“The invasion of Ukraine continues to escalate and its impacts on the global food system are increasing. It is vital that the Canadian government offer tariff relief for farmers who cannot continue to bear the brunt of these costs,” said Brendan Byrne, chairman of Grain Farmers of Ontario.
“One of the key areas of concern for grain farmers is the shortage and additional costs of fertilizer available to us for our planting season. This is a moment in history for our partners in the fertilizer industry to act with integrity in treating farmers fairly around pricing and contracts.”
Quebec chairman Christian Overbeek of Grain Farmers of Quebec said “this is a global crisis and farmers are ready to plant the crops, but we cannot afford to pay additional inflated costs while doing so.
“We understand the reason behind tariffs, but the impact to our food system is not supportable and the government must act now to provide relief to farmers, who are paying the price.
“Fertilizer shortages coupled with increased costs are going to make this a difficult spring and potentially a compromised harvest, which could be devastating as the world is looking at grain and food shortage,” he said.
“Eastern Canadian grain farmers need access to the tools that will help them grow an abundant, healthy crop,” said Overbeek.
