(OTTAWA) – The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is applauding the New Democratic Party for offering a comprehensive agriculture policy platform. The points outlined in the NDP policy address the short and long-term issues facing the agriculture industry today.

“When a party is developing its agriculture policy, the first step should be to listen to farmers and hear what they are recommending. The NDP has clearly done that,” said Bob Friesen, CFA President. “In this platform we see measures to address the immediate need facing farmers today, and long-term strategic policy and investment that address the root causes of the farm income crisis.”

In the short term the NDP platform is promising $1 billion to assist grains and oilseeds producers. In the long-term the NDP is proposing a substantial list of initiatives that would address the farm income issue, including: empowering farmers through support for producer-run co-ops, working to reduce input costs, investing in bio-fuel produced from Canadian inputs, investment in value-added processing, and investment in agricultural environmental stewardship.

CFA also welcomes the NDP commitment to work with farmers in reviewing business risk management programs, and developing programs that meet the unique needs of different commodity sectors. The NDP platform also recognizes that the Canadian agriculture has both export and domestic trading sectors, supporting both the goals of our export industries and the right of farmers to maintain orderly marketing systems like supply management and the Canadian Wheat Board.

“There are some ideas in this platform CFA would want to have a closer look at, where there might be some concerns, but I think the NDP has made it clear in this platform that they would work with farmers before implementing anything,” said Friesen. “As a foundation for building a sustainable farm economy, the NDP platform is definitely the strongest and most complete in this election.”

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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.