CFA does not endorse Cairns farm leaders' statement
News Release
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
October 21, 2002
(SANTA CRUZ, BOLIVIA) - Canadian farm leaders could not endorse a joint statement at the 6th annual Cairns Farm Leaders meeting in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. The statement was presented to Cairns Ministers at the Opening Session of their meeting on October 19. It called on Ministers to strengthen the Cairns Group proposals on market access and domestic support, papers which Canada's agriculture minister did not support, and to establish a specific date for the eventual elimination of all tariffs and all trade and production distorting subsidies. Farm leaders from 11 of the 17 Cairns member countries signed onto to the Farm Leaders Statement.
The Cairns farm leaders statement would force Canada to eliminate fundamental programs such as crop insurance, the Net Income Stabilization Account (NISA) as well as all orderly marketing structures and would have detrimental effects on Canadian agriculture. "Canada's farmers feel that NISA, crop insurance and our orderly marketing structures are an integral part of the Canadian agricultural system and the loss of these programs is not acceptable" said Bob Friesen, President of the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA).
"As the Canadian representative to the Farm leaders meeting, I could not support a statement going beyond the CFA's trade position as well as Canada's initial negotiating position on agriculture" said Friesen. CFA's trade position supports meaningful trade reforms in the areas of export competition, market access and domestic support.
CFA believes trade negotiations must result in the improvement of farmers' incomes around the world. CFA asked to include in the statement that the benefits of trade reform must accrue back to the farm gate. All of the farm leaders from the 12 Cairns member countries in attendance did not support this inclusion.
Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister Lyle Vanclief said the position put forward by Canadian farm representatives accords with the position of the Government of Canada. "We need a more level playing field and we need a trading system that works for all members," said Mr. Vanclief. "We must ensure that the trade rules allow governments in both developed and developing countries to meet the needs of their agricultural and rural communities provided they do so in ways that do not distort trade".
"CFA encourages Farm leaders and WTO members to develop realistic proposals that will help advance the negotiations" said Friesen. With the short time frame of the Doha work program, members need to be constructive to ensure that agriculture negotiations deliver to all farmers around the world, and especially the developing countries, a level playing field where the inequities of the current agreement are corrected.
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Founded in 1935 to provide Canada's farmers with a single voice in Ottawa, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture is the country's largest farmers' organization. Its members include provincial general farm organizations as well as national and inter-provincial commodity organizations from every province. Through its members, CFA represents over 200,000 Canadian farmers and farm families.
Contact:
Kieran Green, CFA Communications Coordinator, (613) 236-3633, info@cfafca.ca
Bob Friesen, CFA President, (204) 724-0824 (cell)
Brigid Rivoire, CFA Executive Director, (613) 236-3633 / (613) 715-3113 (cell)
