OFA Commentary #3505
Piece by piece, elements of what Ontario agriculture needs to succeed in the future are coming into place. Just recently we received a letter from Hon. Leona Dombrowsky, Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs for Ontario, thanking me for my willingness to serve on the advisory committee set up following the Premier’s Summit on Agri-Food.
This will be an opportunity to provide direction and help plan for profitability of the Ontario ag sector. We have ideas that could make the future of agriculture, here in Ontario, more predictable. Suggestions are coming from the province’s horticulture sector, the grains and oilseeds organizations, and the livestock groups.
It will be important for agriculture’s representatives to speak as one when talking to governments, both provincial and federal, as planning proceeds to bring stability to the industry.
Included in what we’re asking for are predictable risk management and production insurance programs. For those to work long into the future, our governments will need to commit long-term, adequate funding as well as making a commitment to design programs that address current risks. Farmers need to be able to make long-term plans for the future success of their industry.
Continuing low commodity prices, forced down by high subsidies from governments in the United States and European Union, are threatening the future of Canada’s farmers. Farm organizations are preparing to launch a campaign to make our federal and provincial governments aware of the need for predictable and permanent risk management programs as well as an immediate need for funding to survive this situation.
We need our governments to renew and revitalize the Agricultural Policy Framework that was first introduced by the Chretien Government earlier this decade. Some of the problems with the APF have been repaired, and some are still being developed. We liked the concept the APF introduced, and we need that to be continued.
We need to do more than talk about safety nets. We need to ask key questions: how can agriculture address health concerns of Ontarians? Does high-priced crude oil present an opportunity for farmers to be producers of energy? What changes need to be made to our regulatory regime to ensure that we are competitive? And finally, how can farmers be sure that we have marketing structures and industry connections so that we can profit from emerging opportunities?
There are problems in the farm community today. We must acknowledge that, and as stated earlier, design support programs that respond when needed. The Premier’s Advisory Committee also gives us the opportunity to do much more.
If our young people are to stay on our farms, and if our rural communities are to prosper because of the economic activity of the ag industry, we must seize this opportunity.
OFA is encouraged by the possibilities available to improve the future of agriculture in Ontario. Serving on the advisory committee will not only be a challenge but a key opportunity to develop some of these possibilities. Ontario’s new OMAFRA minister has promised her efforts to make Ontario agriculture successful, and we will be there to work with her.
~Ron Bonnett~
President, Ontario Federation of Agriculture