BACK ON THE LAND
A worker sprays a field just northeast of Regina on Tuesday as spring returns to the prairies. These are uncertain days as the pandemic upends agriculture.
SASKATOON The federal government’s $252-million funding announcement for agriculture relief is “a first step in the right direction,” says the president of Saskatchewan’s agricultural producers’ association, but more will be needed to support an industry hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“Any assistance to producers is welcome, but this package is only a small first step in addressing the needs at the farm gate,” said Agriculture Producers Association of Saskatchewan (APAS) president Todd Lewis.
“We need more action from the government to help reduce our risk and secure Canada’s agricultural industry and food supply.”
While the federal government moved Tuesday to ease multiple pressures in Canada’s agriculture industry, the $252 million falls far short of the $2.6 billion request for help last month from the Canadian Federation of Agriculture. According to the CFA, around $840 million is needed to assist the beef and pork sectors alone, while the federal support announced Tuesday provides $50 million to each.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said the money is a starting point.
“We know that farmers still have concerns about what this pandemic means for their industry longterm,” Trudeau said.
“This is an initial investment and if we need to add more, we will.”
Of the $252 million announced on Tuesday, $77 million is earmarked in part to cover costs for equipment and supplies such as masks to keep workers safe and able to do their jobs while respecting virus mitigation protocols. Approximately $125 million will address capacity issues for meat-processing plants — some of which have been grappling with COVID -19 outbreaks among staff — that are at capacity. Trudeau also said the federal government will spend $50 million to buy up surplus food before it goes bad and try to redistribute it to food banks.
The dairy-processing industry will get its own funds to buy up more milk and related products.
In many ways, it’s a case of “wait and see until we see the criteria for what’s going to qualify and for how long,” provincial Minister of Agriculture
Dave Marit said.
“It’s a step. To say it’s a good one, I don’t know until I see the details,” he added.
The troubles facing the agriculture industry, he added, aren’t just a Saskatchewan problem but a “western Canadian issue ... We’re so integrated on the livestock side.”
Marit said his biggest take-away from Trudeau’s announcement came when the prime minister indicated it “was the first step, and that other supports would follow. I’m encouraged by that to a big degree.”
Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-claude Bibeau said Tuesday’s announcement builds on previous commitments to increase funding for farms, and to support temporary foreign workers, food banks and nutrition programs in the North.
From a Saskatchewan perspective, Lewis said, “cattle and hog producers are facing the most immediate crisis as a result of COVID-19, and the measures announced (Tuesday) will help address specific issues within these supply chains.
“But there are many other issues that still need to be addressed. The prime minister himself acknowledged that this is a first step.”