Supply management defended for key farm sectors

Canada’s supply management system for key farm sectors continues to be under assault. The argument is that supply management stifles innovation by shielding farmers from market forces.

Truth is, the economics of farming are complex, with core challenges that cookie- cutter free- market solutions simply cannot fix.

On the supply side, numerous individual farmers would have a hard time to respond to price signals given that their individual incentive is skewed by the perishability of their product and the cycling nature of their production.

In the absence of co- ordination tools, it results in boom and bust, which are detrimental to farmers, the industry and ultimately consumers.

On the demand side, a small number of buyers can account for as much as three- quarters of the market. This is hardly a recipe for free- market efficiency.

Moreover, the decent and stable revenues that farmers under supply management receive are the very reason they can finance the purchase of the most current technology.

And unlike farmers in the U. S. and abroad, Canada’s supply management farmers do not receive a dime of subsidies or bail money for providing a secure and safe source of high quality food. DR. MAURICE DOYON Faculty of Agriculture and Food Sciences, Université Laval