The federal, provincial and territorial Canadian agriculture ministers wrapped up their annual conference releasing a shared agricultural policy framework focusing on sustainability, a Nov. 10 news release from the federal government says.
“Today, my provincial and territorial colleagues and I agreed on an ambitious vision that will guide the development of the policy framework to follow the Canadian Agricultural Partnership. We all want to ensure that our agriculture is sustainable and that our farmers and agri-food entrepreneurs succeed,” Marie-Claude Bibeau, federal minister of agriculture and agri‑food says in the release.
The framework titled the “Guelph Statement” focuses on having Canada recognized as a world leader in sustainable agriculture and agri-food production. The release notes the ministers agreed on a sustainable agriculture approach being needed to help shape the next policy framework, which includes environmental, social and economic considerations in all priority areas.
The following five priority areas for the next framework include:
- climate change and the environment
- science, research and innovation
- market development and trade
- building sector capacity and growth
- resiliency and public trust
The vision agreed upon for the next agricultural policy framework states that “Canada is recognized as a world leader in sustainable agriculture and agri-food production and drives forward to 2028 from a solid foundation of regional strengths and diversity, as well as the strong leadership of the provinces and territories, in order to rise to the climate change challenge, to expand new markets and trade while meeting the expectations of consumers, and to feed Canadians and a growing global population.”
The release notes ministers also agreed to continue to improve the suite of business risk management (BRM) programs to make them timely, equitable, and easy to understand, while supporting the competitiveness and sustainability of the sector. There was also progress made on issues such as labour, African swine fever, Animal Health Canada, trade and market access, regulatory priorities (including interprovincial trade and the Canadian Plant Health Council), retail fees, and mental health.
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