(OTTAWA) – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) welcomes a government report that addresses the issue of low farm income. The report, entitled “Empowering Canadian Farmers in the Marketplace”, was written by M.P. Wayne Easter, Parliamentary Secretary to the Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food, following cross-country consultations. CFA believes the report accurately captures many of the facets of this serious issue facing Canadian farmers, and offers excellent recommendations for moving forward.

“Mr. Easter has clearly listened to producers and understands the issues – the key being that farmers want to earn their income from the marketplace,” said Bob Friesen, CFA President. “This report gives governments and industry a starting point on the path to solving one of the most critical challenges facing Canadian agriculture today: chronic low farm income
 
The CFA was encouraged to see the report note the Canadian agriculture industry has led virtually every other industry sector in annual productivity growth. The report recognizes producers have lost significant market power and are unable to keep their market gains from all their hard work and gains in efficiency. As the title of the report suggests, there is a need to re-empower farmers and restore their ability to bargain equitably in the marketplace.

CFA believes the report contains numerous good recommendations that will help Canadian farmers attain a more sustainable level of income. CFA agrees with and supports four main broad recommendations that appear in the report, and believes they must form the guiding principles of any future farm income strategy. Those recommendations are:

• Cooperatives and similar farmer collective actions are excellent tools to achieve market equality.
• The need to streamline government regulation to create greater efficiencies and reduce costs for producers.
• Costs for environmental, food safety and other such initiatives that serve the public good must not be borne by farmers alone.
• The need for strong leadership by the federal government on international trade.

“This report lays the groundwork for achieving economic sustainability in Canadian agriculture. I strongly urge our federal and provincial governments to read it closely and put the highest priority on implementing its recommendations,” said Friesen. “On behalf of all Canadian farmers I want to thank Mr. Easter for all his hard work. I look forward to continuing the work begun at the CFA National Farm Income Symposium last November. Together with Mr. Easter, Minister Mitchell, and all agriculture industry stakeholders, we will take these ideas off paper and bring them to life.”

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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.