Todd Lewis, a farmer and the president of APAS, is happy to hear that the federal government is finally improving the AgriStability program.
APAS (Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan) is an advocacy group focused on advising the provincial and federal governments about agricultural policies.
“Farmers risks are higher than ever, and our costs have gone up 70% since the program was cut in 2012,” said Lewis.
AgriStability is one of five programs that make up the federal government’s BRM programs (Business Risk Management) focused on agriculture. Its role, according to the Government of Canada website, is to “provide support when producers experience a large margin decline.”
There have been large margin declines, particularly with livestock producers.
Lewis stated that trade disruptions such as the Chinese canola embargo, India’s tariffs on lentils, as well as improved farming subsidies in the United States have affected grain prices. This is on top of extreme weather events that caused many crops to be left on the field till the spring.
The biggest issue, however, is the backlog that livestock producers are facing due to the processing plant closures caused by Covid-19 outbreaks in the spring. Which is why these producers are the focus of the expanded support measures.
Federal Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau tabled a proposal to fund 60% of the AgriStability program at the annual FPT (Federal, Provincial, Territorial) Ministers of Agriculture conference, which ran virtually from Nov. 26-27.
“The Government of Canada is ready to support our producers as they continue to feed us,” said Bibeau in a press release. “I am determined to continue working with my provincial and territorial colleagues to find common ground and make meaningful improvements to the financial safety net.”
The conference revolved around discussions regarding short- and long-term reforms to improve the Canadian Agriculture Partnership, and specifically AgriStability. The short-term discussions led to expanded support to specific producers that were hit hard by supply chain disruptions in the spring due to COVID-19.
There was added emphasis on the programs being simple, easy to access, and above all, fair for producers. As for the long-term solutions, an analysis of alternative designs is slated to be finished in time for the next FPT conference in July.
“We hope that discussions continue to an agreement that will improve the program for Saskatchewan producers,” said Lewis.
The specific support criteria tied to the expanded support were also partially due to the fact that all levels of government are facing mounting deficits due to COVID-19.
Because the BRM programs are a federal/provincial partnership, the changes will have to be agreed to by at least two thirds of the provinces that are enrolled in the program. The federal government wants this to be completed by the end of the year.
