OTTAWA — Farmers should not be forced to reduce fertilizer use if that reduces yield, argues a report released this month by the House of Commons Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food.
The 57-page report titled Feeding the World: Strengthening Canada’s Capacity to Respond to Global Food Insecurity includes 22 recommendations and highlights in its summary that the United Nations has warned that the world is “moving backwards” in its efforts to end world hunger and malnutrition.
Recommendation 10 urges Canada to “Recognize that Canadian agricultural producers are leading the world in the efficient use of fertilizers and that it not proceed with any mandatory fertilizer emissions reduction policy that would jeopardize farmer’s yields, but instead encourage them to implement best nutrient management practices such as the 4R program.”
As part of his 2020 climate plan, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau introduced a voluntary goal for farmers to reduce emissions from fertilizer use by 30% by the end of this decade. Critics are skeptical, arguing that volunteers will be hard to find. They also point to a 2021 Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada draft discussion paper, retrieved by True North news website in an access to information request, that supports policy options if farmers don’t volunteer. “A suite of policy approaches will be necessary, and consideration to be given to a regulatory backstop should voluntary approaches not be successful,” the federal government document states. The climate goal can be achieved by a more persuasive “regulatory backstop” that goes “beyond” a voluntary agreement, the government document says.
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