national
farmers union
national
farmers union
WASKATENAU, Sask.-"The $900-million two-year farm disaster-relief program announced today is a useful first step. It will help fill an immediate need and provide bridge funds to farmers and allow them to carry on through the spring. It is not, however, by itself, a sufficient solution to the protracted farm income shortage which many farmers have faced since the mid 1980s," said NFU President Cory Ollikka.
Ollikka pointed out that the U.S. and EU countries support their farmers with generous aid packages, not just in disaster years, but year in and year out. He stated: "Those payments demonstrate that farmers around the world are finding it impossible to survive on market returns alone. Agricultural commodity markets are consistently failing to return a sufficient share of the consumer dollar to farmers. Today's announcement-unless accompanied by a fundamental restructuring of Canadian farm policy which focuses on declining farmgate returns-will merely slow the ongoing loss of the majority of Canada's family farms."
"Minister Vanclief's program will stabilize farmers' incomes at, or slightly above, average market returns. The long-term problem is that even 'normal' market returns are too low to sustain Canadian farms and rural communities. Today's announcement is an important and useful step, but it is not sufficient," commented Ollikka.
Ollikka pointed out that the $900 million program is not excessively generous. "The Crow Benefit would have put $1.3 billion into western Canada over the next two years had that program continued. Ottawa is giving farmers back much less than it has taken away." Ollikka also noted that many family-farm hog producers will be unable to hold out until March or April for cheques. "There is an urgent need for immediate money to small and medium-sized hog producers if we are to protect that sector from collapse or takeover by a handful of corporate producers."
Commenting on the design of any short-term income-support program, Ollikka stated that any such program must follow 3 key components:
Ollikka concluded: "The government should aim to support farm families and rural communities, not bushels, acres, or pigs. The Canadian public has wisely decided that it is important to support family farms and rural communities. In order to do that, it is necessary to ensure the largest possible number of farm families receive aid and that the bulk of the money does not merely flow to a small number of large farmers to help them absorb smaller, bankrupt neighbors."
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