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grainswest.com7
DURING THE JULY 19-21 ANNUAL
meeting of federal, provincial and territo-
rial ministers of agriculture in St. John’s,
NL, the ministers reached consensus on
the makeup of the successor to
Growing
Forward 2
, which is now drawing to a close.
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership
(CAP) is a five-year policy framework for
Canada’s agriculture and agri-food sector.
Growing Forward 2
will expire March 31,
2018, and CAP, which had the working
title “next policy framework,” will be
implemented on April 1, 2018.
Growing
Forward 2
focused on innovation, compet-
itiveness and market development, giving
farmers the tools required to innovate and
seize emerging market opportunities.
“Federal, provincial and territorial
governments are working hard to develop
the next policy framework and have com-
mitted to continuity in programming,”
said Patrick Girard, senior media relations
officer with Agriculture and Agri-Food
Canada (AAFC).
“Innovation and public trust are key
elements this time around,” said Tulay
Yildirim, director of policy research
partnerships at the Canadian Agri-Food
Policy Institute, before the ministers’ July
agreement was announced. “I would say
that the inclusion of sustainable environ-
mental policy as a key element is probably
one of the most distinguishing aspects of
the next policy framework,” said Yildirim.
CAP represents a five-year, $3-billion
investment designed to strengthen the
agriculture, agri-food and agri-based
products sector. Farmers will continue to
have access to business risk management
programs, including crop insurance,
Agristability and AgriInvest, which make
up over 80 per cent of the policy funding
framework. Notable for provincial crop
BY ALEXIS KIENLEN
THE
FARMGATE
AG’SNEXTPOLICYFRAMEWORK
POLICY PILLARSOF CANADIANAGRICULTURAL PARTNERSHIP INCLUDE
FOCUSONSUSTAINABILITYANDBUSINESS RISKMANAGEMENT
commissions is the funding levels for
cost-shared research programs such as the
national wheat and barley clusters.
Following its July meeting, AAFC stated
that CAP will focus on six areas. These in-
clude utilization of scientific research and
innovation, development of new markets
and improved competitiveness, as well as
supporting value-added agriculture and
agri-food processing. While its risk man-
agement component will target resiliency
in the agricultural sector, it will also seek
to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and
promote sustainable growth, higher yields
and climate change adaptation. CAP will
also tackle public trust in farming by
addressing industry regulations as well as
assurance and traceability systems.
The creation of CAP included extensive
consultations with industry and the Ca-
nadian public. The federal, provincial and
territorial governments have also com-
mitted to conducting a review to explore
opportunities to improve business risk
management programming. The review
will look at the AgriStability, AgriInvest
and AgriInsurance programs, which are
cost-shared with the provinces, and their
impact on the risk management of farmers
across the agricultural sector.
Yildirim has participated in consultation
meetings with stakeholders in the past
and has seen how policies can evolve. She
expects CAP to evolve in the same way.
“Stakeholders usually seem to be satis-
fied with many elements of
Growing For-
ward 2
, and they are also expressing quite
a bit of interest in furthering sustainabil-
ity goals—because that is also becoming
a requirement of the markets now, and
consumers are seeking more information
on food, the quality of food and produc-
tion practices,” she said.
The agreement reached by the minis-
ters on CAP sets the stage for the federal,
provincial and territorial governments to
begin crafting bilateral policy agreements
and settle on them by April 1, 2018.
The nation's agricultural ministers assembled in St. John's, NL, in July where they finalized the shape of the Canadian
Agricultural Framework, the successor program to
Growing Forward 2
.
Photo:GovernmentofCanada