Much of 2011 has seen agriculture dominate headlines and debate in the House of Commons. In turn, it has been an eventful year for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), ensuring the farmers’ voice is heard throughout it all.
This year, as you know, Canadians headed to the polls. The CFA, as in most federal elections, organized and hosted the National Agriculture Debate with Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and agriculture critics from all parties as panelists. The debate gave farmers and Canadians a chance to hear the positions of all parties so they could make an educated choice for agriculture. We encouraged farmers to truly examine the party platforms as they pertained to agriculture and to “Cast a vote for your food, your farmer”, as captured by the CFA election campaign slogan . The result - we were happy to see agriculture prominently represented in all party platforms, and in particular, a commitment to develop a long-term national plan for the agriculture and food sector.
The CFA was extremely pleased to see all parties acknowledge the need for a National Food Strategy – an initiative begun by the CFA, its members and stakeholders along the value chain. The NFS caught the attention of media, sparking a food series in the Globe and Mail, a twelve-page insert in the National Post and mention in several other media outlets. CFA and CFA members spoke with elected officials on the value of a long-term vision for the sector, gaining much support. In July, CFA hosted its annual Industry and Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers’ Tripartite Roundtable with commitment from all Ministers to continue working with industry on this project. Development of a public relations strategy and consumer focus groups are now underway and will continue into the new year.
Concerning trade, CFA has been closely monitoring and giving its input in several trade talks this year – the WTO, co-hosting the Cairns Group Farm Leaders’ meeting, NA/EU and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). At these forums, the CFA has consistently defended its members’ interests, encouraging a balance between domestic and export oriented sectors.
Following the dissolution of IFAP last fall, the CFA played a lead role in the creation of the World Farmers’ Organization which held its inaugural meeting just 10 months later in South Africa. CFA has been the lead on several international policy processes, including the United Nations Climate Change talks and currently sits on the WFO Executive as the North American representative.
At home, we have been pushing CFA policy priorities indentified by the members – everything from producer directed research, regulatory reform and taxation measures – at pre-budget consultations and Growing Forward 2 discussions.
And of course - the Canadian Wheat Board – has been a high-profile topic in agriculture this year. At the CFA October Board meeting, CFA members clearly articulated its long-standing policy supporting the farmers’ right, not government, to design its marketing structure and continued to push for proper representative consultation and involvement in any pre, post and transition discussions resulting from government’s steps to remove the single-desk.
Finally, on the coat-tails of CFA’s 75th anniversary last year, the CFA’s Board of Directors embarked on developing a five-year strategic plan, including milestones with corresponding activities, timelines and work plans. The review has looked at everything from revenue diversification, improving CFA/member communications, member and staff retention, enhancing the effectiveness of current committee structure and rethinking how CFA policy is developed.We are hopeful the strategic plan will help to better focus CFA’s limited human and financial resources and strengthen the federation in meeting its members' needs. I have been visiting members and their Boards, presenting the plan and collecting input. This will continue into the new year, with most initiatives beginning around February.
Looking ahead to 2012, we anticipate several opportunities to collaborate with our members and the government to influence positive advancements for agriculture. Judging by moves this government is taking to expand markets and the finalization of GF2 programs and policies, we have the opportunity in 2012 to encourage continued growth in the agricultural sector. I look forward to gathering at CFA’s AGM in February. Our theme will be “Connecting with Markets” – a great topic of discussion to jump start a year of opportunity!
By Ron Bonnett, CFA President
Much of 2011 has seen agriculture dominate headlines and debate in the House of Commons. In turn, it has been an eventful year for the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA), ensuring the farmers’ voice is heard throughout it all.
This year, as you know, Canadians headed to the polls. The CFA, as in most federal elections, organized and hosted the National Agriculture Debate with Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz and agriculture critics from all parties as panelists. The debate gave farmers and Canadians a chance to hear the positions of all parties so they could make an educated choice for agriculture. We encouraged farmers to truly examine the party platforms as they pertained to agriculture and to “Cast a vote for your food, your farmer”, as captured by the CFA election campaign slogan . The result - we were happy to see agriculture prominently represented in all party platforms, and in particular, a commitment to develop a long-term national plan for the agriculture and food sector.
The CFA was extremely pleased to see all parties acknowledge the need for a National Food Strategy – an initiative begun by the CFA, its members and stakeholders along the value chain. The NFS caught the attention of media, sparking a food series in the Globe and Mail, a twelve-page insert in the National Post and mention in several other media outlets. CFA and CFA members spoke with elected officials on the value of a long-term vision for the sector, gaining much support. In July, CFA hosted its annual Industry and Federal-Provincial-Territorial Ministers’ Tripartite Roundtable with commitment from all Ministers to continue working with industry on this project. Development of a public relations strategy and consumer focus groups are now underway and will continue into the new year.
Concerning trade, CFA has been closely monitoring and giving its input in several trade talks this year – the WTO, co-hosting the Cairns Group Farm Leaders’ meeting, NA/EU and the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). At these forums, the CFA has consistently defended its members’ interests, encouraging a balance between domestic and export oriented sectors.
Following the dissolution of IFAP last fall, the CFA played a lead role in the creation of the World Farmers’ Organization which held its inaugural meeting just 10 months later in South Africa. CFA has been the lead on several international policy processes, including the United Nations Climate Change talks and currently sits on the WFO Executive as the North American representative.
At home, we have been pushing CFA policy priorities indentified by the members – everything from producer directed research, regulatory reform and taxation measures – at pre-budget consultations and Growing Forward 2 discussions.
And of course - the Canadian Wheat Board – has been a high-profile topic in agriculture this year. At the CFA October Board meeting, CFA members clearly articulated its long-standing policy supporting the farmers’ right, not government, to design its marketing structure and continued to push for proper representative consultation and involvement in any pre, post and transition discussions resulting from government’s steps to remove the single-desk.
Finally, on the coat-tails of CFA’s 75th anniversary last year, the CFA’s Board of Directors embarked on developing a five-year strategic plan, including milestones with corresponding activities, timelines and work plans. The review has looked at everything from revenue diversification, improving CFA/member communications, member and staff retention, enhancing the effectiveness of current committee structure and rethinking how CFA policy is developed. We are hopeful the strategic plan will help to better focus CFA’s limited human and financial resources and strengthen the federation in meeting its members' needs. I have been visiting members and their Boards, presenting the plan and collecting input. This will continue into the new year, with most initiatives beginning around February.
Looking ahead to 2012, we anticipate several opportunities to collaborate with our members and the government to influence positive advancements for agriculture. Judging by moves this government is taking to expand markets and the finalization of GF2 programs and policies, we have the opportunity in 2012 to encourage continued growth in the agricultural sector. I look forward to gathering at CFA’s AGM in February. Our theme will be “Connecting with Markets” – a great topic of discussion to jump start a year of opportunity!