GANANOQUE, Ont."The Harris governments budget tinkers around the edges of agriculture but does nothing to solve the underlying problems. In fact, the Ontario government seems unable even to identify or acknowledge those problems," said NFU Ontario Coordinator Peter Dowling.

Yesterday's Ontario budget contained small, but welcome, tax decreases for farmers; a five-year $600 million rural development initiative (OSTAR); and a $118 million increase in the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) budget to $446 million. Part of that OMAFRA budget increase will be used to fund enhanced safety net programs for farmers.

"However," Dowling said. "there is something drastically wrong with the structure of agriculture in Ontario and across Canada. This government and this budget do little to deal with these structural problems."

"Farmers have expanded, they are using computers and advances in plant breeding, they are raising specialty crops and exotic livestock, using technologically-advanced machinery, value-adding on their farms, and using sophisticated marketing methods. Yet," Dowling pointed out, "for all this adaptation and investment, they have been rewarded with the lowest net farm incomes since the 1930s."

"In 1974, Ontario farmers had to earn $3.59 in revenues to generate one dollar in net income. Today, those farmers have to earn $17.47 in revenues to generate that same dollar of realized net income," said Dowling.

Since the 1970s, Canadian agri-food exports have quintupled. Yet, over the same period, Ontario farmers have seen their net incomes decline," he noted.

"While farmers struggle to stay afloat or are forced off the land, chemical, fertilizer, and oil companies, packers, processors, retailers, and restaurants amass record profits. Nearly every large corporation in the agri-food chain is reaping very large profits. At the same time farmers are suffering," said Dowling.

"Farmers are pleased that the government is willing to replace a portion of the farmers incomes that has been snatched up by agribusiness corporations. But, what that government should be doing is working with farmers to deal with the chronic market failure so that they can receive fair and adequate prices and profits from the marketplace. That way, farmers could operate more independently of tax revenues in the future," concluded Dowling.

For More Information:

Peter Dowling, NFU Ontario Coordinator: (613) 546-0869

NFU Ontario Office: (613) 479-2453