The Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is encouraged to see yesterday’s announcement of support for farmers facing extreme weather as droughts continue to affect farmers across Canada and especially in the Prairie provinces. These are important steps in what needs to be a comprehensive response to such a dire and widespread situation.
The Minister announced several initiatives in Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s press release, including:
- Livestock tax deferral for prescribed drought areas
- Bilateral adjustments to AgriInsurance program to make drought damaged crops available for feed
- AgriRecovery assessments
- Drought-stricken provinces can invoke the late participation provision of AgriStability
“CFA is glad to see this kind of support offered, recognizing further steps are required to deliver a comprehensive AgriRecovery response and ensure these measures are appropriately targeted. We must also take this opportunity to once again urge provinces to adopt the federal proposal to increase the AgriStability compensation rate from 70% to 80%, to ensure farmers have adequate support in the face of such potentially catastrophic conditions” said Mary Robinson, CFA President.