In light of the recent announcement that Ontario has decided to increase the AgriStability compensation rate from 70% to 80%, the Canadian Federation of Agriculture (CFA) is urging other provinces to follow suit so that farmers across Canada can be better supported through uncontrollable events that severely reduce their income. CFA also calls on the federal government to contribute its 60% of cost-shared funding to those provinces that elect to enhance AgriStability in this fashion.
This development comes after the recent federal proposal for AgriStability in late 2020, where the government proposed to remove the Reference Margin Limit (RML) and increase the compensation rate from 70% to 80%. The Federal and Provincial governments eventually came to the agreement to remove the RML, but left the compensation rate unchanged.
“While the removal of the RML was greatly appreciated, both pieces of the federal proposal need to be adopted to bring the AgriStability program back to the strength it held before it was weakened in 2013,” said Mary Robinson, CFA President.
“We hope that this bold action from Ontario, building on similar program enhancements in BC, PEI and Quebec, can inspire the other provinces to make a similar change. This change would help ensure that the AgriStability program is responsive when farmers are in need. The AgriStability program only pays out when farmers see a significant loss of income from uncontrollable events such as droughts, floods and disruptions such as COVID-19,” she added.
CFA hopes to see Canada-wide adoption of the increased compensation rate for AgriStability, across all provinces and with federal support, sending a strong signal to farmers that their work in feeding Canadians and the world is both valued and worth protecting.
Source : CFA