The Chronicle Herald (Provincial)
Feds announce support for agrifood industry
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced Tuesday a number of programs and measures aimed at farmers and food processors totalling $252 million, but the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) says the funding is insufficient to avert a pending food crisis.
Speaking at his daily news conference, Trudeau said the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a lot of new challenges for farmers and food processors.
For example, he said, farms and processing plants are raising more animals than the system can process into things like steak and bacon because of COVID-19, meaning that they have to keep animals for longer periods of time, which can be expensive.
And with hotels and restaurants closed, too much of certain types of food — such as like milk, butter and potatoes — is being produced.
“While some donations have been made to food banks, we don't have the capacity right now to redistribute such large quantities of food. And some producers have no choice but to throw out their product. It's a waste of food and a loss of revenue for the people who work so hard to produce it,” Trudeau said.
“We know that farmers have concerns about what this pandemic means for their industry long term — having enough workers for harvesting later in the season, having enough personal protective equipment for workers.”
Measures announced Tuesday to address some of these concerns include:
Creating a $77.5-million Emergency Processing Fund to help food producers access more personal protective equipment, adapt to health protocols, modernize their operations and respond to emerging demand.
Launching a national Agrirecovery initiative of up to $125 million in funding to help producers faced with additional costs incurred by COVID19. This includes set-asides for cattle and hog management programs to manage livestock backed up on farms because of the temporary closure of food processing plants.
Launching the Surplus Food Purchase Program with an initial $50-million fund designed to help redistribute existing and unsold inventories to local food organizations who are serving vulnerable Canadians.
Working with provinces and territories to increase interim payments from 50 per cent to 75 per cent through Agristability and to explore possibilities for expanding the Agriinsurance program to include labour shortages as an eligible risk for the horticulture sector.
Trudeau also announced intentions to increase the Canadian Dairy Commission's borrowing limit by $200 million to support costs associated with the temporary storage of cheese and butter to avoid food waste, which will require legislation.
Trudeau said the government will work with opposition parties to achieve this required legislative change.
In a news release, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture said the announced funding is not enough on its own to avert negative effects on the Canadian food supply in the coming months. Last week the CFA outlined the need for a $2.6-billion agrifood emergency fund to maintain food security for Canada and to address critical, acute challenges facing a wide range of agricultural commodities from across the country.
“While the $252 million announced today by the government is welcomed, it falls well short of what's needed to guarantee Canada's food system for Canadians and the world,” the release reads.
In the statement, the CFA says there are concerns that the government's position on using existing business risk-management programs, such as Agristability, before rolling out additional funds will result in support arriving too late to make a substantial impact on domestic food security.
“With such huge uncertainty in our sector and lack of a firm financial backstop, in essence, we are asking our farmers to put themselves and their farms at risk to grow food for Canada. Many farmers are facing the reality that these risks are too great, and are having to modify their food production plans,” said CFA president Mary Robinson.
“As a country, we cannot allow this to happen.”
Responding to questions about CFA'S request, Trudeau said what was announced Tuesday is only an initial amount of support.
“We will continue to work with farmers, with stakeholders and industry representatives, with provinces and territories to ensure that our food capacity in this country and these people who work so incredibly hard every single day to feed Canadians get the support that they need through this crisis and beyond,” he said.
We will continue to work ... to ensure that our food capacity ... and these people who work so incredibly hard ... get the support that they need.
Justin Trudeau
Prime Minister