- AgGrowth calls on the Prime Minister and Canada's Premiers for help

OTTAWA, ON (December 18, 2019) - The AGgrowth Coalition is extremely disappointed and frustrated with the lack of meaningful results coming out of the Special Federal Provincial Territorial meeting of Agriculture Ministers in Ottawa on Tuesday.

After three years of reviews, studies, consultations, reports and meetings, the Ministers of Agriculture from across Canada met for a special meeting dedicated to addressing Business Risk Management (BRM) Programming and decided to launch another review.  Farmers need immediate action, not reviews. Farm incomes are down by 45% and worldwide trade rules are impeding sales of commodities in key markets. A review is not going to help farmers facing unsustainable debt loads and the fear of farm failures.

“Minister Bibeau needs to take concrete action to fulfill the mandate given to her by the Prime Minister and establish immediate support for farmers. We are calling on the Prime Minister and Premiers from across Canada to provide the Ministers of Agriculture with the necessary flexibility to provide that support” said Markus Haerle, Co-Chair AGgrowth.  

“Other countries have demonstrated their support for their farmers. It‘s time for Canada to do the same,” said Jeff Nielsen, Co-Chair, AGgrowth.

“We are disappointed. All farmers from across Canada need a BRM program that works; moving AgriStability coverage to 85% is a simple, interim solution that can be implemented immediately to help farmers, while longer-term programming changes are worked on,” added Chris van den Heuvel Co-Chair, AGgrowth.

The AGgrowth Coalition and its members have formally asked the FPT Ministers to implement the following action items and to date have seen no progress:

AgriStability coverage immediately adjusted to cover losses starting at 85 per cent of historical reference margins with no Reference Margin Limits;

Prioritize discussions on production insurance for livestock and horticulture crops which are not currently covered under AgriInsurance;

Discussions on BRM programming options to be meaningful and focussed on program effectiveness rather than funding levels; and

The establishment of an industry-government technical working group that allows farm groups to actively participate in BRM data and impact analysis.