“Science isn’t a luxury, it’s an insurance policy”: Cuts to Public Agriculture Research Catastrophic for Climate Progress
Extensive cuts to public agriculture research will set back climate progress in agriculture, and the harm will be felt for generations. Earlier this year, Agriculture and Agrifood Canada announced that seven research facilities – at Lacombe, Indian Head, Scott, Portage la Prairie, Guelph, Quebec City and Nappan – and the Organic and Regenerative Agriculture program – will no longer receive funding. These funding cuts would throw away more than a century’s worth of public investment in people, science and infrastructure, while increasing risks to the food system and the people who work within it. The cuts would be devastating on multiple fronts, however, the immense costs to agricultural climate science must be considered in their own right, as the closing of these facilities and programs will be consequential well into the future.
As farmers and farm workers feel the worsening financial, emotional and existential stress of climate change, the loss of crucial research facilities and programs is all the more reprehensible. Drought in southwest Saskatchewan has left some areas severely depleted of moisture for the past eight years, leading to crop failure and financial losses; and there’s not much relief in sight. BC farmers, still rebuilding from catastrophic flooding four years ago (the most expensive weather disaster in BC’s history), found themselves underwater once again late last year, as more than a month’s worth of rain in two days caused evacuation orders, landslides and road closures. Record-breaking wildfire seasons across Canada have had serious impacts on crops, livestock and agricultural communities. And guilt, panic and hopelessness are becoming familiar emotions as farmers face uncertain weather and extreme events.
Meanwhile, researchers at Lacombe Research and Development Centre have found ways to reduce the environmental impact of livestock production. Scientists at the Nappan Research Farm in Nova Scotia have found that feeding kelp supplements to heifers reduces their methane emissions, a potent contributor to greenhouse gases. The Organic and Regenerative Research Program at the Swift Current Research and Development Centre, one of the only public programs dedicated to the study of organic agriculture in the Prairies, is a “front line for climate adaptation research,” helping farmers manage increasing climate variability, soil degradation, and emerging pests and diseases. As farmers struggle, the facilities and programs on the chopping block have been contributing to indispensable climate mitigation and adaptation research.
Consider climate impact in agriculture through a financial lens: crop insurance payments in Canada surged from $890 million in 2018 to $4.9 billion in 2022. In 2021, Saskatchewan’s crop production fell by 47% and the provincial economy contracted by -0.3% due to extreme drought. Given the amount that the provincial and federal governments are spending on insurance compensation and business risk management program payments after climate-related extreme weather impacts on farms, public research into climate mitigation and climate adaptation should be protected, invested in, and expanded. As Sophie Martel, General Manager of the Centre d’expertise et de transfert en agriculture biologique et de proximité (Victoriaville, QC), said in her testimony to the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food “Science isn’t a luxury, it’s an insurance policy.” Halting agricultural research that has been on the cutting edge of emissions reductions research will cost the government billions, and will have long-lasting negative impacts on the climate and the food system.
These cuts to public agriculture research fit into a larger pattern of the federal government’s disregard for climate action. Last year, Carney announced a deal with Alberta Premier Danielle Smith to build a pipeline intended to boost crude oil production. The majority of the proposals on the federal government’s Nation-Building initiatives list are extractive projects, like mines and liquefied natural gas plants, that will harm the environment. The federal government is determined to increase Canada’s defense spending, a move that will increase fossil fuel emissions both in Canada and abroad. The decision to redirect spending from programs, facilities and research networks that have been increasing farmers’ abilities to both mitigate and adapt to climate change into carbon intensive military infrastructure should concern not just agricultural organizations but all of us. The impacts from these decisions will have disastrous ripple effects for many years to come.
Now is not the time to cut funding for research centers, farms and programs that are on the frontlines of agricultural climate science. Public interest research on sustainable agriculture should be a central part of Canada’s climate action strategy. Research capacity is essential to facilitating transitions towards a more sustainable Canadian agricultural sector. Public science is a public benefit.
For more information, please contact:
- Cathy Holtslander, Director of Research and Policy: holtslander@nfu.ca
- Sarah Marquis, Outreach Strategist: marquis@nfu.ca
For more information about the NFU’s campaign against the cuts, click here.
