recommend that the NPF use other indicators to reflect the range of problems that need to be addressed,” the NFU said in a news release.
The NFU’s priorities for the NPF include:
- increasing infrastructure capacity for local, regional and domestic processing, storage, transportation and distribution;
- promoting farmer-led innovation and knowledge-sharing;
- upholding supply management, including support for alternative production and processing opportunities;
- helping farmers mitigate and adapt to climate change risks by setting targets for GHG emission reduction;
- funding new agri-environmental programs;
- establishing a Canadian Farm Resilience Administration; building public trust in the food system by regulating for, and promoting ecologically friendly farm practices that a growing proportion of consumers demand;
- ensuring BRM (business risk management) programs are accessible, relevant and equitable useful for farms of different sizes and production systems, and supporting land access for new and young farmers and marginalized groups.
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