Ag minister surprised as feds balk at change to farm risk program
Saskatchewan Agriculture Minister David Marit says the federal government's initial reluctance to budge on a 60/40 cost sharing on the Business Risk Management program caught him “off guard.”
The provinces and territories are left to sit on newly proposed changes to the BRM'S Agristability program after Canada's federal, provincial, and territorial (FPT) ministers of agriculture wrapped up their two-day virtual conference on Friday.
The conference ended with what Marit calls an “11th hour” proposal by Marie-claude Bibeau, federal minister of agriculture and agri-food.
The federal proposal also includes a removal of the reference margin limit and taking the compensation rate from 70 to 80 per cent. However, the funding and distribution, between federal and provincial/territorial governments, would remain at 60-40.
“Which obviously caught a lot of us provinces by surprise that there was no thought, or no give, on the 60/40 compensation ... something many of the provinces had been asking for,” said Marit, who is the MLA for Wood River.
“The provinces had put a proposal to her months ago on any short-term changes, through this time of COVID, that the funding be changed to 90-10. So, she (Bibeau) rejected that and came back with no counter offer until Friday afternoon when she said, `No, it's staying at 60-40.'”
If this cost-sharing formula is left alone, Marit argues that it “hits the province of Saskatchewan hardest of all the jurisdictions in Canada.”
In Saskatchewan, he said, “you've got 40 per cent of the arable land and three per cent of the tax base.”
Meanwhile, the federal minister said she is giving time for the ministers to “analyze this proposal and come back to us as soon as possible” as they seek common ground on “meaningful reforms” to the financial safety net available to farmers under the BRM programs.
“Building on all the emergency supports we have rolled out this year to support farmers, our government is ready to step up with improvements to the BRM programs, aiming for 50 per cent increase to the amount paid out to farmers through the income stabilization Agristability program,” said Bibeau.
BRM programs, including Agristability, help producers manage risks such as natural disasters, weather events, severe loss and market volatility.
“We just have to work through it with my ministry team and see what those numbers mean with those changes, how that's going to impact the province of Saskatchewan and taxpayers,” assessed Marit.
Bibeau added that Canada's agriculture and food sector is “a powerhouse of our economy,” contributing more than $140-billion to GDP and responsible for one of eight jobs across Canada.
“Our farmers and food businesses are positioned to be key drivers of Canada's economic recovery,” Bibeau said.
“I'm happy to see our agri-food exports on pace to set a new record this year, which shows the potential of this great industry. With an increase of eight per cent in our exports, up until now this year, we are clearly on path to beat our goal of $75-billion in exports by 2025.
“We are ready to deliver for farmers, who continue to deliver for Canadians.”