Short-sighted cuts. Long-term harm: Sign today to protect the agricultural research we all depend on!
In January, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced plans to close seven critically important research facilities across the country, end the Organic and Regenerative Research Program, and terminate 12% of AAFC personnel – 665 researchers, technicians, and support staff whose experience, knowledge and skills are highly specialized within less than 12 months. These federal funding cuts would throw away decades of public investment in people, science and infrastructure, while increasing long-term risk to farmers and the food system.
Sign the e-petition today to keep staff operating 7 essential research facilities across Canada and continue the Organic and Regenerative Research Program for long enough to provide cost-benefit transparency and stop hasty decision-making from destroying irreplaceable and needed public research capacity.
The government’s planned funding cuts are set to discard relevant and highly utilized public scientific expertise, and abruptly terminate long-term scientific studies, crucial public plant breeding processes, and organic/regenerative crop and livestock research – all of which are deeply important for farmers’ livelihoods, food sovereignty and building climate change resilience across the agricultural sector.
The seven research facilities on the chopping block are essential elements of the public research network designed to develop and test seeds and farming methods in real world conditions across the wide range of Canada’s growing conditions and soil types. This research cannot be “relocated” to other facilities or carried out at non-government institutions. AAFC’s land base cannot be replicated in a lab.
Federal decisions to cut the AAFC budget were made without analyzing the research programs and facilities’ immense value. Decision-makers did not consult with any farm organizations, research organizations, facilities or program managers, and announced the drastic cuts without knowing what would be lost, or understanding the impact on farmers and the agricultural economy.
Other countries that have eliminated their public agricultural research institutions have fallen behind. Canada’s public plant breeding program is a critical pillar of our agriculture industry’s success, providing seed varieties adapted to our growing conditions that produce high value crops needed for our food supply and exports.
We need AAFC’s public agriculture research capacity now more than ever! Climate change, trade disruptions, geopolitical instability, and the changing technological landscape demand that we support ongoing public research. Funding public agriculture research increases resilience, builds upon decades of public and producer investment in our research personnel and infrastructure, and safeguards our farmers’ adaptive capacity, our food security and our sovereignty.
Sign the e-Petition today! The last day to sign is April 3rd, 2026.
Once you’ve signed the petition, don’t forget to verify your signature via email so that your signature will be counted.
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