Farm leaders, national and provincial agriculture ministers discuss Restoring Profitability to the Farm Gate at the CFA Tripartite Roundtable

Niagara-on-the-Lake — Canadian farm leaders met with national and provincial agriculture ministers to raise issues and discuss solutions on how to restore profitability to the farm gate.

With participants representing all commodities, provinces, and the Yukon, the 9th annual CFA hosted Tripartite Roundtable offered a valuable exchange of perspectives which represented all regions of Canada. CFA was pleased that both the Honourable Gerry Ritz, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, and the Honourable Jean-Pierre Blackburn, Minister of National Revenue and Minister of State (Agriculture) were in attendance. The meeting preceded the annual conference of federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture.

“The Roundtable resulted in several discussions and allowed farm leaders, ministers, and deputy ministers to discuss how best to improve profitability for Canadian farmers,” said Laurent Pellerin, CFA President.

“It’s always good to sit down and talk to farmers from across Canada as we work together to keep agriculture strong,” said Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz.  “And we’re going to keep working with Canadian producers as we continue to put farmers first in all of our agriculture policies.”

''I greatly appreciated the depth and openness of the discussions,'' said Minister Blackburn. ''Finding viable solutions to the voiced concerns is our highest priority.''

In their discussions with ministers, industry leaders highlighted issues under three key themes of discussion: agriculture as a competitive and innovative sector, a sector that responds to society’s objectives, and a sector proactive at managing risks.

Farm leaders underlined the crisis facing the red meat sector and urged ministers to support the Canadian Pork Council’s Strategic Plan in finding ways to maintain the viability of the hog industry.

Other topics discussed included:
• Opening up a dialogue to look at how co-operative taxation could be enhanced to both encourage their use, and to maximize the chances of success. The CFA strongly recommends the Government of Canada adopt a Cooperative Investment Plan (CIP) for inclusion into the next Federal Budget.
• Support for a national Agriculture and Food Traceability System in Canada, while encouraging the  use of an incentive-based, rather than inflexible regulatory system, 
• Continue to work on the “Product of Canada” guidelines to ensure they meet the needs of Canadian producers. 

The CFA was pleased to see the high level of discussion and commitment by all parties to continue to work collaboratively and developing programs and policies that improve the socio-economic situation of agri-food sector. The CFA will continue to work with government to follow-up on some of the discussions held at the meeting.

L to R: CFA president Laurent Pellerin, Minister Ritz, and Chicken Farmers of Canada Chair David Fuller