Canada’s Agriculture sector hoping to see positive movement in this week’s NAFTA renegotiation

Jan 22, 2018

Negotiators from Canada, the U-S and Mexico are meeting in Montreal this week to continue discussions around potential changes for the North American Free Trade Agreement.

Brian Innes is President of the Canadian Agri-Food Trade Alliance.

"We think about Canadian Agri-Food and how our exports have grown by five times since NAFTA have come into effect," he said. "So five times the amount of exports now, then we did just 23 years ago before NAFTA came into effect."

Agricultural Trade between the three countries is over $85 billion combined, with the ag sector in North America saying NAFTA is a good thing.

Innes says agricultural trade is key for Canada but also for Saskatchewan.

"Canada is vastly dependent on agriculture and trade," he said. "So whether it's our canola were we export 90 percent of what we grow, we export more than 90 percent of the pulses that we grow, a vast majority of the cereals weather its barley or wheat, and livestock too beef and pork especially. So when we think about the trade, the US is our number trading partner."

Source : Discoverestevan

Video: How farmers are protecting the soil and our food security | DW Documentary

For a long time, soil was all but ignored. But for years, the valuable humus layer has been thinning. Farmers in Brandenburg are clearly feeling the effects of this on their sandy fields. Many are now taking steps to prepare their farms for the future.

Years of drought, record rainfall and failed harvests: we are becoming increasingly aware of how sensitively our environment reacts to extreme weather conditions. Farmers' livelihoods are at stake. So is the ability of consumers to afford food.

For a few years now, agriculture that focuses solely on maximum yields has been regarded with increasing skepticism. It is becoming more and more clear just how dependent we are on healthy soils.

Brandenburg is the federal state with the worst soil quality in Germany. The already thin, fertile humus layer has been shrinking for decades. Researchers and farmers who are keen to experiment are combating these developments and looking for solutions. Priority is being given to building up the humus layer, which consists of microorganisms and fungi, as well as springtails, small worms and centipedes.

For Lena and Philipp Adler, two young vegetable farmers, the tiny soil creatures are invaluable helpers. On their three-hectare organic farm, they rely on simple, mechanical weed control, fallow areas where the soil can recover, and diversity. Conventional farmer Mark Dümichen also does everything he can to protect soil life on his land. For years, he has not tilled the soil after the harvest and sows directly into the field. His yields have stabilized since he began to work this way.

Isabella Krause from Regionalwert AG Berlin-Brandenburg is convinced after the experiences of the last hot summers that new crops will thrive on Brandenburg's fields in the long term. She has founded a network of farmers who are promoting the cultivation of chickpeas with support from the scientific community.